cannabisnews.com: Bill Introduced To Legalize MJ for Medical Uses
Bill Introduced To Legalize MJ for Medical Uses
Posted by CN Staff on March 31, 2005 at 13:39:47 PT
By Bob Johnson, Associated Press Writer
Source: Associated Press
Alabama -- Laura Campbell, a 32-year-old mother of three from Cullman, says she has been forced "to be a lawbreaker" because she has chronic pain from a variety of ailments and is allergic to almost all pain medications.She said the only way she has found to consistently relieve her pain is to smoke marijuana. She supports a bill that was introduced in the Alabama House Thursday that would legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana for medical use only.
The sponsor, Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, said it would help people like Campbell, with chronic pain, and those with terminal illnesses."I believe this is a matter of choice for individuals with terminal illnesses and chronic pain who have more pain and medical challenges than most of us could ever imagine," Hall said.She said the bill would only allow use of small amounts of marijuana, when it is needed to relieve serious pain or to help terminal patients.Hall said she was partly motivated to introduce the bill because of the 1992 death of her 25-year-old son, Darren, who had AIDS. She said her son had intense pain and was unable to eat during the later stages of his illness."As a mother, I would have been relieved if this had been available for his compassionate care," Hall said at a news conference Thursday before she introduced the bill.Campbell said she has tried to take numerous medications without success for her pain caused by a long list of ailments, including arthritis and fibromyalgia. She said marijuana relieves the pain enough that she can better respond to the needs of her three children."I'm not a threat to society, but I have to be a criminal to get the medication I need to survive," Campbell said.She said she tried using a prescription drug that is a pill form of marijuana, but that she couldn't afford the $500 a month price tag, after insurance.A co-sponsor of the legislation, Rep. Joseph Mitchell, D-Mobile, said using marijuana for medical purposes is different that using the drug just to get high."We're not talking about 300 pounds of marijuana found in the trunk of a car," Mitchell said. Source: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Bob Johnson, Associated Press WriterPublished: March 31, 2005Copyright: 2005 The Associated Press Related Article & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmMedical Marijuana Should Be Consideredhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20219.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on April 01, 2005 at 10:24:58 PT
Druid
I've always minded the need to moderate a message board but I've come to the conclusion that it is necessary. I have faith that most people do care but some don't and for the sake of those that do moderation is necessary. You're welcome!
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Comment #14 posted by Druid on April 01, 2005 at 09:59:48 PT
Thank You as well :)
Thank you for the compliments. Of course we get our share of kiddies and trolls...more than our share sometimes I believe but we have a good staff that nips the problems in the buds hehe anyway sounds like we are all happy and enjoy doing these things we love.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on April 01, 2005 at 08:22:28 PT
Druid
What a wonderful compliment. Thank you. I've never been called a Cannabis Warrior and that makes me smile. I really have a very focussed idea of what I am trying to do here on CNews. I live in a little box in many senses and don't vary much from what I believe I should do with my time. I went to OG last night and looked around. That truly is a remarkable web site. My FTE web site is my pride and joy because I have developed it myself with no help from anyone except the banners because I don't know how to make them. I've tried to make my FTE site to be a compliment to Cnews so they are connected but separate. Keep up the good work you are doing. I think OG seems very professional in it's appearance and focus.
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Comment #12 posted by Druid on April 01, 2005 at 07:42:24 PT:
FoM
Your FTE website is excellent as well. I always link people and reference the the studies you have posted there rather than another website. Especially the Russo studies. That's really cool that Ron hosts your website for free. I think I visit FTE at least twice a day. :) I don't think I could keep track of how often I am on CannabisNews. lolI have tab open to CannabisNews in my firefox browser all day everyday and probably hit the reload button about 30 times an hour. I don't post as much on this site anymore but I read every single article and every comment.You are a true Cannabis Warrior in my eyes FoM. Your dedication to the cause is something we should all aspire to achieve. Please never quit the good work that you do.
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Comment #11 posted by runderwo on March 31, 2005 at 20:04:54 PT
SystemGoneDown
THC is probably good for bronchitis, but smoking is most likely not. I can give anecdotal evidence that I have had bronchitis more often since I started smoking weed than before I started (twice, compared to never). However, this is only a correlation. It might be wise to add that both times I got bronchitis, I remember having had to smoke resin prior to it because it's all I had left. Perhaps contracting bronchitis is more related to irritation/harshness of a particular preparation than it is to smoking cannabis in general. I wouldn't believe for a second that vaporized THC would cause bronchitis though.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on March 31, 2005 at 17:34:39 PT
Druid
I want to say this too. Ron Bennett has been very kind to me. I consider Ron a friend and when I have been upset he is the one I call on the phone and we talk. He lets me keep my FTE web site on his server and has never asked me for one penny. I guess that's why I put web sites in a class. I don't believe that one web site is better then another just different and they attracts different people. I love the Internet and all of its diversity. There I feel better.
Freedom To Exhale
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on March 31, 2005 at 16:40:26 PT
Druid
Yes I posted news on OG for I believe it was around 7 months many years ago now. It just got to hard for me to do CNews and news on OG. Thank you for sharing CNews with others. I really appreciate it!
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Comment #8 posted by Druid on March 31, 2005 at 16:34:24 PT
FoM
Thanks for the positive feedback. I really appreciate it. I had noticed that you have had a membership on OverGrow for a long time. A lot longer than most the people that still post there. July 13th, 1999. I think you are one of the original Overgrow members. :) Were you involved with weedbase at all?I believe your site is the best in it's class as well. I pimp cannabisnews.com everywhere I go ;)
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on March 31, 2005 at 16:17:40 PT
Druid
I wanted to mention that from time to time I check out different web sites and OG is one of them. I don't get involved in any sites related to our issue because I think I should keep myself focussed on what I do here on CNews. OG is by far the best site in it's class of web sites. Keep up the good work.
