7:00 PM: Call meeting to order. Approve minutes. Discuss:
Ø All three gubernatorial candidates said they support medical marijuana during their recent debate. Also, see the article in Inside New Jersey, “Medical marijuana bill gains momentum in New Jersey.”
Ø The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, which was approved by the state Senate in February, is due for a vote by the Assembly this fall. Tell your legislators that you want the Senate version of the bill to pass into law. This version does not contain the very restrictive changes to the bill that was released by the Assembly Health Committee. See CMMNJ’s recent blog for talking points—but tell your story in your own words. Don’t let a possibly unworkable bill pass into law.
7PM: Call meeting to order. Discuss:
Ø Support multiple sclerosis (MS) patient John Wilson, who faces 20 years in prison for growing marijuana to treat his MS. Wilson was forbidden by the judge to even mention his medical condition during the upcoming trial. Wilson’s next pre-trial hearing will be on 10/30 at 9AM. Also, a Warren County NJ mother, day care operator, and Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) president faces many years in prison after her September arrest for medical marijuana that she used to treat severe anxiety.
Ø CMMNJ is scheduled to appear at the following upcoming events:
· Sat., 10/10, 10 AM – 5 PM, Ewing Community Fest, The College of New Jersey, Ewing Twp., NJ.
· Mon., 10/19, 6:00 PM, Ocean Co. Community College Medical Marijuana Debate
· November 16 – 19, League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City (tentative)
· Tues., 10/20, 7 PM, NORML NJ Open Mtng., Dog House Saloon, 270 Pascack Rd., Wash. Twp, NJ 07676.
Ø CMMNJ recently appeared at the following events: 9/13, Hamilton Septemberfest, Hamilton Twp., NJ; 9/19, Boston Freedom Rally, Boston, Mass.; 9/24-26, NORML Conference, San Francisco, CA.; 10/4 Lawrence Community Day, Lawrence Twp., NJ.
CMMNJ raised $178 as a cause on Facebook! See Ken’s Facebook page & Facebook Friends of CMMNJ!
Ø Treasury report: Current balances: Checking: $4974.21; PayPal: $436.19. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) organization, to fund public education about medical marijuana. Donations may be made securely through Paypal or checks made out to “CMMNJ” and sent to the address below. Get a free t-shirt for a donation above $15—specify size. Thank you for your support.
Scheduled meetings are Oct. 13, Nov. 10, & Dec. 8, 2009. CMMNJ meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at the Lawrence Twp. Library from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM. All are welcome. Snacks are served. The library is at 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence Twp., Tel. #609.882.9246. (Meeting at the library does not imply their endorsement of our issue.) For more info, contact:
Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. www.cmmnj.org
844 Spruce St., Trenton, NJ 08648
(609) 394-2137
ohamkrw@aol.com
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A804 Substuitutions, Continued
| My side of an ongoing email discussion with a NJ legislator - I am very concerned about the A804 "substitution" which allows only a person's primary treatment doctor to make medical marijuana recommendations. This has not worked out in other states that allow medical marijuana, for reasons I describe below. -Peter ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.nj.com/insidejersey/index.ssf/2009/09/post_3.html I hope you have seen the above Star Ledger article where three potential New Jersey Medical Marijuana patients are interviewed: Chuck Kwiatkowski and Nancy Fedder, both with MS, and Mike Oliveri who has muscular dystrophy. I recently spoke to all three about whether their primary treatment doctor would write a recommendation for medical marijuana when it becomes legal in New Jersey. All three felt it would be extremely unlikely. Mike, living in "exile" in California while waiting for the New Jersey legislation to pass so he can return, says even in California it is still difficult to get a recommendation from one's primary treatment doctor, nearly 13 years after their legislation was enacted. Even though these people can benefit more than most from medical marijuana, and even though their doctors understand this, the doctors are still reluctant to recommend for the reasons I outlined. I seriously feel that the NJ legislation will be "dead on arrival" unless we get the restrictive physician recommendation clause removed. I would appreciate any suggestions as to whom best to speak to in the legislature about this matter. Thanks for any help,
|
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
New Jersey Gubernatorial Candidates Support Medical Marijuana
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey (CMMNJ) was pleased to see that all three candidates for governor of New Jersey said they support medical marijuana. On Thursday, October 1, 2009, during a debate in Trenton, Democrat Jon Corzine, Republican Chris Christie and Independent Chris Daggett all agreed to sign a medical marijuana bill into law. See: http://videos.nj.com/star-ledger/2009/10/candidates_on_medical_marijuan.html
Christie said, "There have to be sufficient safeguards so that we don't turn into California where everybody with a headache is going out getting high." Corzine agreed: "If you have a headache, it probably should be excluded from the reasons why people get medical marijuana."
