cannabisnews.com: Governor Demands Plan for Medical Marijuana Governor Demands Plan for Medical Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on August 17, 2007 at 14:06:17 PT By The Associated Press Source: Associated Press Santa Fe, NM -- Governor Richardson is ordering the state Health Department to move ahead with planning of a medical marijuana program. That’s despite the agency’s worries about possible federal prosecution. The department announced earlier this week it would not implement provisions of the law that call for the agency to oversee the production and distribution of marijuana to eligible patients. Richardson Friday directed the agency to continue planning to fully implement the program. The law took effect last month. It requires the department to issue rules by October for licensing marijuana producers and developing a system for distributing the drug to qualified patients. The law allows marijuana for pain or other symptoms of debilitating illnesses. Source: Associated Press (Wire)Published: August 17, 2007 Copyright: 2007 Associated Press Related Articles:New Mexico Won't Supply MMJ To Patientshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23255.shtmlState Workers Could Face Charges for MJ Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23245.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #52 posted by FoM on August 19, 2007 at 07:28:22 PT whig If I was an Ice Road Trucker I would have my hand on the door almost all the time. I take that back. I would be too scared to consider driving on ice because if it fails you can sink fast. Actually I don't like driving a truck. I tried but I'm just not made for it. I have driven in almost every state we went through years ago. Horses are safer in my opinion. [ Post Comment ] Comment #51 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 23:07:32 PT FoM I saw part of an episode where a truck fell partially through and they had to dispatch a fuel truck to come and empty the tanks of the truck that was stuck so that they could remove weight and make it possible to pull out. My wife watches it sometimes, so I catch bits of it. :) [ Post Comment ] Comment #50 posted by FoM on August 18, 2007 at 19:30:22 PT BGreen They probably do with two tanks but they would have to have a place to get fuel along the way at some points in an emergency. It really depends on the miles and the idling time they do per trip. They have areas on land to stop if necessary and they should have fuel there too.Hope, I agree. [ Post Comment ] Comment #49 posted by BGreen on August 18, 2007 at 19:22:23 PT FoM Do you know if they carry enough fuel for a round trip?The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] Comment #48 posted by Hope on August 18, 2007 at 19:17:29 PT Sitting at this "table"... and "listening" to the conversations here is an honor and a blessing.I'm very thankful for this place and the people here. [ Post Comment ] Comment #47 posted by FoM on August 18, 2007 at 18:54:29 PT BGreen I really like Ice Road Truckers. They are living on the edge. I like all the drivers they have on the series. I'd enjoy sitting around and table and listening to them talk. Truckers are funny and good people. There's a lot of rebel in a truck driver. We hauled very hazardous material from Boston to San Francisco. We had every imaginable placard on the trailer. The skull and crossbones was enough for me! LOLThe final episode is tomorrow night and I am looking forward to seeing it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #46 posted by BGreen on August 18, 2007 at 18:40:02 PT FoM We're watching "Ice Road Truckers" and are really enjoying it. Some of those guys are hilarious and the tension is edge of the seat exciting.These guys are doing it for the money, but they seem to be adrenaline junkies who would be risking their lives doing something exciting, whether or not they were driving the ice road. They might as well be nicely paid, even if it is so the wealthy can flaunt their financial superiority.The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] Comment #45 posted by FoM on August 18, 2007 at 18:07:48 PT whig I believe that there is more then we humanly know. [ Post Comment ] Comment #44 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 17:58:20 PT FoM I don't think we actually die in a larger sense, we just go on and transform somehow. [ Post Comment ] Comment #43 posted by FoM on August 18, 2007 at 17:31:29 PT whig No I don't think you are dying. I was just saying how we would all do well to think about life. It's like a philosophy I think. [ Post Comment ] Comment #42 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 17:28:42 PT I died once I made a saving throw, and recovered.I have no intention of dying before my time. [ Post Comment ] Comment #41 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 17:27:21 PT FoM It doesn't matter unless you think I've said something that I didn't notice having said and maybe realized something that I wasn't making myself aware of. Does