cannabisnews.com: Idaho Legislature Should Pass a Med Marijuana Law





Idaho Legislature Should Pass a Med Marijuana Law
Posted by CN Staff on February 15, 2006 at 10:33:21 PT
By Tim Teater
Source: Idaho Statesman
Idaho -- Medical marijuana or medicinal cannabis, as is the more properly descriptive term, has a long history in Idaho and America. Before the federal Marijuana Stamp Tax Act of 1937 that initiated prohibition, cannabis was one of the most prescribed medications in America, as testified to at the time by the American Medical Association.Support for access to cannabis is widespread with numerous health-related and other organizations endorsing immediate patient access, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Nurses Association, the America Public Health Association, the New England Journal of Medicine, the American Preventive Medical Association, the Society of Addiction Medicine, and many more.
The Journal of the AMA recently called for doctors to be allowed to prescribe cannabis. Eleven states have passed medicinal cannabis laws, and many other states are considering such laws. Reliable polling has shown 70 percent to 80 percent of respondents support access to medicinal cannabis. Time magazine referred to medicinal cannabis efforts as a "legitimate medical trend." Even the federal government distributes cannabis to patients through its Compassionate Use Program.Why all this support? Briefly, research shows substantial efficacy and safety of cannabis in the treatment of diseases and conditions including "wasting syndrome," nausea and vomiting, pain, and glaucoma, and potential in treating autoimmune diseases. Research also strongly suggests neuroprotective effects and value in treatment of neurological diseases such as MS and ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Combating cancer through promotion of "programmed cancer cell death," and by arresting the increased blood-vessel production in tumors, has also shown great promise in at least eight studies.Cannabis is one of the safest medications known. There is essentially no known toxic dose. It is nonaddictive and does not lead to abuse of dangerous drugs, brain damage, mental illness, violence, increased traffic fatalities or any of a host of perilous consequences put forth by prohibitionists. The Journal of the AMA noted: "One of marijuana's greatest advantages as a medicine is its remarkable safety."While there has been no case of cancer attributable solely to smoking cannabis, smoking is a concern. Smoking, while an effective route of administration, can be replaced with vaporizers, inhalers and sprays. Marinol, a single synthetic cannabinol (one of cannabis' active compounds) is a useful medication, but is not always tolerated by some patients; they can't keep the pill down or complain of strong psychotropic effects.A federal study of states with medicinal cannabis laws showed no diversion of cannabis into black markets. Marijuana Policy Project-sponsored research indicates that in states with medicinal cannabis laws, adolescent cannabis use dropped. While nothing is totally safe, cannabis included, much of what passes for research showing cannabis' dangers is poorly done or purposefully misinterpreted for political purposes. Heretofore, research to explore cannabis' efficacy and safety has not been allowed by the federal government, which controls all U.S. research.Most opposition to medicinal cannabis comes from groups that have a substantial economic interest in maintaining prohibition. The reality is that medicinal cannabis is a safe and effective medication, often superior to standard medications, and does not put people or society at risk.However, Idahoans are put at risk for arrest and incarceration for using medicinal cannabis. We in Idaho tend to believe that people, not governments, are capable of making the best decisions regarding our own lives and health. I urge all Idahoans to consider this issue with an open mind and heart and contact your legislators and ask them to sponsor and support a medicinal cannabis law for Idaho.Tim Teater of Boise is coordinator for the Idaho affiliate of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. E-mail Idaho NORML at:  normlid cableone.comComplete Title: Idaho Legislature Should Pass a Medicinal Marijuana LawSource: Idaho Statesman, The (ID)Author: Tim TeaterPublished: February 15, 2006Copyright: 2006 The Idaho StatesmanContact: editorial idahostatesman.comWebsite: http://www.idahostatesman.com/NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #11 posted by dongenero on February 16, 2006 at 10:06:18 PT
Cliff Kincaid
Also, a reminder.Cliff Kincaid is the total pundit, republican cheerleader behind the ironically named Accuracy in Media.Kind of like Bush's Clean Air Act or Blue Skies Act. 
