cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana and Organ Transplants Don't Mix










  Medical Marijuana and Organ Transplants Don't Mix

Posted by CN Staff on May 19, 2008 at 06:22:01 PT
By Stuart Glascock, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 
Source: Los Angeles Times 

Seattle, WA -- Should using doctor-prescribed marijuana be a deal-breaker for someone needing an organ transplant? It is not a theoretical question but a pressing and emotional one confronting hospitals and patients in states where medical use of marijuana is legal.This month, Timothy Garon, 56, a Seattle musician, died after being turned down for a liver transplant. He was rejected partly because he had used medical marijuana.
Now, a second critically ill patient in Washington state says he has been denied a spot in two organ transplant programs because he uses doctor-prescribed marijuana.Jonathon Simchen, 33, of Fife, a town south of Seattle, is a diabetic whose kidneys and pancreas have failed.He said he was removed from the transplant program at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle because he admitted using medical marijuana. Later, he said, University of Washington Medical Center transplant officials refused to accept him because of the medical marijuana issue."I'm just so discouraged," said the community college student, who wants to be a teacher. "I've lost all remnants of hope. I look at my life right now as if it is a prison term. I just have to serve each day."The lawyer who represented Garon has taken on Simchen's case.Douglas Hiatt argues that his clients are the victims of a loosely defined transplant policy, one not based on science."They are really killing people over this," he said.Hospital transplant programs, wanting to ensure the best possible outcome for each transplant and to make optimum use of the limited number of organs available, have strict standards about drug use and smoking in determining who is eligible for a transplant list.Hiatt and advocates of medical marijuana are urging hospitals to adjust their policies after Garon's death May 1. Garon used marijuana with a doctor's approval to ease the symptoms of hepatitis C. He died without gaining admission to the University of Washington Medical Center's transplant program.Hiatt wants to negotiate on behalf of Simchen to get him on a transplant list, but he expects he may have to file a lawsuit to get that accomplished. If nothing else, Hiatt intends to compel judicial review of the policy."No, it ain't over," Hiatt said. "Jonathon needs help. He's going to get on that list one way or another."You cannot treat people like this. There's no rational basis for it."Although marijuana remains an illegal substance under federal law, about a dozen states, including Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada, allow doctors to prescribe it for medical purposes. It is used for conditions such as glaucoma, diabetes, high blood pressure and AIDS.University of Washington officials, citing privacy laws, declined to discuss specifics of individual cases, but issued a statement acknowledging that they took marijuana use into consideration."Although medical marijuana may be an issue in rare cases, it is never the sole determinant in arriving at medical decisions about candidates for organ transplants," the statement said.A spokeswoman for Virginia Mason Hospital said smoking of any kind could "lead to patient-safety and transplant-effectiveness issues" and was precluded. She said the hospital's transplant committee would also weigh a patient's use of medical marijuana in pill form.At the University of Washington, the transplant committee said it reviewed "behavioral concerns such as a history of substance abuse or dependency. If such a history exists, then the committee looks at the period of abstinence the candidate has demonstrated to date," as well as the patient's efforts to maintain abstinence and potential to abuse again.Asked why the committee considered marijuana use under a doctor's supervision "a history of substance abuse," a hospital spokesman cited the federal law categorizing marijuana as an illegal drug.The United Network for Organ Sharing, which oversees the organ transplant system nationally, leaves it up to hospitals to determine how to allocate organs. The network's members include 254 U.S. transplant centers.There are nearly 100,000 people on waiting lists for transplants, the network said. On average, there are about 6,000 donors a year.Some medical ethicists say standardized written policies on marijuana use by transplant patients are needed."Medical marijuana is opening a can of worms," said Peggy Stewart, a clinical social worker with the liver transplant program at UCLA Medical Center.Her studies of transplant centers found discrepancies in eligibility criteria.She said bias existed in the medical community against marijuana because of the federal law.Some transplant committee members see it as an illegal substance and as grounds for automatic rejection."If we are going to discriminate in this way, then we need to inform doctors that maybe they shouldn't be prescribing marijuana," Stewart said. "It's a problem right now. There's no distinction between a recreational drug user and somebody who used it only for medicinal purposes."She said many other addictive prescriptions, particularly pain medications, did not automatically disqualify patients from transplant lists because they were not illegal substances under federal law.She said UCLA excluded marijuana users until they could demonstrate that they had abstained for six months. She said the policy was being reexamined.The policy debate has done little to soften the grief for family and friends of Garon, the late singer, songwriter and acoustic guitarist.His death triggered a flood of reaction.The website Stop the Drug War called it evil to deny transplants to medical marijuana patients.One Seattle-area alternative newspaper was so outraged that it listed the telephone numbers of University of Washington transplant center staff members.In an editorial, the Ventura County Star wrote: "So, be warned, medical marijuana -- legal for the last 12 years in California with a doctor's authorization -- could cost you your job. And if you need an organ transplant, it could cost you your life."Note: Patients who have used doctor-prescribed pot are being turned away from hospital transplant programs.Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: Stuart Glascock, Los Angeles Times Staff WriterPublished: May 19, 2008Copyright: 2008 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/Related Article:MMJ User Dies for Lack of Liver Transplant http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23894.shtml