that make sense? Maybe I'm just overanalyzing, but I should know what I need to know. [ Post Comment ] Comment #40 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 17:23:33 PT FoM Do you think I'm dying? [ Post Comment ] Comment #39 posted by FoM on August 18, 2007 at 17:20:43 PT whig I think if we realize that we all have a terminal disease called living we might live life with more awareness and importance. [ Post Comment ] Comment #38 posted by FoM on August 18, 2007 at 17:18:18 PT whig Of course not. I'm not a lunatic! LOL!Seriously when a person needs help like you do you should get it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #37 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 17:17:52 PT FoM I think if I had a terminal prognosis I would want to know how to alleviate my suffering in the meantime and I would want to live as if the prognosis is wrong anyhow. [ Post Comment ] Comment #36 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 17:14:27 PT FoM Life may be a terminal disease, you know? I think people should be focused more on quality of life and health than anything but do you think I would be better off to let my spine collapse if that is the alternative? [ Post Comment ] Comment #35 posted by FoM on August 18, 2007 at 17:05:28 PT Hope That was a very nice comment. I agree with you. The damage I have done to myself was legal prescription drug related and I know it. Drugs can help but they often cause more harm then what they help. If a person gets a terminal disease wouldn't be better not to know for as long as possible then to know about it and suffer in your mind about the end? I look at life as a journey from birth to death and we all are on that road so we should enjoy life and use it wisely. [ Post Comment ] Comment #34 posted by Hope on August 18, 2007 at 15:20:53 PT Whig After I realized I had to do a little research on the drugs they were giving me...because something was wrong. I still didn't read it all. I read enough to realize I was definitely in trouble if I didn't stop the stuff. I'm having "traveling" pain even still, even as we speak and some of the scary numbness is still with me, but it's improving.I just dread telling the doctor I have now that I have a mind of my own...again. My old doctor respected that and appreciated that. This doctor isn't as cool with it as he was... but that's the way it is. If she won't work with me, I guess I'll just have to find another. I just hate breaking in a new one. [ Post Comment ] Comment #33 posted by Hope on August 18, 2007 at 15:15:56 PT FoM I realized a special blessing on my birthday last week. My 95 year old Grandmother made my birthday cake and special birthday dinner. How blessed is that?Yes, she's the same one who broke her leg five years ago. No, it wasn't because she had weak bones... although before they got into the operation to repair it, they assumed it was. Her bones are strong. She just had a bad accident. She uses a wheel chair and walker now, but she's sharp as a tack. She cooks for my mother, and sister and I twice a week. Real meals. Real cooking. Pork chops, roasts, stews, casseroles, vegetable dishes, salads, pies, cookies, cakes, and cobblers. Homemade. Occasionally she's a bit tired and uses a pizza or sandwich stuff...but very, very rarely. She washes the dishes afterward, too. She won't let us. She gets irritated if we put something up in the wrong place and would rather do it herself.She's the one who always warned me to stay away from doctors. She's ninety five years old, has her own teeth and takes no drugs at all. Not for blood pressure, or bones, or cholesterol or anything. She drinks her Boost as a vitamin supplement. She has a bottle of Tylenol that's probably out of date and I'm probably the only one that's ever taken any of them. I'm probably the one who bought them. She has always refused to make doctor visits, like for check ups and stuff, except when there is something really wrong that doesn't get better on it's own. Sometimes you have to go to a doctor. Emergencies, obvious illness, whatever. But I think most people really are better off staying away from them. I shudder to think of how many people are actually doctored to death.Sure they save and help a lot of people. But it's all a gamble. Even the tests. They miss stuff all the time that they should have seen, and they see stuff all the time, that's not there. One doctor told my step father he had a serious spot on his lung. A second opinion proved it to be the shadow of the nipple of his breast.So, while I'd like very much for you to have access to all the tests and treatments available...I know on the other hand, that they won't doctor you to death or sickness so easily as they might, either. I sincerely believe that if you are careful, to avoid accidents, and keep a watchful, but not hypochondriac eye on your own health, that you are probably better off than those that never miss a check up and go to the doctor for every sniffle or ache.It's a gamble, but without regular