cannabisnews.com: Federal MMJ Patient in Montana To Support Cannabis
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Federal MMJ Patient in Montana To Support Cannabis
Posted by CN Staff on March 15, 2011 at 06:40:46 PT
By Ed Kemmick of The Gazette Staff
Source: Billings Gazette
Helena, MT --  Irvin Rosenfeld said he wishes the federal government was truly interested in researching the medicinal benefits of marijuana.He said he would be the perfect subject. For the past 28 years, he has been smoking 300 marijuana cigarettes about every 25 days, compliments of the U.S. government. He is walking proof that marijuana is effective as a medicine and harmless in other respects, he said, but the government's standard line about medical marijuana is that not enough research has been done to determine whether it's effective.
"They don't want to know that it works. That's what sad about it," he said.Rosenfeld is a 58-year-old senior vice president for investments for a securities corporation in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He has been in Montana since last week, meeting with the public to talk about cannabis and testifying last Friday at a Senate committee hearing on a bill to repeal the citizen-passed law legalizing medical marijuana.Although Rosenfeld was pessimistic about the fate of Montana's medical marijuana law when he spoke with The Gazette on Monday morning, it was reported later in the day that the Senate Judiciary Committee killed the repeal bill on a tie vote. A subcommittee will now work on a bill to better regulate the drug.Rosenfeld has made appearances in Helena, Bozeman and Billings with Hiedi Handford of Lincoln, founder and editor of Montana Connect, a magazine for medical marijuana patients and caregivers.In 1982, Rosenfeld became the second person in the country to win permission from the federal government to use medical marijuana.The government grows it on a farm in Mississippi, processes it, rolls it into cigarettes and sends the tin of 300 cigarettes to Rosenfeld's pharmacy every 25 days.He qualified under what is known as the Compassionate Investigative New Drug program because he suffers from two conditions, multiple congenital cartilaginous exostosis and pseudohypoparathyroidism. They cause painful tumors to grow on his bones.He had six operations to remove 30 of the most dangerous tumors, and, by the age of 14, he was on more than 350 doses of medicine each month. He said he smoked marijuana in college, and, though he experienced none of the euphoric effects associated with the drug, it lessened his pain right away.Ten days after he started smoking it, he said, he sat and played chess for half an hour — the first time he was able to sit down for more than 10 minutes in many years. He then spent 10 years fighting the government to be allowed to smoke it legally.The federal program was discontinued in 1992, but the few people in it were allowed to continue, and Rosenfeld has been receiving marijuana from the government longer than anyone else.Rosenfeld and Handford both object to the use of the word "marijuana," saying it is a slang term for cannabis that perpetuates its illicit reputation. The human body is full of cannabis receptors, which is why it does so much good for so many illnesses, they say.Rosenfeld said cannabis even contains neuro-protectors, which is why he has suffered no lung or other respiratory damage after having smoked marijuana legally and illegally for nearly 30 years. And smoking is the best way to ingest it, Handford said, because it takes effect immediately and the patient can smoke only enough to deal with pain or inflammation.The marijuana Rosenfeld gets from the government is low in THC, the chemical that induces euphoria, and Handford said the cannabis that she grows for herself is also low in THC.As for complaints about the unregulated growth of the medical marijuana industry in Montana, Handford said the blame lies squarely with the Legislature, which failed to tighten regulations in three legislative sessions after the citizen initiative passed."We should not be punished because our legislators did not act," she said.Source: Billings Gazette, The (MT)Author: Ed Kemmick of The Gazette Staff Published:  March 15, 2011Copyright: 2011 The Billings GazetteContact: speakup billingsgazette.comWebsite: http://www.billingsgazette.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/TuO2s5NECannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #11 posted by runruff on March 16, 2011 at 03:43:39 PT
In cahoots?
It sure looks like Milburn is in cahoots with Michele Lyin-fart!This appears to be more of the Orwellian/Medieval tactics these brain dead bureaurats have come up with.They probably reason that since the people of Montana do not respect federal law, they will instill some good old fashion fear into the sheeple!Maybe after the baddies do their dastardly deeds the people of Montana will crawl back into their little burrows and behave?These raids are every bit about keeping hemp out and nuclear and petroleum in! These crazy zealots will takes us down with them at gun point! How long will we allow ourselves to be led, coerced and forced into a policy of complete and utter destruction?
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Comment #10 posted by The GCW on March 15, 2011 at 17:38:38 PT
YES
Could Hemp Help Nuclear Clean-up in Japan?http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2011/03/15/Could-Hemp-Help-Nuclear-Clean-Japan
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Comment #9 posted by kaptinemo on March 15, 2011 at 16:16:48 PT:
More fiddling...while Rome not only burns
but preps for detonation.I've long been an observer of societal forces and how at certain times and places things start to change. I've recently come across an article which at first might not seem relevant, but in fact is very germaine to what we're about...and why this kind of craziness on the part of the feds is getting worse.The Gathering Storm http://www.theburningplatform.com/The basic premise is that nations and societies have life cycles, and we're on the cusp of truly earthshaking changes in the very near future. The kind of changes that are literally fundamental in scope, as in everything that came before is rendered null-and-void and it's time to start all over again. But before that comes a period of upheaval of the very worst kind. WRT drug prohibition, we're starting to see desperation on the part of those who probably can sense that they are approaching the end of their rope, and the manic, destructive reactions of (pathetically narrow minded, authoritarian) psyches that can't cope with the coming up-ending of their world view. All that they hold dear, to include the power structure that allows them to commit such atrocities as their beloved DrugWar provides, is about to be swept away by forces beyond their control. When that happens, all bets are off, but the society that emerges from the coming chaos will not be able to afford the insanity of drug prohibition, as basic survival will become the agenda...and that will require cooperation, not coercion.IMHO, that link is worth a glance or two; may you find it as enlightening as I did.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on March 15, 2011 at 15:01:01 PT
Information Released on 26 Raids
Information Released on Raids at 26 Montana Medical Marijuana BusinessesMarch 15, 2011URL: http://www.kxlh.com/news/information-released-on-raids-at-26-montana-medical-marijuana-businesses/
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Comment #7 posted by Sam Adams on March 15, 2011 at 14:40:00 PT
the take home thought
put your politics aside and put your business hat on. China is developing clean energy, we're developing this:The following federal, state and local law enforcement agencies participated in the execution of the search warrants and the seizure of the civil assets at multiple locations across the state of Montana: the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Environmental Protection Agency-Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Customs and Border Protection-Border Patrol, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These federal agencies were assisted by the Montana Division of Criminal Investigations, and local High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces, the Northwest Drug Task Force, the Kalispell Police Department, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, the Missoula Police Department, the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, the Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, the Great Falls Police Department, the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office, the Central Montana Drug Task Force, the Billings Police Department, the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, the Dillon Police Department, the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office, the Park County Sheriff’s Office, the Bozeman Police Department, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, the Missouri River Drug Task Force, the Helena Police Department, the Lewis & Clark Sheriff’s Office, and the Eastern Montana Drug Task Force - Miles City.
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Comment #6 posted by Sam Adams on March 15, 2011 at 14:37:33 PT
upside down society
Wow, just imagine all the private sector employees it takes to pay the salary of every one of these guys. We can't go on this way!!! The country has gone crazy. 40 cents on the dollar is borrowed. It doesn't matter which political party you're in.The following federal, state and local law enforcement agencies participated in the 
execution of the search warrants and the seizure of the civil assets at multiple locations 
across the state of Montana: the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service, 
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, the Environmental Protection Agency-Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection-Border Patrol, and the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration. These federal agencies were assisted by the Montana Division of Criminal 
Investigations, and local High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces, the Northwest Drug 
Task Force, the Kalispell Police Department, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, the 
Missoula Police Department, the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, the Missoula High 
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, the Great Falls Police Department, the 
Cascade County Sheriff’s Office, the Central Montana Drug Task Force, the Billings Police 
Department, the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, the Eastern Montana High Intensity 
Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, the Dillon Police Department, the Beaverhead 
County Sheriff’s Office, the Park County Sheriff’s Office, the Bozeman Police Department, 
the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, the Missouri River Drug Task Force, the Helena Police 
Department, the Lewis & Clark Sheriff’s Office, and the Eastern Montana Drug Task Force - 
Miles City. 
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 15, 2011 at 13:57:25 PT
U.S. Attorney Outlines Medical Marijuana Raids
U.S. Attorney Outlines Medical Marijuana Raids in 13 TownsURL: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/assets/pdf/G1171771315.PDF
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Comment #4 posted by sam adams on March 15, 2011 at 09:25:34 PT
montana update
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/comments/article/20110314/NEWS01/110314023/Federal-agents-raid-up-10-Montana-medical-marijuana-businesses
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on March 15, 2011 at 09:24:33 PT
12 businesses raided
During the actual vote on the bill! Wow, this country is getting scarier by the day. Espcially if you find yourself among the sick & weak.just out of curiousity, I wonder how many of the DEA thugs in today's ops are veterans of the US military. that is yet another downside of our constant wars, we get police and law enforcment men that are hardened by doing horrible things to the poor Arab people. 
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Comment #2 posted by josephlacerenza on March 15, 2011 at 09:15:58 PT
Possible Further DEA Raids in Montana
Montana NORML, Rumors of MORE possible raids, furthering the tensions here in Montana.
MT NORML, Facebook
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Comment #1 posted by dongenero on March 15, 2011 at 08:02:29 PT
Good time for Mr Rosenfeld to be in MT
It's ironic that Irv Rosenfeld will be in Montana smoking cannabis the US Government supplied to him for medical purposes, while at the same time the US Government is raiding medical marijuana facilities in Montana. On top of it, the DEA is being assisted by local police, sworn to uphold a Montana law that just received a vote of confidence and continuance in the legislature while facing repeal. Nuts.Is it any wonder there is so little respect for law and for government?
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