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Comment #57 posted by FoM on May 23, 2008 at 19:42:11 PT
museman
This is what I watched on the History Channel.http://www.moviesfoundonline.com/decoding_the_past_mayan_doomsday_prophecy.php
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Comment #56 posted by FoM on May 23, 2008 at 11:21:07 PT
museman
I know about 12/21/12. I watched a special on the History Channel. I don't follow it closely but we have talked with friends about it. It's interesting. I believe we are in a time of change but that is just how I feel personally. 
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Comment #55 posted by museman on May 23, 2008 at 10:57:13 PT
2012
Are you familiar with the relationship of 2012 to the Mayan Calendar? ( the original source of the date)We are in the 5th 'night' of the eight tier, which would account for the crazy and terrible stuff happening. Fortunately it's only 260 days long. Probably ending sometime around the election, which makes it almost a cinch that the best option in the political arena will be voted in; Obama.There is knowledge in some of this information that is really incredibly empowering. If you know you have already 'won' there is no point in continuing the conflict or 'contest.'Convincing the backwards lookers, those who cannot, or refuse to be here now, and to percieve a future liberated from ignorance, is the work ahead of us. I just arrived in Eugene last night, to step into a conversation that is going on globally, was going on when I left home, and is going on in homes and gatherings everywhere. That conversation is about liberating our consciousness, and the exciting, inspiring note that the process is already well underway and succeeding!Having been a skeptic of the most immovable order, I am finally relieved of the burden of having to prove the truth, which further empowers me to channel, and connect with even more and greater truth. It's a formula of mental/psychic/emotional displacement...out with the bad air, in with the good...This is all relative to whats going on in the 'big picture' of the celestial calendar of events.One thing, one small warning, I don't think we are through the phases of off yet, which means that all this new-found empowerment and liberating freedom of spirit is going to be tested. I know that those with actual integrity of being will have little trouble 'rolling with the punches' but many who just have a tenuous grasp on the understanding will have to hold on tight when the Spirit Wind begins to blow. We have to help them too, give them something to anchor to.Exciting times we live in.
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Comment #54 posted by FoM on May 23, 2008 at 06:36:44 PT
museman
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is playing in a Drive In Theatre not too far from here and we are planning on going to see it. I wonder if this movie has anything to do with 12/21/12? PS: Indiana Jones movies have always been my favorite. It would be impossible to make one better then the first one but I know it will be good.Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Trailerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ60n9DiAEM
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Comment #53 posted by museman on May 22, 2008 at 13:29:02 PT
Hope
I have only recently found my own re-encouragement myself. Understanding of some puzzles I/we've been working on for quite some time has come thru various sources.One of those sources was turned on to me some months ago by toker; Ian Lundgold, and his 'secrets of the mayan calendar revealed' Right before he died in 2005 he gave us some incredible insight.Some of what I have explained recently has a lot to do with his own rendering and take on what is happening. I haven't quoted him or repeated his words, but I am using some of his conclusive teminology, like 'intent' 'integrity' and 'ethics.' I understand and am relating my understanding of it, from the perspective of the moment that I am relating it.I believe that all the information and understanding is flowing, pouring out upon the earth, similar to how it did in the sixties, but many more are really starting to pay attention, and there has been evolution in consciousness 'while we were sleeping' both metaphorically, and literally.I am glad to have helped however, that knowledge, in return helps me by elevating my motivation to a higher state of validity, and opens up more potential for inspiration and movement towards better intent, higher integrity, and more options of a higher kind.This magic I am seeing and talking about is not only working, but it will end spiritual apartheid. But my perspective is just my perspective, one small pair of eyes, looking at the infinite expanse of the universe, and all that the universe implies.
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Comment #52 posted by FoM on May 22, 2008 at 05:04:35 PT
Los Angeles Times Correction
Medical marijuana: An article in Monday's Section A about medical marijuana users being deemed ineligible for organ transplant surgery misspelled the first name of patient Jonathan Simchen as Jonathon.
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Comment #51 posted by Hope on May 21, 2008 at 12:56:26 PT
Museman
Some of your recent posts have done wonders for me, encouragement wise. Thank you so much. I really needed it and I'm so glad to feel my courage made strong again. Thank you again.
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Comment #50 posted by FoM on May 21, 2008 at 10:34:34 PT
museman
I felt we were robbed of our destiny. Somewhere inside I felt that it would get fixed someday. That day is getting closer. I am so tired of the politics of this race. Clinton has always concerned me and until she is out I will worry. He only needs 62 more Super Delegates to win the nomination. I want the general election to get going. It will be very interesting. McCain versus Obama. They are so different it will be a good race.
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Comment #49 posted by museman on May 21, 2008 at 10:26:10 PT
FoM
The Byrds turned me on to rock 'n roll. My first LP was 'The Byrds Greatest Hits.' If not for that album and most of the songs on it, I might not have been ready for Sgt Peppers.The songs that got me were '5D,' 'My Back Pages,' '8 miles High,' 'Mr. Spaceman,' and of course, 'Turn, Turn, Turn.'And yes hope is a great thing. Hope fulfilled is an even greater thing. I see, and feel it coming, arriving daily.
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Comment #48 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 18:53:22 PT
RNC: Obama Favors Non-Enforcement of Drug Laws
May 20, 2008http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/32306.html
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Comment #47 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 15:10:29 PT
museman
Isn't having hope a wonderful thing? 
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Comment #46 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 14:59:03 PT
museman
I am smiling but with tears in my eyes. This song came to my mind.Byrds - "Turn Turn Turn"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNopQq5lWqQ