modern medical pharmaceutical "help", and/or bad genes, I think the odds are on your side for a long, healthy life. [ Post Comment ] Comment #32 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 13:23:05 PT Hope I hate to say it but I think sometimes they give you the cheaper suggestion, and that's not always the right thing. I hope that's not unfair, but it seems like people who don't demand to be treated with the right thing often are not. [ Post Comment ] Comment #31 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 13:17:07 PT Hope Those are the drugs they recommended to me, and I said no. The one I should be given is intravenous and the others wouldn't be very helpful and would cause those side effects you described. I don't know why doctors don't know better but in my condition in particular the oral bisphosphonates simply won't work as well. Pamidronate is what I should probably be given but I do need to discuss it with the orthopedist. [ Post Comment ] Comment #30 posted by Hope on August 18, 2007 at 13:06:44 PT Whig I so hope it goes well for you. Everybody responds differently to different things. So maybe you won't have trouble with it and it is different than the ones I've had to take.First, they prescribed a once weekly 35mg dose of risedronate sodium tablets. There were problems...but they seemed fairly tolerable, as I said.But, the insurance/pharmaceutical giant switched me to a 70mg tablet of alendronate sodium tablet...once a week. It started with unpleasantness and by three weeks worth became unbearable and, in fact, quite alarming.Maybe I could insist on taking the first one prescribed...but at this point, I'm afraid of both of them. [ Post Comment ] Comment #29 posted by FoM on August 18, 2007 at 12:54:50 PT whig I don't have a doctor. I live with it because that's reality. Life goes on. You learn to accept what you can't change or go crazy and I don't want to go crazy. LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #28 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 12:52:56 PT FoM I don't mean that in any way except that I think a lot of people don't have health care they can afford and so they don't get looked at until things get much worse so I hope that there will be a way to fix this. [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 12:52:08 PT FoM I'm sorry to hear about your kidneys, I hope they aren't bad enough that you would need dialysis, but I wonder if you see a doctor ever. [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by FoM on August 18, 2007 at 12:42:10 PT whig I had a kidney stone last winter and I avoid calcium so that doesn't happen again. My kidneys aren't very good. They never were. [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 12:36:27 PT FoM You might want to take calcium anyhow because it is good for osteoporosis without having any negative effects, but it has been explained to me that you can only absorb a certain amount of calcium at a time so there is no point megadosing it as most of it will then not be absorbed. Smoking tobacco is really bad for osteoporosis, by the way. [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by FoM on August 18, 2007 at 12:36:14 PT whig Your doing the right think. Who knows more about their own body then we do? Doctor's often are wrong I have learned and maybe that's why it is call practicing medicine. I don't want any practice on me. [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 12:25:24 PT FoM I don't think bisphosphonates can cause kidney stones but Vitamin D can in high enough doses. It really depends on what your particular condition is and how it is caused and what needs to be done to treat it. What I don't like is when doctors don't understand the underlying condition well enough to make good suggestions, and I think my condition is rare enough that I'm used to knowing more about it that many of my doctors. It can be frustrating.Anyhow, more good news, cannabis helps osteoporosis.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-01/uob-nwi123005.php [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by FoM on August 18, 2007 at 12:23:13 PT whig Would a treatment increase the likeihood of kidney stones? I have osteoporosis which was surgically activated when I was 30. I have never taken calcium or any drug or suppliment and I am ok at this point in my life I think. [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by whig on August 18, 2007 at 12:01:58 PT Hope The treatment protocol which seems most correct will be for me to have an intravenous bisphosphonate infusion once a month. So that's probably like the bone hardeners you're talking about but it's maybe not the same one, and I'm basing on my own research to consider it. The orthopedist had talked about some oral bisphosphonates before but in the specific etiology of my conditions those aren't as useful. I am not one to take doctors' advice in non-emergency circumstances unless I have time to read and consider and decide whether or not to go along with a