Carr unveils four-year cannabis trial
AAP
Copyright 2003. The Sydney Morning Herald
May 20 2003
Carr unveils four-year cannabis trial
NSW Premier Bob Carr today announced a four-year trial to allow the medical use of cannabis to relieve harsh pain.
Mr Carr said the trial was aimed at alleviating the chronic suffering of people with severe pain who came to the attention of a working party he established in 2000.
There would be strict safeguards and penalties in the proposed legislation, which will be introduced in the spring session of parliament.
"This is a compassionate scheme," he told parliament.
"It's directed at people like the 62-year-old man with bowel cancer ... (who) uses cannabis to relieve pain and to beat the nausea that stops him from eating."
Another man, suffering from prostate cancer, ate marijuana biscuits to help bring back his appetite and strengthen his determination to fight against the cancer, Mr Carr said.
"Medical evidence supported the proposition marijuana ... in a number of these cases can relieve the symptoms of suffering and we have an obligation wherever we can to minimise human pain and human distress," he said.
Under the government's proposal, patients would be able to gain access to medical cannabis through a new Office of Medicinal Cannabis within the NSW Health Department.
"Patients must be able to show that conventional treatment will not relieve their suffering," Mr Carr said.
"We're talking about people suffering wasting due to cancer and HIV/AIDS, nausea from chemotherapy, severe or chronic pain, muscle spasticity due to Multiple Sclerosis and spinal cord injuries."
People convicted of an illicit drug offence (except a minor personal use offence), on parole, under 18 years of age, or pregnant will not be able to register as a user, he said.
BILL ALLOWS MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEFENSE IN DRUG CASES
WASHINGTON ( Reuters Health ) - U.S. lawmakers have launched an effort that would allow defendants from states with legalized medical marijuana to use "medical necessity" as a defense against federal drug charges.
A bill introduced in the U.S. House Thursday and backed by pro-medical marijuana groups would apply to California and seven other states where medical marijuana is legal. The measure gives defendants accused of growing or distributing marijuana in violation of federal drug laws the right to inform juries that they were acting legally in their state.
Supporters touted the proposal as a way to protect the democratic process in states where voters or legislators approve measures backing medical marijuana.
"This is about due process. It's not about pot," said Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., who co-authored the measure with Rep. Dana Rohrbacher, R-Calif.
The bill was motivated by the conviction of Ed Rosenthal, an Oakland-based marijuana activist who was found guilty in January of violating federal drug laws.
Rosenthal was licensed by Oakland to grow and distribute cannabis under a California medical marijuana statute, but the judge in his case prevented Rosenthal's attorney from informing the jury that the action was legal in that state.
Marney Craig, who was a juror in Rosenthal's case, said that she regretted voting to convict him. During the case, jurors were only informed that Rosenthal grew marijuana and not that he had been licensed to do so.
"We rendered a verdict that was wrong. We convicted a man who was not criminal," Craig said.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - MAY 22, 2003
Maryland's Gov. Ehrlich Signs Medical Marijuana Bill
Republican Governor Defies White House
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND -- Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich signed medical marijuana legislation into law today, marking the first time that a Republican governor has signed a bill to protect medical marijuana patients from jail. The action came despite enormous pressure from White House Drug Czar John Walters to veto the measure.
Maryland law presently provides penalties of up to a year in state prison and a $1,000 fine for marijuana possession. Under the new law, patients using marijuana to treat the symptoms of serious illness such as cancer, AIDS, and Crohn's disease will be able to use "medical necessity" as a defense against marijuana possession charges. If successful, the most severe punishment they could receive would be a $100 fine.
John Walters, head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, had urged legislators to oppose the bill, calling it a "cynical, cruel and immoral effort to use the sick and suffering," according to the Associated Press. After both chambers of the General Assembly passed the bill with bipartisan support, Walters redoubled his effort, urging Gov. Ehrlich to "see through the con" that Walters claimed was being perpetrated by "drug legalizers." Walters compared medical marijuana to "medicinal crack."
"Maryland's elected officials have rightly rejected the position of a hostile White House and drug czar, who believe that marijuana-using cancer patients should be incarcerated like common criminals," said Robert Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., which has lobbied Maryland officials for four years to pass medical marijuana legislation. "By comparing medical marijuana to medicinal crack, the drug czar is flexing his ignorance by ignoring 5,000 years of scientific literature, including literally dozens of studies in the United States. My organization is proud to be part of a medical marijuana `conspiracy' that includes the governments of Canada and Holland, the New England Journal of Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Public Health Association, and now nine U.S. states.
"Governor Ehrlich's courageous action in the face of a hostile White House shows that our campaign to protect medical marijuana patients is truly nonpartisan, once you get outside of Washington, D.C. We expect to continue defeating the White House and the drug czar on this issue, because 80 percent of the American people agree with us when we say that medical marijuana patients do not belong in jail."
With 12,000 members nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana -- both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. To this end, MPP focuses on removing criminal penalties for marijuana use, with a particular emphasis on making marijuana medically available to seriously ill people who have the approval of their doctors.
Drug Czar John Walters has repeatedly said that medical marijuana makes no more sense than "medicinal crack."* Here's what the real experts say:
New England Journal of Medicine, 1997: "[A] federal policy that prohibits physicians from alleviating suffering by prescribing marijuana for seriously ill patients is misguided, heavy-handed and inhumane. ... The government should change marijuana's status from that of a Schedule 1 drug (considered to be potentially addictive and with no current medical use) to that of a Schedule 2 drug (potentially addictive but with some accepted medical use) and regulate it accordingly" (editorial 1/30/1997, p. 366).
