cannabisnews.com: Group of Lawmakers Vows Workable Medical Marijuana function share_this(num) { tit=encodeURIComponent('Group of Lawmakers Vows Workable Medical Marijuana'); url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/27/thread27915.shtml'); site = new Array(5); site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit; site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit; window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500'); return false; } Group of Lawmakers Vows Workable Medical Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on March 01, 2014 at 05:11:53 PT By Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun Source: Baltimore Sun Maryland -- A bipartisan group of state lawmakers vowed Friday to pass legislation this year to create a workable medical marijuana program that would cover children with debilitating conditions as well as adults.Dels. Cheryl D. Glenn and Dan K. Morhaim, sponsors of two bills that would replace legislation passed last year that is widely regarded as a failure, said they would meld their two versions into a single measure. One change they expect to make in the original bills next week is to remove provisions restricting the therapeutic use of cannabis to adults. "It would be immoral not to allow our children to get medicine that could in many cases be life-saving," said Glenn, a Baltimore Democrat.The news conference came as the House opened hearings on the two bills, each of which could remove roadblocks to patient access to therapeutic forms of cannabis.Last year, the General Assembly passed, and Gov. Martin O'Malley signed, a watered-down version of a medical marijuana bill that restricts its distribution to academic medical centers. None of the state's medical centers has stepped forward to operate such a program.Pain experts have told a legislative work group that marijuana is safe and effective in relieving symptoms of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, side effects of cancer treatment and other conditions.The Glenn and Morhaim bills would allow a physician with a bona fide treatment relationship with a patient who has a serious condition that might be eased by marijuana to write a prescription for the drug. Morhaim's bill would require that the physician be associated with a hospital or hospice; Glenn's would not.Both bills would license marijuana growers. Morhaim's bill would let patients buy directly from those growers. Glenn's would establish treatment centers that would buy marijuana and distribute it to qualifying patients.Morhaim, a Baltimore County Democrat and the legislature's only physician, said a medical marijuana program can be safe."Physicians prescribe drugs that are more dangerous than medical marijuana every single day," he said.In past years, adult cancer patients have often been the most persuasive advocates. This year, mothers of children with severe forms of epilepsy took center stage.Paige Figi of Colorado Springs said her 7-year-old daughter found relief from her epilepsy by using Charlotte's Web, a cannabis derivative designed for use in children but illegal under Maryland and federal law. She said her daughter went from having 2,000 potentially lethal seizures a month to two or three."She's walking, talking, eating. She has a life now," Figi told lawmakers. She said Charlotte's Web, an oil put under the tongue, does not make patients high. Cheryl Meyer of Baltimore said she wishes her son Gavin had had access to cannabis before he died in November at age 2 years and 5 months of complications from epilepsy. She said her son's pediatrician believed that medical marijuana might have helped but could not write a prescription under Maryland law.Shannon Moore of Frederick hopes her 3-year-old twin sons' story has a different ending. The boys, Nicolas and Byron DeLiyannis, have a condition called Miller-Dieker syndrome that gives them severe seizures daily.Moore said the prescription drugs they take are ineffective and have life-threatening side effects. She is encouraged about what she's heard about the use of cannabis to control seizures in children."There's no reason in my mind why children in some states have access to medical marijuana but not in Maryland," she said. "I don't know if this medicine will help my children, but I know that it will help many children."Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)Author: Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun Published: February 28, 2014Copyright: 2014 The Baltimore SunContact: letters baltsun.comWebsite: http://www.baltimoresun.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/x80VcaePCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #8 posted by runruff on March 02, 2014 at 16:17:03 PT Enemies of the healing herb So far as I can tell, with the numbers vastly in favor of medical cannabis, Nida, S.A.M. the DEA and the ONDCP are shooting thermselves in the foot acting so stoopid in front of god and everybody the way they do!This is great, actually. Not only is the big lie now exposed, by them carring on this way they also reveal the ignorance and the corruptness of our gov'mint!I love what Napolean once said about the incompetence of his enemy: "Never interupt your enemy while they are busy making mistakes!" [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Canis420 on March 01, 2014 at 22:31:31 PT: Runruff Like [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Hope on March 01, 2014 at 19:16:24 PT Comment 3 That is good news, Runruff. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by The GCW on March 01, 2014 at 17:35:49 PT runruff, That good news.That how a lot of Americans are getting hip. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on March 01, 2014 at 17:24:33 PT runruff Thank you for sharing the good news about your Grandmother. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by runruff on March 01, 2014 at 17:06:23 PT Republicans on dope! Our 97 year old Gram was checked into the emergency room last week. The doctor did a blood work on her and found that she is anemic. My Wife said Gram doesn't eat anymore. They gave her a complete blood transfusion.This past week Mom and My Wife have been dosing Gram with Cannahoney. Gram is eating like a truck driver. She is putting on weight. She never complains about her joints aching any longer. She is in a good mood all day and talks about going out to eat a lot. The whole family is amazed. Now,though, they are really getting pissed. They now see up close and personal how cruel, dispassionate and manipulated is our goverment. Conservitives getting pissed about the right things is a great thisg to see!Don't fear the reefer!-Brought to you by Mas cowbell [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Oleg the Tumor on March 01, 2014 at 13:15:43 PT: We Have Lost Too Much Time… … to a 75-year-old corporate eugenics experiment that failed utterly anyway you wish to measure it: ruined lives, broken fixated minds, dozens of industries dominated by a relentless mathematical definition of progress that recognizes no legitimate moral or ethical claims against "plural management" - observes no boundaries to its behavior, and in fact moves quite freely around the planet removing anything of value wherever it is, replacing it with nothing and moving on.What medicines might have been developed over the last 75 years? How long will it take us to catch up? How long will it take the culture to heal?How are "We the People" supposed to meet "They the Corporate" before a court of law as equals? Individuals tend to get crushed before the logistical realities that corporations can bring to bear.We must wrest control of cannabis away from the multiple interests that profit from its prohibition!A prisons success should not be measured by how profitable it is, but by how few inmates return after release.If by being in prison, an offender has simply learned how to become a better offender – he will be back soon.In the meantime, generations suffer on end for decades, waiting for researchers to study a plant!I think it was James Dickey, who once said, "I Want to Shake with Purpose!" Of course, he was referring to living a meaningful life full of use, not convulsing before a crowd of strangers on the street – still, many of us "shake on" and never find out what that purpose is. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Hope on March 01, 2014 at 13:11:10 PT This video was from back in January of this year. Medical Marijuana Strain Has Hundreds Of Parents Flocking To Coloradohttp://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/01/23/medical-marijuana-strain-has-hundreds-of-parents-flocking-to-colorado/ [ Post Comment ] Post Comment