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Comment #45 posted by museman on May 20, 2008 at 14:46:18 PT
FoM...everyone
You know, I feel like we are emerging out from under a great, huge cloud, as if we'd never seen the sun in all our history.There are terrible and sad events happening all around, yet there is this,...arising. Like a spring awakening yet magnified, multiplied and expanding.So much understanding is happening to so many people, including my stubborn self, I am literally laughing outloud for no apparent reason. Not drugs, (I've managed to decrease my dosages of opiates to small amounts every few days instead of massive amounts daily through exercize, diet, and of course, cannabis) so no one can tell me that I'm having some kind of drug related euphoria.I have no idea what is going to happen tomorrow, but I do know with even greater conviction, that what I practice today will be most likely to be evident tomorrow. Just as I know that if I don't practice it, it is most likely not going to be evident tomorrow.So if I practice my best intentions today, I have discovered that I have more options to practice those good things, and even better, tomorrow -without concerning myself to the conditions of any other time state other than the moment I am in. I could not practice my best intention if I were to undermine my own integrity by not believing in my own best intentions!Therefore it is fruitless to believe in those intents, the fruits of which are poisonous and destructive. Because that is not my intent.After most of a lifetime under the cloud of collective ignorance, in my personal experience of the relative scarcity of 'lights in the darkness' to look out and see a psychic sea of twinkling lights -like fireflies on a midwestern summer night (a long time ago), well its really a joy to me.And I believe in it.Just felt like sharing that.
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Comment #44 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 14:12:28 PT
museman
Thank you. I have that particular song on a cd now. 
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Comment #43 posted by museman on May 20, 2008 at 14:02:04 PT
FoM
Working on the video, but felt an urge to share the audio.Some may recognize it.
So c'mon everybody...lets all get high...
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Comment #42 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 13:47:48 PT
museman
I think his diagnosis is grave. Maybe Dr. Grinspoon will try to get some word to him. Maybe it's too late though. When Senator Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama and said the torch was being passed how true it might be. We are looking at the end in many ways of an era. He looked like John and Bobby and we got to see him grow old. I'm glad we did. I saw Senator Byrd break down and sob on the news today. What a time this is. Joy and sadness so close together. 
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Comment #41 posted by museman on May 20, 2008 at 13:12:39 PT
#38...
Done.I have always admired Kennedy for his ability to keep the support of his state all these years. He must have been doing some things right.He might just take our suggestions seriously...for obvious reasons.
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Comment #40 posted by Dankhank on May 20, 2008 at 12:56:32 PT
comments
good one, EJohnson ...I left one, too, with this reference:http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Cannabis+Brain+Tumor&btnG=Google+Search
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Comment #39 posted by E_Johnson on May 20, 2008 at 12:02:17 PT
I just posted about THC and gliomas at the NYT
My post in #146 in the Readers' Comments under the story about his tumor. I'd appreciate any recommendations y'all.
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Comment #38 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 11:35:12 PT
Contact Information For Senator Kennedy
http://kennedy.senate.gov/senator/contact.cfm
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Comment #37 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 11:31:13 PT
Dankhank
That's a really good idea. I have always loved the Kennedys. Maybe because I was raised Catholic and have Irish blood but they are special to me. 
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Comment #36 posted by dankhank on May 20, 2008 at 11:21:28 PT
let's E his office ...
with warm, friendly single page e's about cannabis and Brain Tumors ...likely it won't work, but ... what if it did ...????I'm crafting mine, now.
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Comment #35 posted by HempWorld on May 20, 2008 at 10:41:39 PT
Cannabis Cures Cancer!
Cannabinoid Therapy for Treatment of Gliomas? (Ed. Note: Gliomas are Cancers) 
Gliomas, in particular glioblastoma multiforme or grade IV astrocytoma, are the most frequent class of malignant primary brain tumours and one of the most aggressive forms of cancer. Current therapeutic strategies for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme are usually ineffective or just palliative. During the last few years, several studies have shown that cannabinoids—the active components of the plant Cannabis sativa and their derivatives—slow the growth of different types of tumours, including gliomas, in laboratory animals. Cannabinoids induce apoptosis of glioma cells in culture via sustained ceramide accumulation, extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation and Akt inhibition. In addition, cannabinoid treatment inhibits angiogenesis of gliomas in vivo. Remarkably, cannabinoids kill glioma cells selectively and can protect non-transformed glial cells from death. These and other findings reviewed here might set the basis for a potential use of cannabinoids in the management of gliomas. AndCannabis May Offer Novel Approach For Brain Tumors, Journal SaysMadrid, Spain: Compounds in marijuana inhibit malignant brain tumor growth in animals, and may provide a potential therapy for human glioma patients, according to a clinical review appearing in the September issue of Neuropharmacology. "Current therapeutic strategies for the treatment of [gliomas] are usually ineffective or just palliative," researchers from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Madrid's Complutense University wrote. "During the last few years, several studies have shown that cannabinoids ... slow the growth of different types of tumours, including gliomas, in laboratory animals. Cannabinoids induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) of glioma cells [in vitro.] In addition, cannabinoid treatment inhibits angiogenesis (growth) of gliomas in vivo. Remarkably, cannabinoids kill glioma cells selectively and can protect non-transformed glial cells from death. These and other findings reviewed here might set the basis for a potential use of cannabinoids in the management of gliomas."Last year, a clinical review in the journal Nature Reviews Cancer made similar recommendations, noting that cannabinoids possess a "favorable drug safety profile" and have shown in clinical trials to inhibit various forms of cancerous tumors, including gliomas, lung carcinoma, breast cancer, skin cancer, thyroid cancer, lymphoma, and prostate cancer. For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, at (202) 483-5500