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on February 15, 2006 at 21:00:12 PT
 The Conservative Sell-Out 
By Cliff KincaidFebruary 16, 2006Senator George Allen of Virginia declared "We're all conservatives" as he addressed the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). But Allen was badly misinformed. One group attending and sponsoring CPAC this year was the Marijuana Policy Project, which is actually run by a convicted drug dealer. Other groups attending and co-sponsoring CPAC were the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the George Soros-funded Drug Policy Alliance (DPA).This bizarre turn of events demonstrates that some conservatives have lost their nerve in the war on drugs -- and also in the war on terrorism. It is a story worth telling, especially because so many true conservatives told me how disgusted they were by the strange nature of this year's "largest gathering of conservatives nationwide," as CPAC advertises itself. This year the DPA and Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) were actually put in charge of a CPAC panel on drug policy, which they were going to dominate 2-1 against Calvina Fay of the Drug Free America Foundation. Fay pulled out in disgust, even complaining that members of the pro-drug groups were harassing her associates. Complete Article: http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/ckincaid/2006/ck_02161.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on February 15, 2006 at 19:37:13 PT
News Article from Hollister Free Lance
Supes OK Medical Marijuana IDs***By Luke Roney, Staff Writer Wednesday, February 15, 2006Hollister - While the Board of Supervisors complied with state law Tuesday and approved a county program to issue medical marijuana identification cards to afflicted locals, supervisors made it clear that they did not want marijuana to be dispensed within the county. Under the program, county residents with a doctor's prescription for medical marijuana may apply to receive an ID card that will allow them to purchase and transport medical marijuana. The county won't actually be providing the marijuana, however a state law passed in 2003 requires all counties to offer medical marijuana ID cards to those with a doctor's prescription to use the drug to treat illnesses ranging from cancer and AIDS to anorexia and chronic pain.Complete Article: http://hollisterfreelance.com/news/contentview.asp?c=178997
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on February 15, 2006 at 19:07:56 PT
Article from Willamette Week: CertainTeed
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 
When medical marijuana user Robert Tompkins fractured his finger at work, he wasn't worried about his employer's post-accident policy requiring urine for a drug test. That's because Tompkins had long before told his supervisor and the human-resources director at CertainTeed that his doctor had given him permission to use pot for a chronic nausea condition. Before the drug screen that followed the Oct. 27, 2004, accident, Tompkins also took the extra step of notifying the testing agency that his urine would show evidence of marijuana. But a few days after Tompkins and his union rep met with Human Resources Director Dennis Kirkpatrick to discuss the positive urinalysis, CertainTeed fired Tompkins, a 24-year employee who would have been eligible for pension benefits after one more year. Tompkins, 51, says he's never shown up to his cooling-system operator's job at CertainTeed, a Portland building-materials company, under the influence of pot (which helps him sleep and keep food down). The urine test Tompkins took can detect marijuana's presence. But it can't determine whether a subject is impaired at the time by THC, pot's active ingredient.Willamette Week Newspaper & WWEEK.COM 
 
http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3215/7233/
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Comment #7 posted by mayan on February 15, 2006 at 18:25:04 PT
Concede To The Weed
Good news on Illinois, so far! We have tremendous momentum along with anti neo-con sentiment. The only thing that can turn back our advances is another "terror attack". If the Bushies were smart they would concede and free the weed!THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Citizen Media Investigative Reporting Say: It's Not A Theory If You Can Prove It - 9/11: Reopen The Case:
http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2006/02/13/citizen_media_investigative_reporting_say.htmDebunking Conspiracy Theorists: Paranoid Fantasies About 9/11 Detract From Real Issues:
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m20618&l=i&size=1&hd=0Well, now we're all naked: 
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_ted_bohn_060214_well_2c_now_we_re_all_.htm
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Comment #6 posted by charmed quark on February 15, 2006 at 14:53:26 PT
Fed prosecution of medical cannabis
It's wonderful to see all the states that are seriously considering medical cannabis at the legislative level. For years, many thought only states that allowed binding public referendums (mostly West Coast) could enact such laws.Now, it's almost as if a dam has burst.But I'm betting the Feds will continue to persecute medical users in these states until at least half the states have enacted MedCan laws. At that point, the Senators of those states will be in a majority and probably feel safe in voting to modify the drug laws. Or maybe it'll occur in the House when more than 50% of the population is under such laws and half the Reps can do it.I wonder which will happen first ( half the states or half the population) and how long that will take?