It is laudable that the gubernatorial candidates want to protect seriously ill or injured New Jersey patients who use therapeutic marijuana on the advice of a licensed physician. However, it is unfortunate that the candidates dismissed "headaches" as a qualifying condition for therapeutic marijuana. Headaches can vary widely in intensity, frequency and duration. They can be the typical headache that is relieved by two aspirins, or they can be so intensely painful that they induce vomiting and drive the sufferer to a quiet, darkened room for solace. When the latter type headache occurs frequently, they require neurological work-ups and often treatment with powerful pain-killers that are dangerous and potentially addicting. These headaches can be disabling, and marijuana therapy should certainly be considered in these cases. Politicians should stop "playing doctor" and should allow licensed physicians to decide what diseases, conditions and symptoms qualify for marijuana therapy. Research related to marijuana and headaches is available at: http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=000218
CMMNJ also wonders, “What it is that politicians think is wrong with California?” Voters there approved Proposition 215 in 1996, establishing the first medical marijuana law. There have been no successful legislative or judicial challenges to the medical marijuana law in the state since. The US Supreme Court has affirmed California’s right to define marijuana as medicine. California residents continue to appreciate the benefits of their state authorized program. Patients no longer suffer needlessly or fear arrest and imprisonment for following the advice of a physician. The medical marijuana industry is contributing tax revenue to municipal and state coffers. California universities and medical centers have been conducting medical marijuana research. Overall, marijuana arrests are declining, teen marijuana use is declining, and state resources are not being wasted by arresting and imprisoning medical patients. In the end, California has greatly benefited from its medical marijuana program. Twelve other states have enacted medical marijuana laws since 1996 and another 14 states--New Jersey included--have legislation or ballot initiatives pending. California is clearly a leader on this issue.
CMMNJ Board member Chris Goldstein commented, “I was in San Francisco last week and medical marijuana represents a growing industry, but it is too often maligned by politicians in other states who are under-educated on the topic.” Goldstein said, “No one complains of a headache and gets into a medical marijuana dispensary in California. Everyone needs a recommendation from a licensed physician. One cannot purchase medical marijuana in the same manner as aspirin. Having witnessed the security and check-in procedures at several dispensaries in Oakland, it is certainly different than walking into a Walgreens.”
The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act A804/S119 is now in a final drive to passage. The bill has passed the Assembly and Senate Health committees and a Senate floor vote. The issue has received favorable editorials from most newspapers in the state. Now it must see an Assembly floor vote and will likely require an additional concurrence vote in the Senate. Recent polls show between 70% - 86% of New Jerseyans favor medical marijuana access. There is certainty bi-partisan political support for the bill, but passage this year remains far from assured. New Jersey would become the 14th state in the nation to legalize medical marijuana if it passes this legislation into law in the near future.
The Senate bill, S119, will remove the state penalties for the possession, use and cultivation of a small amount of marijuana when a licensed physician recommends it for a debilitating medical condition. Qualifying medical conditions include chronic pain, cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, etc. Patients will be issued ID cards in a program run by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). Patients will be permitted to grow up to six plants and possess one ounce of marijuana, but they will not be permitted to use their therapeutic marijuana in public or while operating motor vehicles. Patients may designate a caregiver or treatment center to grow the plants for them, but the caregiver/center must also register with DHSS. The substitute bill released by the Assembly Health Committee in June 2009, A804, is far more restrictive. It denies access to the largest population of patients, nearly all those suffering from “chronic pain,” it places severe restrictions on which physicians would be permitted to make medical marijuana recommendations, and it removes the provision for qualified patients to grow their own supply of marijuana.
Many professional health care organizations have endorsed medical marijuana including the American Nurses Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the American Public Health Association, and the American Academy of HIV Medicine. For a complete list of organizations supporting medical marijuana, see the web site of Patients Out of Time.
More information on medical marijuana in New Jersey is available at the web site of CMMNJ, www.cmmnj.org. CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, provides education about the benefits of safe and legal access to medical marijuana.
Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc.
844 Spruce St., Trenton, NJ 08648
609.394.2137 www.cmmnj.org ohamkrw@aol.com
Christie said, "There have to be sufficient safeguards so that we don't turn into California where everybody with a headache is going out getting high." Corzine agreed: "If you have a headache, it probably should be excluded from the reasons why people get medical marijuana."
It is laudable that the gubernatorial candidates want to protect seriously ill or injured New Jersey patients who use therapeutic marijuana on the advice of a licensed physician. However, it is unfortunate that the candidates dismissed "headaches" as a qualifying condition for therapeutic marijuana. Headaches can vary widely in intensity, frequency and duration. They can be the typical headache that is relieved by two aspirins, or they can be so intensely painful that they induce vomiting and drive the sufferer to a quiet, darkened room for solace. When the latter type headache occurs frequently, they require neurological work-ups and often treatment with powerful pain-killers that are dangerous and potentially addicting. These headaches can be disabling, and marijuana therapy should certainly be considered in these cases. Politicians should stop "playing doctor" and should allow licensed physicians to decide what diseases, conditions and symptoms qualify for marijuana therapy. Research related to marijuana and headaches is available at: http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=000218
CMMNJ also wonders, “What it is that politicians think is wrong with California?” Voters there approved Proposition 215 in 1996, establishing the first medical marijuana law. There have been no successful legislative or judicial challenges to the medical marijuana law in the state since. The US Supreme Court has affirmed California’s right to define marijuana as medicine. California residents continue to appreciate the benefits of their state authorized program. Patients no longer suffer needlessly or fear arrest and imprisonment for following the advice of a physician. The medical marijuana industry is contributing tax revenue to municipal and state coffers. California universities and medical centers have been conducting medical marijuana research. Overall, marijuana arrests are declining, teen marijuana use is declining, and state resources are not being wasted by arresting and imprisoning medical patients. In the end, California has greatly benefited from its medical marijuana program. Twelve other states have enacted medical marijuana laws since 1996 and another 14 states--New Jersey included--have legislation or ballot initiatives pending. California is clearly a leader on this issue.
CMMNJ Board member Chris Goldstein commented, “I was in San Francisco last week and medical marijuana represents a growing industry, but it is too often maligned by politicians in other states who are under-educated on the topic.” Goldstein said, “No one complains of a headache and gets into a medical marijuana dispensary in California. Everyone needs a recommendation from a licensed physician. One cannot purchase medical marijuana in the same manner as aspirin. Having witnessed the security and check-in procedures at several dispensaries in Oakland, it is certainly different than walking into a Walgreens.”
The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act A804/S119 is now in a final drive to passage. The bill has passed the Assembly and Senate Health committees and a Senate floor vote. The issue has received favorable editorials from most newspapers in the state. Now it must see an Assembly floor vote and will likely require an additional concurrence vote in the Senate. Recent polls show between 70% - 86% of New Jerseyans favor medical marijuana access. There is certainty bi-partisan political support for the bill, but passage this year remains far from assured. New Jersey would become the 14th state in the nation to legalize medical marijuana if it passes this legislation into law in the near future.
The Senate bill, S119, will remove the state penalties for the possession, use and cultivation of a small amount of marijuana when a licensed physician recommends it for a debilitating medical condition. Qualifying medical conditions include chronic pain, cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, etc. Patients will be issued ID cards in a program run by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). Patients will be permitted to grow up to six plants and possess one ounce of marijuana, but they will not be permitted to use their therapeutic marijuana in public or while operating motor vehicles. Patients may designate a caregiver or treatment center to grow the plants for them, but the caregiver/center must also register with DHSS. The substitute bill released by the Assembly Health Committee in June 2009, A804, is far more restrictive. It denies access to the largest population of patients, nearly all those suffering from “chronic pain,” it places severe restrictions on which physicians would be permitted to make medical marijuana recommendations, and it removes the provision for qualified patients to grow their own supply of marijuana.