Institute of Medicine, 1999: "Nausea, appetite loss, pain, and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana" (p. 159). While the IOM urged development of non-smoked marijuana-based drugs, it noted, "In the meantime there are patients with debilitating symptoms for whom smoked marijuana might provide relief" (p. 7), adding, "Patients who are currently suffering from debilitating conditions unrelieved by legally available drugs, and who might find relief with smoked marijuana, will find little comfort in a promise of a better drug 10 years from now" (p. 178; all quotes and page numbers are from Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base, 1999; this report was commissioned by Walters' predecessor, Gen. Barry McCaffrey).
The Lancet Neurology, 2003: "Cannabinoids [marijuana's active components] inhibit pain in virtually every experimental pain paradigm. ... The clinical potential of the cannabinoids is large; some people suggest that cannabis could be the `aspirin of the 21st century.'" Discussing the synthetic THC pill dronabinol (Marinol), the journal noted, "Oral administration is probably the least satisfactory route for cannabis. ... The immediate future may lie in plant-based medicines" ("The Therapeutic Potential of Cannabis," May 2003, Pp. 291-98).
*See, for example, The Washington Post, 3/27/2003, p. B4.
-- RJ Bee, Legislative Analyst
-- Marijuana Policy Project
-- P.O. Box 77492 -- Capitol Hill -- Washington, D.C. 20013
-- http://www.mpp.org -- RJ@MPP.ORG
-- phone 202-462-5747 -- fax 202-232-0442
Bill would strip states of cash to fight drugs
WASHINGTON -- Law officers in Oregon, Washington and seven other states that allow people to smoke marijuana for medical purposes could lose $11.5 million in federal money to investigate drug traffickers under a bill pending in Congress.
The shift is part of a new, five-year plan for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Crafted by House Republicans, the plan would give broad spending discretion to the office's director, also known as the nation's "drug czar."
At risk for Oregon and Washington is an annual budget totaling $6.5 million under the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program. The money could be diverted to federal agents, who would enforce national drug laws prohibiting the use of marijuana.
Critics, including Democratic members of Congress, said the provision could punish local law enforcement officials unfairly. It also could undermine efforts to control drugs that are more damaging and costly to society than marijuana.
"However one feels about that decision by the citizens of our state, to take resources away from our already overtaxed law enforcement is just irresponsible, and the priorities are simply cockeyed," said Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash.
Law officers in the Northwest agreed, saying they needed federal money to help track heroin dealers in urban areas, as well as methamphetamine laboratories in rural areas.
They said they were blindsided by news that their budgets might be cut.
"This came out of the blue," said Chuck Karl, director for a high-intensity enforcement zone covering seven counties in Oregon.
Dave Rodriguez, director for Washington, said his office has continued aggressive pursuit of marijuana smugglers and dealers because they aren't protected by the state's law. Budget cuts would hamper what has proved to be an effective effort, he said.
"Why would they want to do something like that?" he said. "I think this is a vast overreaction to what in fact this (medical marijuana law) does."
The drug-control bill, sponsored by Reps. Mark Souder, R-Ind., and Tom Davis, R-Va., would give the drug czar authority to shift 5 percent of the $230 million program to federal agents from states that have laws decriminalizing the medical use of marijuana.
The $11.5 million would "assist in enforcement of federal law where state law permits the use of marijuana in a manner inconsistent with the Controlled Substances Act," according to the bill, HR2086-.
Aides to Souder and Davis couldn't be reached for comment on Monday or Tuesday.
John Walters, the drug czar, didn't ask for the provision, said Brian Blake, a spokesman. Walters would prefer to help local authorities understand regional drug markets and crack them.
"It's not the direction Director Walters wants to take it," Blake said of the bill. "In fact, it's the opposite."
Nevertheless, critics said the language could allow the drug czar to commandeer entire budgets for Oregon and Washington, which get $2.5 million and $4 million, respectively, under the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program.
A more likely scenario is that the provision could be used to target California, where state law is broader and allows medical marijuana users to form buyers' clubs, said Steve Fox, director of government affairs for the Marijuana Policy Project.
"California has always been the whipping horse," he said. "This could be just an additional threat."
Critics said the bill contained additional provisions that would give the drug czar discretion that could invite abuse.
The bill would lift restrictions on about $200 million earmarked annually for antidrug advertising, making it possible for the White House to mount media campaigns against state marijuana law initiatives and candidates who support them, Fox said.
Blake said the drug czar already has authority to use federal money to fight legalization of drugs. But Baird questioned whether the provision was constitutional.
"This is not just providing candidates on both sides of the issue with money so they can express their opinions," Baird said. "This is deliberately skewing the outcome of an election."
Of greater concern to enforcement officials in the Northwest is a new funding formula included the bill. It would channel money to drug enforcement at border crossings and in big U.S. cities such as New York.
Karl said his $2.5 million base budget for Oregon could be cut by $400,000 or more. The formula appears to be stacked against places where the production of drugs, mostly in rural areas, is as big a threat as distribution by international dealers, he said.
"We've got to deal with not just the cartels, we've got to deal with the local and regional organizations as well," he said.
Rodriguez said he faces the possibility of similar reductions. The program is operating at a minimal level in Washington state, he said, and any cuts could undermine its goal of coordinating law-enforcement efforts across jurisdictions.
"This completely, in my estimation, is going to pull the program apart," he said.
The bill passed subcommittee last month and could move to the House floor within weeks, critics said. But as more members learn the details, it could face stiff opposition.
Rep. Darlene Hooley, D-Ore., said she plans to rally members from the nine states with medical marijuana laws to try to make changes.
"When you put the power of that many states together, you can get things turned around," she said.
Jim Barnett: jim.barnett@newhouse.com; 503-294-7604.
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