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Comment #5 posted by museman on February 15, 2006 at 14:31:39 PT
Future Dictionary
Reads;bush; 1. part of the tree family. A small shrub. To grow outward, fill up with growth.2. to create wealth and power with drugs, guns, and oil using unethical means such as lying, bribery, treason, subterfuge, assassination, and political rhetoric.
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Comment #4 posted by Shishaldin on February 15, 2006 at 14:11:07 PT
From the Press Release
"The Bush Administration released its fiscal year (FY) 2007 request for federal drug control spending on February 6, 2006. Why the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) chooses to emphasize overseas programs and interdiction at time when the national drug problem reflects the increasing use of prescription drugs, marijuana, and methamphetamine is a mystery."DUUUUH! Can you say "price supports"? Don't these people understand economics? They don't call it the Office of National Drug CONTROL Policy for nothin'! Black market profits are STILL profits, and our banking system needs that "slush" funding. The Afghan opium growth and trade is BOOMING. Funny how that happens AFTER our military invades the country. I'm just sayin'...
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/121103_afghan_poppy.htmlFREE STEVE KUBBY, JERRY SISSON, and ALL CANNABIS PRISONERS!Peace and Strength (as always),Shishaldin
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 15, 2006 at 13:50:14 PT
Press Release from Carnevale Associates LLC 
Bush Administration's Drug Control Budget Request Favors Supply Reduction***Wednesday, February 15, 2006Carnevale Associates LLC Releases Latest Policy Brief on the Office of National Drug Control Policy's FY 2007 Budget Request WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bush Administration released its fiscal year (FY) 2007 request for federal drug control spending on February 6, 2006. Why the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) chooses to emphasize overseas programs and interdiction at time when the national drug problem reflects the increasing use of prescription drugs, marijuana, and methamphetamine is a mystery. The most recent Carnevale Associates LLC Policy Brief shows the administration's continuing shift from demand reduction to supply reduction programs focusing on interdiction and international efforts. ONDCP's choice to focus U.S. drug policy overseas and to stop drugs at the border is puzzling in light of a worsening domestic drug use situation. Prescription drugs and methamphetamine use have become epidemics. Furthermore, the complex problems created by methamphetamine labs, domestic drug trafficking and crime, and the lack of progress in closing the nation's treatment gap call into question the relevancy of ONDCP's FY 2007 budget request.Complete Press Release: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060215/dcw063.html?.v=31
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Comment #2 posted by billos on February 15, 2006 at 11:30:32 PT
...............Souder.............
isn't he in Idaho??
I saw him on CNN the other night and he doesn't look good. Too bad. I'd like to invite him to go quail hunting.....
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 15, 2006 at 11:21:12 PT
Press Release from MPP
Medical Marijuana Bill Passes Senate Committee 
as New Poll Shows Over 2-1 Support***Published: February 15, 2006SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS -- The medical marijuana bill, S.B. 2568, passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee today by a 6-5 vote as a new poll showed greater than two-to-one support for the measure. Passage would make Illinois the 12th state to protect patients from arrest for use of medical marijuana with their doctors' recommendations."This is a major step forward," said Christopher Fichtner, M.D., former director of mental health for the Illinois Department of Human Services. "The evidence that marijuana is a safe, effective medicine for some very ill patients has been repeatedly verified by government commissions in the U.S., Canada, Britain and elsewhere. This is a sensible, well-crafted bill that deserves quick passage."Fichtner, a medical consultant to IDEAL Reform, testified at the hearing along with multiple sclerosis patient Julie Falco of Chicago.The new statewide poll of likely general election voters, conducted by Anzalone-Liszt Research, Inc., found 62 percent support for legislation "that would allow people with cancer, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and other serious illnesses to use and grow their own marijuana for medical purposes, as long as their physician approves." Only 28 percent were opposed, with 10 percent undecided. The poll, conducted by telephone Feb. 10-13, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percent. Full results of the poll are available at: http://www.mpp.org/2006_il_poll.html"Since the passage of Rhode Island's medical marijuana law in January, we are seeing tremendous momentum," said Adam Horowitz, legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "This new Illinois poll reflects what we are seeing nationwide, and legislators are learning how hugely popular medical marijuana legislation is." The states that currently protect medical marijuana patients from arrest are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.With more than 19,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana—both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. For more information, please visit: http://www.MarijuanaPolicy.orghttp://www.mpp.org/releases/nr20060215.html
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