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  Washington, D.C. Approves Medical Use of Marijuana

Posted by CN Staff on May 04, 2010 at 19:53:04 PT
By Ashley Southall  
Source: New York Times 

Washington, D.C. -- The District of Columbia Council approved a measure on Tuesday that would allow people with certain chronic illnesses to obtain medical marijuana from a handful of dispensaries regulated by the city.The 13-member Council voted unanimously to allow doctors to recommend marijuana for people who are infected with H.I.V., as well as people with glaucoma, cancer or a “chronic and lasting disease.”
The legislation permits Mayor Adrian M. Fenty to establish up to eight dispensaries where patients could receive two ounces of marijuana a month. The measure gives the mayor the option of raising the amount to four ounces without further council action.Some doctors say marijuana helps relieve nausea, vomiting, certain AIDS symptoms and some side effects of chemotherapy. For glaucoma patients, the drug is believed to help lower eye pressure.The measure, which Mr. Fenty is expected to sign into law, thrusts the debate over medical marijuana into the hands of Congress and the White House, which must decide within 30 days whether to allow the city to proceed with the plan. To block the law from taking effect, the House and the Senate must pass a joint resolution and President Obama must approve it.If federal lawmakers do not intervene, Washington will join California and 13 other states that allow residents to use marijuana for medical purposes.David A. Catania, a sponsor of the measure, said he was confident it was “a thoughtful approach toward implementing a medical marijuana program that will be a model for other states that will be defensible before Congress.”The measure requires patients, their caregivers, dispensaries and cultivators to register with the city, restricts dispensaries to a maximum of 95 plants, and prohibits district agencies from arresting medical marijuana users or denying them other services.The Council rejected amendments that would have spelled out patient protections, limited dispensaries to nonprofits and permitted patients to use recommendations from doctors in Maryland and Virginia.Nikolas Schiller, the secretary of the D.C. Patients’ Cooperative, a nonprofit group that advocates legal medical marijuana, said the amendments would have clarified ambiguities in the bill. He pointed to an example of a Wal-Mart worker in Michigan, where medical marijuana is legal, who was fired in March after he tested positive for the drug, which he used to cope with sinus cancer and an inoperable brain tumor.“We asked the Council to introduce the protection for that and they refused to,” Mr. Schiller said. “And it was very infuriating to sit and watch the best practices from other states, other jurisdictions be ignored.”Dorothy Brizill, the executive director of D.C. Watch, a local government watchdog, expects a fight over where to locate the dispensaries and raised concerns about medical marijuana ending up being illegally sold on the streets.“I don’t have confidence in the district’s ability to carry out the regulation," Ms. Brizill said. "I hope to be proven wrong."Sixty-nine percent of district voters approved a 1998 ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana. Congress blocked the money needed to create a medical marijuana program until it lifted that ban in December.In October, the Justice Department urged federal district attorneys to back off of prosecutions of people in possession of medical marijuana who are acting in accordance with state law.Public support for medical marijuana has remained constantly high in recent years. In an Associated Press-CNBC poll conducted in April, nearly two-thirds of the respondents supported legalizing medical marijuana.A version of this article appeared in print on May 5, 2010, on page A17 of the New York edition.Source: New York Times (NY)Author: Ashley Southall Published: May 5, 2010Copyright: 2010 The New York Times CompanyContact: letters nytimes.comWebsite: http://www.nytimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/O3BjvDtrCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 

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Comment #9 posted by ekim on May 06, 2010 at 09:32:54 PT
dankhank did you see any new products
made from cannabis that you had not seen.am thinking of fuel as the Nat'l Renewable Energy Lab 
is at Golden CO has anyone been watching the History ch and the new series 
America last week it showed how the cotton mills drove this country and gave much power to women --no mention of hemp
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by dankhank on May 05, 2010 at 17:10:07 PT
Denver ...
when I attended the First Colorado Cannabis Convention last month ... I won one of those "24 carat gold accessories." made with Hawaii lava stone ... as I left that night I got an education, from another walker, about how the Hawaiian lava stone is not supposed to leave the island, according to the god "Pele."Oh ... well ... 
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on May 05, 2010 at 05:59:27 PT
Video From The Daily Show
The Daily Show Takes On Medical Marijuana In Denver (VIDEO)URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/04/the-daily-show-takes-on-m_n_563980.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by dankhank on May 04, 2010 at 20:52:23 PT
funny
the Denver bit was wack ...colbert is equally wack, tonight ....Hey John ... nice vid for nice happenings .....Peace to all .....
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by FoM on May 04, 2010 at 20:20:28 PT
The Daily Show
That was funny!Thank you John Tyler!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by John Tyler on May 04, 2010 at 20:06:31 PT
in the news
Here is an interesting news tidbit I saw over at another website…It seems that over in jolly old England there is a three way race in the current political campaign leading up to elections on May 6th. There is a strong showing of support for the Liberal Democratic Party. They support the removal of criminal penalties for cannabis possession and allowing Dutch style “coffeehouses”. If they win, great. If they come in second, in Parliamentary systems, they will still have a big say in setting policies for the next government, still really good.Here is a little Beatle song “Got to get you into my life”. It’s about their fondness for cannabis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22H1ciSvVm8
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by FoM on May 04, 2010 at 20:01:07 PT
Dankhank
Thank you. We have it on.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by dankhank on May 04, 2010 at 20:00:27 PT
heads up
comedy central cannabis in colorado ...
[ Post Comment ]

 


Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 04, 2010 at 19:55:36 PT

Just My Thoughts
If this had happened under Bush I wouldn't have hope and even if McCain was President I wouldn't have hope but I do have hope that President Obama will let it happen. These are great times for our movement.Excerpt: The measure, which Mr. Fenty is expected to sign into law, thrusts the debate over medical marijuana into the hands of Congress and the White House, which must decide within 30 days whether to allow the city to proceed with the plan. To block the law from taking effect, the House and the Senate must pass a joint resolution and President Obama must approve it.
[ Post Comment ]





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