Many professional health care organizations have endorsed medical marijuana including the American Nurses Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the American Public Health Association, and the American Academy of HIV Medicine. For a complete list of organizations supporting medical marijuana, see the web site of Patients Out of Time.
More information on medical marijuana in New Jersey is available at the web site of CMMNJ, www.cmmnj.org. CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, provides education about the benefits of safe and legal access to medical marijuana.
Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc.
844 Spruce St., Trenton, NJ 08648
609.394.2137 www.cmmnj.org ohamkrw@aol.com
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Warren County PTO President Busted for Medical Marijuana
According to the September 29, 2009 edition of the Express-Times, a Warren County, NJ mother, day care operator, and Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) president faces many years in prison for marijuana manufacturing:
Jim Miller is correct. One should not confuse everyday anxiety with the kind of anxiety that makes a person see a psychiatrist for treatment. That kind of anxiety is a disorder that can be crippling. Psychiatrists routinely prescribe tranquilizers and sedatives--drugs that are far more dangerous and addicting than marijuana--to try to keep the patient functioning as normally and as productively as possible. But there are treatment failures--people who respond poorly to the prescribed medicine. What then? In California, these patients are allowed to use marijuana, with the recommendation of a physician. In the current issue (Summer 2009) of O'Shaughnessy's, four physicians from the Society of Cannabis Clinicians have detailed the reasons that they have recommended marijuana for over 10,000 of their patients. 17% of these patients were treated for Anxiety Disorder (ICD-9 code 300.00). This is a far more humane way to treat patients than to throw them in jail for 20 years. For another NJ patient who faces 20 years in prison for growing his own medicine to treat his multiple sclerosis, see: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/protests_planned_in_somerville.html
Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey, Inc.
844 Spruce St.
Trenton, NJ 08648
609.394.2137
www.cmmnj.org
ohamkrw@aol.com
Responding to a tip, Greenwich Township police raided the home of Liz Kemp over the weekend and arrested the 42-year-old child care operator after they reportedly discovered 19 marijuana plants growing in her greenhouse.However, the plot thickened the next day when it was learned that the PTO mom suffered from severe anxiety and used the marijuana to treat her illness when traditional medications did not work for her. According to the September 30, 2009 edition of the Express-Times:
Kemp, who is also listed as the PTO president for the Greenwich Township School District, is facing drug and child neglect charges, authorities said.
Kemp's husband, Glenn Warnick, 39, also faces charges of child neglect. Kemp was arraigned in state Superior Court in Belvidere then was held in the Warren County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. Warnick is not incarcerated.
Police say Kemp operates the Second Home Child Care out of her home on Route 57 in Stewartsville. She describes the center as "a second home for your child to feel comfortable, safe and at home" on her 4-year-old Web site.
The charges against Kemp include possession or "manufacture" of marijuana, operating a marijuana-growing operation, possession of more than 50 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Two counts of child neglect are also included for allegedly growing the marijuana while caring for a child.
PTO mom who runs Greenwich Township day care uses marijuana to ease anxiety, sister says
Liz Kemp's sister Alexandra Spollen said Tuesday that her sibling uses marijuana to treat an anxiety disorder. Legal drugs have not been effective, she said, and left Kemp tired and depressed.
Spollen insisted her sister used 19 marijuana plants found growing in a greenhouse on her property for medicinal purposes only.
Kemp, the Greenwich Township PTO president, was arrested on drug and child neglect charges earlier this week and sent to Warren County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail...
Jim Miller, president of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana in New Jersey, said the drug is often used to treat anxiety "without fear of side effects."
Anxiety, however, is not a disorder currently covered by legislation that would legalize medical marijuana if it makes its way to Gov. Jon Corzine's desk.