Cannabis Cures Cancer! Why Its Cannabis!?
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Comment #34 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 10:32:48 PT
HempWorld
I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. I have a friend who lost his 2 year old son to a brain tumor. It's so tragic.
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Comment #33 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 10:30:37 PT
Senator Kennedy
The tumor is malignant. I wonder if he will get connected to someone who could help him?Pot Shrinks Tumors: Government Knew in 74http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=9257
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Comment #32 posted by HempWorld on May 20, 2008 at 10:28:37 PT
I Am Very Sorry To Hear About Senator Kennedy
I just had a friend die from braincancer, he went very quickly and could not save him.As far as I know this is the only cure:Please view YouTube.com: RUN FROM THE CURE:
RUN FROM THE CURE
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Comment #31 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 10:12:10 PT
Senator Kennedy
They just said Senator Kennedy has a brain tumor. I hope it is operable and not malignant. I know some people haven't forgiven Senator Kennedy for his failures many years ago but I have.
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Comment #30 posted by Sam Adams on May 20, 2008 at 09:52:56 PT
Corruption of Medicine in USA
Outstanding op-ed from doctor on Big Pharma lies. Suggests that anti-depressants don't even work! No wonder the politicians (including Obama, sorry folks) keep saying we have to rely on "science".  They and their Big Pharma friends are about 80% of the way toward corrupting science itself in the USA.http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2008/05/19/even_doctors_should_read_the_fine_print/?page=full"My concerns were cemented, however, by the recent publication of three alarming studies. In January, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that industry-funded trials of antidepressant medications showing negative results were frequently not published at all. When the researchers tallied the results of all antidepressant trials, both published and unpublished, they came upon a remarkable result: Just half of all studies involving antidepressants were actually favorable.""Then, last month, the Journal of the American Medical Association published two studies showing just how far pharmaceutical companies are willing to go to stack the odds in favor of their products. In the first, researchers showed that many of the initial trials attesting to the safety of Vioxx - which has since been removed from the market - were actually written by industry representatives and attributed to academic researchers in an attempt to lend credibility to the results. In the second study, researchers presented strong evidence suggesting that Merck representatives fudged data in order to hide results suggesting that Vioxx might be linked to cardiovascular complications."
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Comment #29 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 09:44:29 PT
dongenero
What a day! I have so much hope that it brings tears to my eyes. Yes We Can! Yes We Can! Yes We Can!
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Comment #28 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 09:33:08 PT
museman
I am as skeptical as you are but somewhere deep inside I have hoped that some person would see the USA as so many do and be honest. I think because of how his mother was an  anthropologist she influenced him and helped him not to prejudge things but to reason them thru.A Good SongReady To Believe - Obama Campaign Song - pka, Yes We Canhttp://youtube.com/watch?v=voIcPRTLxrg
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Comment #27 posted by dongenero on May 20, 2008 at 09:31:00 PT
me too FoM
I felt as though I was seeing profound, positive history in the making.I think many people sense this in Obama.
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Comment #26 posted by museman on May 20, 2008 at 09:17:00 PT
FoM
Well you know how skeptical I am of all politicians. I absolutely am disgusted by the current state of mans silly misguided need to have people take responsibiity for their lives, to have 'leaders.'If I didn't know that that was changing (obviously faster than some are observant enough to notice) I'd be just as in opposition to Obama as all the others.I will say that he seems to have a bit more integrity than I've seen since Carter, and most of all I believe he is essentially an honest man, though his line of work tends to attract just the opposite.He will give us the breathing room to elevate the consciousness a little more. And a little more consciousness will go a long way, longer than lies subterfuge, war, destruction, false values, and false moralities ever went or were destined to go. Its the end of the line for 'ol 666.The beast is a 'dead-man-walking' its upholding body of ignorance and fear-enforced systems falling away like rotten mortar on an ancient wall, it just is in denial, like all the people it has convinced, and doesn't know it yet.
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 08:56:33 PT
museman
I do pray for his safety. He seems to have good secret service agents luckily. When I saw Senator Obama give the address at the DNC in 04 I knew he would be our President someday. He is special. He talks to my heart or should I say he talks like how I look at life.
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Comment #24 posted by museman on May 20, 2008 at 08:51:53 PT
FoM
Yes, as I said, we got a high percentage of aware folks in The State of Jefferson.For the past few weeks, when I see Obama, I see the next president. When I think of what I've had to see and hear the past 8 years, I can live with that face. No more monkeys please.And pray for his (Obama's) safety.
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 08:20:45 PT
museman
This is just so good. Obama in Portland, Oregon: Our Largest Rally Yethttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtN3hsITCok
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 08:04:17 PT
museman
Today is your day because Oregon will put Senator Obama over the top. I am looking forward to Oregon's returns tonight. He could get a flood of Super Delegates within 24 hours of the results. He only needs 110 more delegates to clinch the nomination. I'm totally glued to the news. What an exciting time to be involved.
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on May 20, 2008 at 06:26:44 PT
What Minnesota Legislators Did
May 20, 2008Excerpt: Medical marijuana: Supporters of a plan to allow suffers of some medical conditions to use marijuana for pain relief came up short again this year.URL: http://www.hastingsstargazette.com/articles/index.cfm?id=27848§ion=mnnews,Minnesota%20News&property_id=23
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Comment #20 posted by The GCW on May 20, 2008 at 05:18:31 PT
Are You?
Are You ORGANized?Are You NORML & ORGANized?Don't be an ORGAN grinder.Equal ORGANtunity.
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Comment #19 posted by The GCW on May 20, 2008 at 04:59:37 PT
I've been thinking the same thing.
Been thinking the same...How well are We organized (no pun intended)?This is one of those issues that later when We look back could help break the ignoids back.If there really are millions of citizens who choose to use the relatively safe God-given plant cannabis (kaneh bosm / marijuana) and they feel strongly enough about not being discriminated against and or are disappointed that a human being is being omited from receiving proper health care because they use cannabis to help their health, AND speak out, there could be a little thing called blow-back.Could be national, could be international attention that forces closer examination.?Know what an ignoid looks like under a microscope?
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Comment #18 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on May 20, 2008 at 04:48:46 PT
From me to UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing)
http://www.unos.org/contact.asp(* required)* only first name, last name, and e-mail* I have a question about: Policies & Legislation* My question concerns: Criteria for getting on the waitlist* I'm a: potential donorThere is no compelling scientific reason to deny an organ transplant to someone because they use cannabis, whether they use it for medical or recreational reasons.However, I have recently learned that people who use cannabis, even those who use it for serious medical reasons, are being denied organ transplants.So, until I can be assured that no one will be denied an organ transplant for no other reason than cannabis use, I will no longer give permission to donate my organs upon my death.I will remove my organ donor designation from my driver's license at my earliest convenience, and
I have informed my next of kin that I do not wish to donate my organs if I die, no matter what is presently on my DL.It does not make me happy to do this, but it makes me extremely unhappy that doctors are letting people die for no good reason.I think this is tantamount to murder.
Contact United Network for Organ Sharing
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Comment #17 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on May 20, 2008 at 03:05:59 PT
Oh, and not just for med mj users, either.
No one should be denied an organ transplant for using cannabis, no matter what the reason they use it.BTW, these same doctors think it's perfectly okay to give new livers to alcoholic celebrities, because of the heat they'd feel from the public if they didn't.Anyway, I will officially inform my next of kin that I do not wish to donate my organs if I die, no matter what is presently on my DL.I also plan to notify any concerned public or private officials of my decision and my reasons for it.
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Comment #16 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on May 20, 2008 at 02:51:18 PT
I am going to quit being an organ donor.
If this hasn't changed by the time I next renew my driver's license, I will have them remove my permission to use my organs, unless I can designate that they only be used by someone who uses cannabis.If I can't get organs, I ain't gonna give 'em!
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Comment #15 posted by JSM on May 20, 2008 at 01:30:20 PT
transplant
Should I die unexpectedly (not that I ever expect to die) I am in my state's organ donor program. As a cannabis consumer, will they accept my organs?Need I say more?
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Comment #14 posted by museman on May 19, 2008 at 21:44:12 PT
I admit
that the appearance, and sheer juggernaught momentum of the 'powers that be' is intimidating, and having experienced the acoustics of green government concrete up close and personal, as well as the jack boots that busted my door to come put me there, it is not from naivette that I state the potential to "Prefer to imagine other possibilities."I also experienced the power of the truth, up close and personal, and decided that real power was ever so much preferable than the fake, forced, policed, regulated and twisted invention called 'law.' I decided that truth was liberty, and demands liberty to assert itself. Life without truth and the liberty to embrace it is slavery. I may be antiquated in my concepts of honor, but I can think of no better way to leave this world than by way of the truth.In everything there is choice. The higher the ethical choice the greater the options. Intent defines reality. Integrity of ethical decision-making nurtures intent, just as fatalistic imagining produces likewise reality.When the collective choices are all coralled together into such a system as we've all agreed to, consciously or not, they are much much more easily controlled as they have been for as long as history has record. Your assessment of the conditions of power, and the resulting situations of it are accurate to this point, no dispute. However there is only one way to change reality, and that is to change intent. As long as we allow the current intent of power, false values, and false authority to rule over our integrity -by giving it the credibility of our belief and faith, implied trust, then we negate all other intention and give our power to those who do not deserve nor even really know what it is, and what we can collectively do with it.Imagining a world without posession, without religion, without countries, without greed, hunger, destruction and war is a choice before it becomes an option.Thank YHWH my brothers and sisters made that choice, and the option is now before us.As an 'old dog' still 'learning new tricks' I surely understand the labor pains of consciousness, and how hard it is to let go of habitual perspective, but the way of it isn't hidden anymore. There were seeds planted that have come to fruition -on multi levels of reality.I truly understand the daunting appearance of the big meanie, and all of it's minions groveling in it's monstrous shadow, but truly it's power is waning.It seems logical to assume that change can only come in small increments, because that is the way it has been -up until the industrial revolution. At that point things started to accelerate. They haven't slowed down. In fact just about everything except consciouness has been accelerating at an exponential rate. Consciousness has just stepped up to the plate, and is beginning to accelerate at a noticeable rate. The awareness is global, even if not 'mainstream.'So we can choose to reinforce the negative BS realtiy our collective spirit has been struggling with since the dawn of time by giving them the power of our belief in their THINGS, instead of taking the incredible untapped power of our collective beings and consciously, willfully, change reality. Gonna happen. It's a done deal. But it will happpen better, faster, stronger, and easier the more the 'individuals' come into the awareness of the collective and add their belief, trust, and faith, with clear intent and integrity to the mix.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on May 19, 2008 at 18:54:58 PT
No Problem
It was easy to fix.
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Comment #12 posted by slightlybeneaththesu on May 19, 2008 at 18:35:12 PT:

crapy computer
...there are people who still like to have good conversations sorry about the double post my computer crapped out in the process of posting..
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Comment #10 posted by slightlybeneaththesu on May 19, 2008 at 18:29:45 PT:

yay
Our Government has not changed and has been getting worse for the past 100 years. People have been born and died and not seen any change. Our gov. was shaken up a bit in the 60's but are more ready than ever to deal with resistance.....if any ever shows up.
You do not have to believe in oppression or torture or the state for that matter to acknowledge it's existence.
I do have a glimmer of hope but it is often crushed when i open my eyes to classmates who drive everywhere with out a second thought, who would be "embarassed" to take the bus, and participate in mindless over consumption on a daily basis with no concept of the consequence of their actions. These are the people that ridicule the poeple that do not fit in and shun others who have chosen to take an "unconventional" life style. These are the people who are our future government.
Our government does not like drastic change and it's not going to happen, you have to take baby steps. If you appear a big enough threat they will kill you. They have that power. Our government will make you vanish if they need to.
Our lifetimes will be the same length if there is change or not, whether you decide it's worth living is up to you. I personally dont care if this country disenegrates as it stands now, but i obviously have some sense of hope because otherwise i would not be posting on this forum or taking action of any kind. 
Our thoughts should not be dictated by the state, as ken kesey would say "that's their movie". We nust bring them in to "our movie". We can not play this us and them game for very long, that is their thing, and by participating in it they have the control, they can turn around and point fingers about all the "liberal diatribe" we're spewing and how "radical" and "un-american" we are. No we must evolve in to something bigger, go further than playing the blame game.p.s.i'm enjoying your confrontational response, Thank god there are poeple
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Comment #9 posted by museman on May 19, 2008 at 17:26:18 PT