recommendation or to ask questions and make suggestions or get other opinions as necessary. I have had orthopedists who wanted to do very bad, experimental surgeries on me and found out from other patients how it went, one of whom told me how much worse it made him and he eventually killed himself.It isn't something to take lightly, even a drug which your doctor recommends can be permanently life affecting and if it is the wrong thing for you, it can be very destructive.With that having been said, there are risks either way and if I do not take bisphosphonate there is a strong likelihood (nearly a certainty given my age and the time that it took to weaken as far as it has) that my spine would collapse badly if I don't firm it up. So that's what I'll probably have to do, and take the side effects. The good news is that it may reduce pain after six months. I think perhaps the spine is what has been causing the TMJ problems, so we are getting closer to the root causes of things. [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by Hope on August 18, 2007 at 11:34:08 PT Truth What you say is a profound truth that many of us are aware of, and know...because we've seen or experienced it in the past...but the misled and the greedy refuse to allow us all access to that natural help without risking their murderous wrath. Those who stand between us and God's gift to us, are despicable. I'm so ready for this dark night to end and to see the dawn of a new and better day. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by Hope on August 18, 2007 at 11:22:33 PT Whig Osteoporosis. It scares me for you, too, what with the Gaucher's situation. I understand what happened with your hip. I'm assuming they didn't put you on one of the bone hardeners for the fear of causing another bout of necrosis...which it, apparently, can cause.Recently I was diagnosed with thinning bones...not yet full blown osteoporosis. Sadly, for me, they didn't go the calcium route but went right straight to the bone hardeners. The first one wasn't unbearable... although there were very unpleasant side effects, for sure. But, my lovely insurance provider wanted me to use another, cheaper, for them, bone hardnener drug, their brand. It's hurt me bad. Including joint pain and swelling, bone pain...including jaw pain and loosening teeth, itching, and numbness. Hopefully, I've stopped it in time to keep it from thoroughly destroying me...i.e., bone necrosis. The bad side effects are easing, after quitting it three weeks ago, but they aren't gone yet. I've read it can take five years to get out of my system. Hopefully, it won't take that long, because I only took it for about a month...the last brand, anyway. I'm going to plead for trying calcium supplements and further testing. I don't know how they could have gotten so drastic about treatment from one bone scan. Be careful even with the calcium. Something I learned when I was taking large amounts of calcium when I broke my shoulder is that excessive calcium can cause a peculiar sort of depression. It was very unpleasant... but my shoulder healed and I stopped taking the large amount. Now this. My shoulder didn't break because of thin bones. though. It broke because of an accident that would have broken even a denser bone.I don't want to get fragile bones... but I can't bear that drug they want me take.Some people have always warned me about the large amount of carbonated sodas I drink. They may have been right. I'm trying not to consume as much as I'd like.Cannabis tends to stimulate me and incline me to be more active even than without it. I can't help but wonder if the extra cheer and activity might have helped me fend this off longer.*sigh*Your problem is worse, of course. I'll remember you in my prayers. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by Truth on August 18, 2007 at 10:53:45 PT whig Kaiser Permanente will not allow its doctors to write a recommendation for cannabis.Says a lot, doesn't it.-I was able to give up tobacco with the aid of cannabis.I gave up cocaine with the aid of cannabis.I was able to give up alcohol with the aid of cannabis.I also gave up caffine with the aid of cannabis.Dam, I feel good.I'm 51 and I've never been healthier. I sleep great thanks to God's wonderful gift of cannabis. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by whig on August 17, 2007 at 21:14:59 PT Hope I don't want to say much more about it on this thread but the spine concerns me. That could be worse than a hip collapse. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by Hope on August 17, 2007 at 20:53:47 PT Whig It's so good to hear you are doing so well now. Governor Richardson, apparently, has a plan. I hope it's a good one. He's so admirable for not just taking this setback without a fight for those in need. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by mayan on August 17, 2007 at 18:06:00 PT Take Richardson's Lead!!! The man certainly has balls. Now, if everone else would just take his lead!THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Philly 8/11/07 Street Heat - Firefighters, Police, and Marines for 9/11 Truth (w/video): http://911blogger.com/node/10702Seattle 8/11 TruthAction Video: http://911blogger.com/node/1069809/11/07 - GENERAL STRIKE NOTICE: http://mujca.com/callinsick.htmHelp Save America's Clergy from Following in Nazi Footsteps: http://mujca.com/naziclergy.htm9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB - OUR NATION IS IN PERIL: http://www.911sharethetruth.com/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on August 17, 2007 at 17:38:25 PT whig I'm happy for you. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by FoM on August 17, 2007 at 17:35:12 PT whig I wanted to say something about Governor Richardson and his mess up. It doesn't matter if a person doesn't understand why a person is Gay. What matters is how a person treats a Gay person and Governor Richardson seems sincere in what he says. People can get so uptight about the wrong things. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by whig on August 17, 2007 at 17:24:13 PT Thank you Governor Richardson Sorry for hijacking the thread. This one's for you. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by whig on August 17, 2007 at 17:21:34 PT More than that I was able to substitute cannabis for tobacco and quit smoking. I was able to maintain my weight and my physical condition is otherwise good -- except I have just been told I also have osteoporosis of the lumbar spine and that might be a very bad thing. I'm supposed to take calcium now. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by whig on August 17, 2007 at 17:19:09 PT It is simple enough to explain When I lived in Pennsylvania I was dependent on prescribed pharmaceutical pills for sleep due to pain and now I am not. Not one doctor will contradict that this is an improvement, not one will deny that sleep is the most fundamental thing one requires and if cannabis does not yet make it easy for me, at least it makes it possible. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by whig on August 17, 2007 at 17:14:08 PT Governor Richardson I just want to say this is somewhat off topic but I really respect him and I know he has been criticized for what he said at the Human Rights Campaign about sexual preference being "a choice" and that got him a lot of bad press for supposedly not toeing the consensus line but here's the thing, for some people it is and I know people who are bisexual and who chose one way or another. So it's not a simple thing and the same question goes to cannabis, do people choose to use cannabis or do some of us simply require it? Is it really a choice to have a genetic medical condition that cannabis helps? I don't think so. I use cannabis because it treats my condition and I will ask my doctor to make a specific note of cannabis in treatment of Gaucher's.All of my physicians know what I am doing and all approve, though written recommendations can only come from an independent practitioner. Kaiser Permanente will not allow its doctors to write a recommendation for cannabis. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Christen-Mitchell on August 17, 2007 at 16:12:23 PT: Governor Richardson He's an outstanding example of something missing from the American landscape for decades: Leadership. Thank you, Governor. Hemptopia - Our Greener Future [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on August 17, 2007 at 15:27:23 PT Truth I really liked Governor Johnson. He was on a roll in the beginning but then he committed what I call a fatal mistake. He talked about Heroin. He never could get back to marijuana until the news had done the damage. He is a good man. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by potpal on August 17, 2007 at 15:24:52 PT Way to go, Gov'ner It's the right thing to do. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on August 17, 2007 at 15:21:11 PT jmoran and RevRayGreen Good article. Thank you.I wish you good luck RevRayGreen. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by RevRayGreen on August 17, 2007 at 15:07:40 PT I will give my own job interview in person to Gov. Richardson for any vacant State of New Mexico Health Department job. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by jmoran on August 17, 2007 at 14:54:40 PT Kinda on topic or KOT Here is something on McCain and Romney very interesting.http://sendtherightmessage.com.nyud.net:8080/mccain_says_no_similarity_between_alcohol_prohibition_and_drug_prohibition [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Truth on August 17, 2007 at 14:37:47 PT Yes New Mexico has produced a couple of great governors lately. Folks that actually stand up for the will of the people. They should be proud of themselves. They deserve it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on August 17, 2007 at 14:07:38 PT Governor Richardson All I can think to say is thank you so very much! This little bit of news is so refreshing. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment