cannabisnews.com: Advocates of Marijuana's Medicinal Use Get Hearing





Advocates of Marijuana's Medicinal Use Get Hearing
Posted by FoM on April 06, 2001 at 21:25:49 PT
By Jill Burcum, Star Tribune
Source: Star Tribune 
After testifying for more than an hour Friday at a state-sponsored forum on marijuana's medical benefits, George McMahon needed a break.So the northwest Iowa man shuffled outside the Minnesota Department of Health building in St. Paul and sat down. He rolled a joint, lit up and smiled as the breeze sent the herb's signature pungent smoke wafting past those lingering by the state office building's doors. 
"This is really a great day," said McMahon, one of about eight people with federal permission to smoke marijuana for medical purposes. Although state officials stressed that the forum should not be construed as an endorsement of the use of marijuana for any reason, marijuana activists shared in McMahon's delight. Normally relegated to the fringe of politics, they instead found themselves invited guests and often the center of attention at a discussion sponsored by the state Health and Public Safety departments. The forum, attended by Gov. Jesse Ventura, is believed to be the first such state-sponsored event nationally."It's marvelous to be invited into the halls of the establishment," said Dr. John Morgan, a New York pharmacology expert and board member of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML). "I've never seen anything like it before."Research subject: Nationally, eight states have legalized either marijuana or the active compound in it for medical use. There is increasing scientific support for the plant's medicinal benefits. In March 1999, the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academies of Science, released a report suggesting that marijuana's ingredients could be of value to people with cancer or multiple sclerosis. It eases pain and nausea in cancer patients and reduces painful muscle spasms in MS patients.Commissioners of both health and public safety made it clear throughout the conference that the St. Paul event wasn't an endorsement of any kind of marijuana use. Instead, Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said, the intent was to encourage Minnesota researchers to consider studying marijuana and to increase awareness of a 1980 Minnesota law allowing scientists to study it. Currently, it is thought that only one or two state researchers are studying the drug, officials said. McMahon, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder, was given permission to use the drug for medical purposes in 1988 by the federal government. When the government stopped granting the dispensation in 1992, McMahon's case was grandfathered into the decision."We want to facilitate research, in order to open the doors to the best possible therapies for patients and physicians," Malcolm said, adding that impetus for the forum came from Ventura, who thought Minnesota's top medical centers make the state a natural for being a research leader in the area.Ventura said little during the hour or so he spent at Friday's event, but he often nodded in approval from his front-row seat. Tailed by reporters out to the parking lot when he left, the governor only glared when asked why the forum was needed.Ventura, however, has long supported medical marijuana use. In a 1998 interview with High Times magazine, he said the plant was put on Earth to help relieve suffering and that law enforcement should have no role in a patient's decision to use it.He also said on his radio show this week that he supports legalizing medical marijuana for medical use. Citing the pain relief he said his mother received through conventional medicine while dying of respiratory disease in 1995, he said other patients should have equal access to a medicine that relieves their suffering."Why is there such resistance to this?" Ventura asked on the program. "The medical community has already deemed it has medical value."His beliefs appeared to set the tone for the conference. "We didn't just come here today to talk about [research] and forget about it. Our intent is to move forward," said Public Safety Commissioner Charlie Weaver, who led off the program. Weaver, known for his tough-on-crime reputation, was pursued by several marijuana activists who wanted their photos taken with him.In between, scientists from the University of Minnesota and the Health Department, as well as health professionals around the state, gave an overview of the science behind medical marijuana.Tim O'Malley of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and David Holmstrom of the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy provided a step-by-step guide to getting state and federal permits to research marijuana. Currently, researchers need both state and federal permits to obtain the drug and use it.Few of the people in the audience of about 100 were researchers, however. Instead, it was mostly a mix of bureaucrats and activists, many of the latter identifiable by all-hemp clothing or buttons displaying the marijuana leaf.Assistant Health Commissioner Aggie Leitheiser said officials had hoped more researchers would attend. A medical conference in another city kept many cancer researchers away, she said.Still, Leitheiser said, news reports of the forum and word-of-mouth about it will achieve the forum's goal of making researchers more aware of state laws allowing them to study the drug. Weaver agreed. "I think we accomplished our goal. We are hopeful that a researcher will step forward and tackle this."Audience reaction to the forum varied. One critic was Jeanette McDougal, of St. Paul, who said the forum wasted taxpayers' money because it publicized a drug that is usually smoked, which increases the risk of cancer.Marijuana activists, however, generally applauded what they called the state's "progressive" views. Although the forum didn't go as far as they hoped, many said they believed it may set the stage ultimately for legalizing medical marijuana in the state."This is an important step forward, but there's still a lot of work to be done," said Darrell Paulsen, a medical marijuana advocate from South St. Paul who said police have raided his house before because he used marijuana to ease the muscle stiffness from cerebral palsy.Both NORML's Morgan and Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., agreed. With Ventura's apparent backing and the positive tone set by the conference, both said they expected their organizations to step up lobbying in Minnesota over the next year.-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.-- Jill Burcum is at: jburcum startribune.com Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN) Author: Jill Burcum, Star TribunePublished: April 7, 2001 Copyright: 2001 Star Tribune Contact: opinion startribune.com Website: http://www.startribune.com/ Related Article & Web Sites:NORML: http://www.norml.org/Marijuana Policy Project: http://www.mpp.org/George McMahon's Home Page: http://www.trvnet.net/~mmcmahon/Governor Jesse Ventura: http://www.mainserver.state.mn.us/governor/Conference Hears from Backers of Marijuana: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9287.shtml
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