not subscribing to this theory
"the fact is this society is not going to change in our lifetime."That is no 'fact' at all. Misplaced faith in systemic failure perhaps. Wishful right-wing thinking perhaps. Certainly a mantra of the Status Quo, but no fact.Prefer to imagine other possibilities. I don't know how much 'lifetime' any of us have left if there isn't change, and drasticly, all across the board.If I'm going to believe in something, it certainly isn't going to be that which opresses, tortures, brainwashes, murders, imprisons, and destroys everything it touches in the name of "Nothing is going to change." "That's just the way it is." "You can't fight city hall." "Only the King has the right to rule, by Divine Edict." "The earth is flat."
"Marijauna is harmful."It's a well supported theory on the moneyed side of the issue. Oh yeah, depress 'em with futility and the all-powerful immoveableness of the state.Give me a break!
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Comment #8 posted by Dankhank on May 19, 2008 at 12:59:20 PT

Certainly ...
elect the Democratic candidate this November ...Likely it will be Obama, but Hillary had/has a plan, too.The repugs will continue to push for privatizing all manner of services in order to enrich their friends ...
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on May 19, 2008 at 12:46:16 PT

Press Release From The Drug Policy Alliance
Support Medical Marijuana in NJ Before Thursday's HearingMonday, May 19, 2008 http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/051908nj.cfm
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Comment #6 posted by slightlybeneaththesu on May 19, 2008 at 12:10:18 PT:

that would be ideal
That would be the big picture and while it is always wise to keep that in mind, the fact is this society is not going to change in our lifetime. We must make baby steps towards the bigger picture, some make bigger steps than others but restating the big picture over and over tends to polarize people that could have been helping us if only they were given a little nudge instead of a big shove. 
We must ask ourselves, what can I do to change this situation?
We must stop talking about what should be done and act.
Could you sugget some course of action one could take to change this situation?
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Comment #5 posted by dankhank on May 19, 2008 at 12:00:14 PT

perhaps 
we need to take capitalistic profit OUT of health care ...It's only there to enrich friends of the politicians ...There's no moral right to profit from health care ...It's the system that's wrong
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Comment #4 posted by slightlybeneaththesu on May 19, 2008 at 11:42:51 PT:

re #3
i didnt say it was right.
Last time i checked we live in a capitlist society, although unfortunate, money makes our world go 'round.
insurance companies dont take oaths about assuring you coverage.
Doctors Do. Their practice relies on it.
What's REALLY wrong is doctors who act like insurance companies...deciding who's worthy of their services.

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Comment #3 posted by Dankhank on May 19, 2008 at 11:30:27 PT

I can't 
understand our country denying ANYONE medical coverage, no matter HOW fraked up they may be.When you say you can understand a company decision, you are agreeing that profit should be a motivator for how health care is managed.That's wrong ...
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Comment #2 posted by slightlybeneaththesu on May 19, 2008 at 11:15:54 PT:

nomorehope
I can understand insurance companies denying people coverage because thy are too much a liability...but doctors denying patients organs because of personal choices that the patient has made in his/her life time is completely unfair. These same doctors who take an oath to save a patients life if at all possible are turning patients away, while acknowledging the fact that these people might die because of their decision. We all have a hand in this. We are all destroying the world,simply by living on it and consuming it's recources. These f***ers are never going to leave,they will be here till the end. This country is equiped to deal with rebels. One of the ways is to say "oh you smoke marijuana? oh you need an organ transplant? well, too bad you didn't follow the rules we told you to follow cause now you dont get one" You will not catch them off gaurd and you will not be able to vote them out because i assure you there will alays be someone with more money to "persuade" them. People are bought an sold daily in our government. Now it's time for the people to stand up and do their part. People are followers you must lead by example.p.s. this article repeatedly refers to recomendations as prescriptions. Medical marijuana is recommended and not prescribed. This technicality confuses many and is probably the reason doctors are allowed to turn patients away.
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Comment #1 posted by museman on May 19, 2008 at 09:07:30 PT

"They are really killing people over this," 
Yes they are.They are ruining lives.They are wreckiing families.They are poisoning childrens minds with incredible falsehoods.They are destroying the planet.They are enslaving the world.They are raking in the bucks.So what else is new?Time to get rid of these f***ers, plain and simple.

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