Jim Miller is correct. One should not confuse everyday anxiety with the kind of anxiety that makes a person see a psychiatrist for treatment. That kind of anxiety is a disorder that can be crippling. Psychiatrists routinely prescribe tranquilizers and sedatives--drugs that are far more dangerous and addicting than marijuana--to try to keep the patient functioning as normally and as productively as possible. But there are treatment failures--people who respond poorly to the prescribed medicine. What then? In California, these patients are allowed to use marijuana, with the recommendation of a physician. In the current issue (Summer 2009) of O'Shaughnessy's, four physicians from the Society of Cannabis Clinicians have detailed the reasons that they have recommended marijuana for over 10,000 of their patients. 17% of these patients were treated for Anxiety Disorder (ICD-9 code 300.00). This is a far more humane way to treat patients than to throw them in jail for 20 years. For another NJ patient who faces 20 years in prison for growing his own medicine to treat his multiple sclerosis, see: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/protests_planned_in_somerville.html
Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey, Inc.
844 Spruce St.
Trenton, NJ 08648
609.394.2137
www.cmmnj.org
ohamkrw@aol.com
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Septemberfest Surprise
Despite misgivings about even attending this years Hamilton Twp. Septemberfest (9-13), the day was sunny and The CMMNJ table was assigned it's best spot ever. We collected a couple of hundred signatures on our medical marijuana petition and sold wristbands and tee shirts while handing out information and educating those who stopped at the table. Most of the people we talked to did not know much about the status of the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana bill. That should tell us something. As much as we would like to think our hard work has ensured that most people are aware that there is a medical marijuana bill poised to pass into law in New Jersey, it's just not so. Some people thought that we have already passed medical marijuana law, some thought that something like that could never be done in NJ, and many were still simply not aware that such a bill even exists. We cannot let up in our educational efforts until the governor's pen actually makes contact with the bill.
The day was already a success when it took a turn for the better. Politicians frequent these events so when Ken said "is that Chris Christie who just walked by" I figured it may well be him. I picked up a postcard picturing my late wife Cheryl as she sat in her wheelchair with a sign leaned against it stating "I'm a medical marijuana patient, not a criminal!" and headed off to see if it was indeed the New Jersey republican candidate for governor. Oh yeah, it was him. There was a group of about 20 people walking with Mr. Christie as I approached him and introduced myself. I showed him the postcard with my thumb covering the medical marijuana part and told him that Cheryl bravely fought multiple sclerosis for 32 years before she died six years ago. I moved my thumb away and continued on to say that medical marijuana was Cheryl's best medicine for pain and spasticity whether he understood that or not. As I was about to confront him about his previously stated opposition to medical marijuana I noticed that it was NJ state senator Bill Baroni who was accompanying him around the park. Now THERE'S two republicans with completely opposite opinions about medical marijuana.
I told Mr. Christie that he was standing next to one of my political heroes. I explained how, as a member of the Senate Health Committee, Sen. Baroni took his committee vote on medical marijuana very seriously. Seriously enough to state on the floor of the Senate how he had read everything that everybody sent him and listened ALL testimony on the subject before deciding how to vote. Baroni stood with his arms folded in front of him as he smiled and agreed, saying "I did". He did the work. He defined his job description by his actions on the floor that day. (You can go to http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/archive_audio2.asp?KEY=SHH&SESSION=2008 and click on "listen" at the 12-15-08 hearing to hear his inspiring words at the 2:38:30 mark.) I told Mr. Christie that I understood that he is a very busy man, but if he trusted Senator Baroni he should at least briefly talk to him about what he learned while investigating the facts about New Jersey's Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana bill. Christie nodded in agreement while being very careful not to utter a single word. Smart move.
So, we will see. Everyone can evolve as information becomes available. I assume that Mr. Christie's stated opinions about medical marijuana have been formed by getting information solely from sources that are against it. Now we will see if talking to someone who has gone to both sides of the issue for information will effect his myopic opinions of the past. I mean, if former congressman Bob Barr can evolve on this issue, anyone can. I chose not to confront Chris Christie because I didn't have to. The door is open for Sen. Baroni and Chris Christie to have the conversation that they should have. If Christie doesn't take the opportunity it will demonstrate that he would rather go with the preconceived opinion that most republicans seem to have. That door swings both ways though. If Sen. Baroni doesn't take this opening to educate Mr. Christie, I will be seriously disappointed, and so will the patients who he gave so much hope to on December 15, 2008.
