cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Gets Push
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Medical Marijuana Gets Push
Posted by CN Staff on February 16, 2011 at 14:58:17 PT
By Nicole Schoen, Contributing Writer
Source: Central Florida Future
Florida -- Jenifer Valley hasn't seen the inside of an emergency room in about 12 years. Valley, a cancer survivor, consumes about four ounces of medical marijuana every week in the form of hash and edibles to regulate her calcium because of a thyroid deficiency."I was literally being strangled to death by my cancer," said Valley, who spoke at NORML's Medical Marijuana Bash via Skype on Feb. 14.
The bash took place from the Pegasus Ballroom from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. as part of NORML's month of events for Medical Marijuana Month.Valley, who went from taking about 35 prescription pills a day and making about 10 trips to the emergency room a year to using medical marijuana everyday, runs three medical marijuana clubs in Oregon. Sixty percent of her product is marijuana products like topical crèmes, lozenges and edibles, which are the most effective form of marijuana for pain.In addition to Valley's speech, the bash had tables with information on medical marijuana set up and even a Jeopardy-style game to test students' knowledge on the subject.Medical marijuana is the dried flowers of female Cannabis Indica and Sativa containing more than 400 chemicals, 60 of which are cannabinoids which give marijuana its healing power. The ‘multiple sclerosis miracle table' at the Bash noted written references regarding plants of therapeutic use date as far back as 2800 B.C."We want people to leave the Medical Marijuana Bash with a well-rounded stance on medical marijuana, fully understanding the idea and wide benefits of medical marijuana for patients, the state and nationally," said junior comparative politics major and president of NORML Travis Sturgill-Trahan.People United For Medical Marijuana and Campus Peace Action were tabling inside the ballroom as well. Musician Joe Bivines drew attention to the Bash from outside the Union with songs from his guitar.The table with information about drug policies around the world pointed out that the United States and South America have some of the most repressive drug laws in the world."I think harm reduction is the drug policy that should be in place in the United States," said sophomore anthropology major and NORML member Matthew Bald. "The government is just creating laws that people are going to break regardless so what we need is proper education."There are fifteen states that have legalized marijuana for medical use, but Florida is not one of them. The ‘know your rights' table informed passersby that possession of 20 grams or fewer of marijuana in Florida is a misdemeanor with possible punishment of $1,000 and one year in jail.Possession of just paraphernalia, or smoking utensils, is also a misdemeanor with the same penalties. Any conviction can result in a suspended driver's license anywhere from six months to two years."I think the current drug policy in the United States is politically driven and not in the best interest of the people," said junior theatre study major Morgan Hodge.As part of Medical Marijuana Month, NORML hosted Elvy Musikka, a federal medical marijuana patient, and Madeline Martinez of Oregon NORML, and the World Famous Cannabis Café came to speak earlier this month.On Feb. 16, the group hosted Irv Rosenfeld, the first-ever federal medical marijuana patient who receives 320 hand-rolled marijuana cigarettes each month from the federal government.The club also plans on having Steve Smith, who owns and operates a medical marijuana dispensary in California, speak on Feb. 23."I think medical marijuana could help a lot of people," said freshman philosophy major Samuel Cohen. "I wish more people saw it like that."Source: Central Florida Future (U of Central Florida, FL Edu)Author: Nicole Schoen, Contributing WriterPublished: Wednesday, February 16, 2011Copyright: 2011 Central Florida FutureURL: http://drugsense.org/url/lbISX5bIContact: http://drugsense.org/url/qFBP7umtWebsite: http://www.centralfloridafuture.comCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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