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Comment #6 posted by Druid on March 31, 2005 at 16:04:31 PT:
SystemGoneDown
No it wasn't for a paper. I have just immersed myself in Cannabis studies for the past 3 years. I like to consider myself a sort of Cannabis Evangelist. A Cannabist if you will. Spreading the truth and the good word on our favorite plant. I hate the all the lies and propaganda that surround us every where we go. If everyone could just Know The Truth.If you need any more references to any studies about anything Cannabis related feel free to email me or search me out on Overgrow.com where I spend most my time helping people learn how to grow their own medicine and educating the uneducated stoner.
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Comment #5 posted by SystemGoneDown on March 31, 2005 at 15:42:11 PT
druid
did u use that for a school paper? very informative, thanx
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Comment #4 posted by Druid on March 31, 2005 at 15:16:16 PT
oops
I referenced the wrong studies in my previous post... doh!here is the correct one. Sorry about that.[21] Health Consequences of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction, Surgeon General's Report, 1988.
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Comment #3 posted by Druid on March 31, 2005 at 15:12:30 PT:
Cannabis VS. Tobacco
Tobacco is a bronchial constrictor whereas Cannabis is a bronchial dilator. This means smoking tobacco will tighten and close the pathways in your lungs where Cannabis will open them up.I really wouldn't suggest smoking anything though if you have bronchitis. Vaporizing or eating it would be much much better.*****************************************************http://www.cannabis.com/faqs/hemp3.shtml
12) Isn't smoking marijuana worse for you than smoking cigarettes?
There are many reasons why it is not. You may have heard
that ``one joint is equal to ten cigarrettes'' but this is
exagerrated and misleading. Marijuana does contain more tar
than tobacco -- but low tar cigarettes cause just as much
cancer, so what is that supposed to mean? Scientists have
shown that smoking any plant is bad for your lungs, because
it increases the number of `lesions' in your small airways.
This usually does not threaten your life, but there is a
chance it will lead to infections. Marijuana users who are
worried about this can find less harmful ways of taking
marijuana like eating or vaporizing. (Be careful --
marijuana is safe to eat -- but tobacco is not, you might
overdose!) Marijuana does not seem to cause cancer the way
tobacco does, though.
Here is a list of interesting facts about marijuana smoking
and tobacco smoking: o Marijuana smokers generally don't chain smoke, and
so they smoke less. (Marijuana is not physically
addictive like tobacco.) The more potent marijuana
is, the less a smoker will use at a time. o Tobacco contains nicotine, and marijuana doesn't.
Nicotine may harden the arteries and may be
responsible for much of the heart disease caused by
tobacco. New research has found that it may also
cause a lot of the cancer in tobacco smokers and
people who live or work where tobacco is smoked.
This is because it breaks down into a cancer causing
chemical called `N Nitrosamine' when it is burned
(and maybe even while it is inside the body as well.)
o Marijuana contains THC. THC is a bronchial dilator,
which means it works like a cough drop and opens up
your lungs, which aids clearance of smoke and dirt.
Nicotine does just the opposite; it makes your lungs
bunch up and makes it harder to cough anything up.
o There are benefits from marijuana (besides bronchial
dilation) that you don't get from tobacco. Mainly,
marijuana makes you relax, which improves your health
and well-being.
o Scientists do not really know what it is that causes
malignant lung cancer in tobacco. Many think it may
be a substance known as Lead 210. Of course, there
are many other theories as to what does cause cancer,
but if this is true, it is easy to see why NO CASE OF
LUNG CANCER RESULTING FROM MARIJUANA USE ALONE HAS
EVER BEEN DOCUMENTED, because tobacco contains much
more of this substance than marijuana.
o Marijuana laws make it harder to use marijuana
without damaging your body. Water-pipes are illegal
in many states. Filtered cigarettes, vaporizers, and
inhalers have to be mass produced, which is hard to
arrange `underground.' People don't eat marijuana
often because you need more to get as high that way,
and it isn't cheap or easy to get (which is the
reason why some people will stoop to smoking leaves.)
This may sound funny to you -- but the more legal
marijuana gets, the safer it is.*******************************8http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/mjfaq1.htm (4) THC is a bronchial dilator, which means it works like a cough drop by opening up your lungs and therefore aiding in the clearance of smoke and dirt. Nicotine has the exact opposite effect. (5) Unlike the chemicals in marijuana, nicotine has a paralyzing effect on the tiny hairs along the body's air passages. These hairs normally work to keep foreign matter out of the lungs. This means that carcinogenic tar from cigarette smoke is relatively much harder to purge from your lungs than is that from marijuana. [4] Heath, R.G., A.T. Fitzjarrell, C.J. Fontana, and R.E. Garey. "Cannabis sativa: Effects on brain function and ultrastructure in Rhesus monkeys," Biological Psychiatry. 15:657-690, 1980.[5] Marijuana and Health, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, 1982.
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Comment #2 posted by john wayne on March 31, 2005 at 15:07:26 PT
sweet home
Alabama. i love the sound of that legislative arena.
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Comment #1 posted by SystemGoneDown on March 31, 2005 at 14:51:40 PT
Bronchitis
I figured to come here for marijuana expertise. Quick question: Is marijuana good for bronchitis, or bad? God knows tobacco is death to your lungs.
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