Monday, September 14, 2009
FDA Approval of Medical Marijuana Impossible and Unnecessary
Critics say they would support medical marijuana if only it obtained Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. This sounds good, but it is really an impossible and unnecessary precondition.
It takes many millions of dollars to get a drug through the current FDA approval process. Pharmaceutical companies spend this kind of money with the expectation that they will be able to patent new drugs and charge exorbitant prices for them. But no one can patent marijuana—it grows wild, and is cultivated, in all 50 states. No company can expect to recoup its expenses after conducting the type of trials of marijuana that the FDA currently considers standard for newly developed drugs. Nor should this be necessary. Marijuana is not a newly developed drug. Marijuana has been used medicinally for thousands of years and was included in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia until the 1940's.
Even if some non-profit medical center or university was inclined to spend the hundreds of millions of dollars to obtain FDA approval, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has been obstructing, and continues to obstruct, scientific research in this area. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst is currently suing the DEA to allow it to grow its own marijuana to conduct clinical trials. The DEA refuses to allow anyone but itself to legally grow marijuana even for research or compassionate use programs. With very few exceptions, independent clinical trials of marijuana's medical benefits simply cannot get done here in America.
Look at New Jersey. In 1981, the New Jersey legislature unanimously passed into law the “Dangerous Substances Therapeutic Research Act.” This law was designed to protect New Jersey patients who were engaged in clinical trials of marijuana. In 28 years not a single New Jersey resident has been able to take part in a clinical trial of medical marijuana here. The National Academy of Sciences' 1999 Institute of Medicine report, which recommended immediate access to clinical trials of marijuana, called the DEA's death grip on marijuana “a daunting thicket of regulations to be negotiated at the federal level.”
There is only one federal study currently being done--one--and it has been closed to new applicants since 1992. There are fewer than a half dozen patients still involved in this Investigational New Drug (IND) study. Every month, the federal government sends these patients 300 marijuana cigarettes. They have been doing so for over 20 years. In all that time the federal government has never once asked these patients how they are doing. It fell to a private organization, Patients Out of Time, to gather these patients together and study them. Patients Out of Time found that none of the IND patients suffered any adverse effects from marijuana, their conditions were all under control, and marijuana was the only therapeutic agent they were using. The federal government simply does not want to know how effective marijuana is—reality would clash too greatly with its preconceived notions that marijuana has no recognized medical uses and is unsafe for use even under medical supervision.
It was a political decision to ban marijuana, not a medical or scientific one. Previous scientific studies have been routinely ignored. The Schafer Commission studied the issue for two years. In 1972, they reported, “Marijuana has important therapeutic qualities which should be aggressively explored.” Nothing came of this.
Also in 1972, some groups petitioned the federal government to reschedule marijuana to make it available for doctors to prescribe. The government refused to hold hearings for 14 years. Finally in 1986, after three court orders, hearings were held which lasted two years. The DEA testified why marijuana should remain unavailable. Doctors, nurses, patients and researchers testified that marijuana should be available. The decision was given by the US Department of Justice, DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young on September 6, 1988. He said:
“The evidence in this record clearly shows that marijuana has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision. It would be unreasoning, arbitrary and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between these sufferers and this substance in light of the evidence in this record...Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.”
Marijuana should have been approved nationwide for medical use then and there. Unfortunately, the Administrator of the DEA overturned the judge's decision, acting in an arbitrary, capricious and unreasoning manner.
The whole point of any “compassionate use program” is to allow innovative therapies for seriously ill patients prior to FDA approval. This is why we must pass into law the “New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.” Patients in New Jersey have a right to the best possible care available, and there is ample evidence of marijuana's safety and efficacy. FDA approval of this program is both impossible and unnecessary.
Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey
844 Spruce St.
Trenton, NJ 08648-4530
609.394.2137
www.cmmnj.org
ohamkrw@aol.com
It takes many millions of dollars to get a drug through the current FDA approval process. Pharmaceutical companies spend this kind of money with the expectation that they will be able to patent new drugs and charge exorbitant prices for them. But no one can patent marijuana—it grows wild, and is cultivated, in all 50 states. No company can expect to recoup its expenses after conducting the type of trials of marijuana that the FDA currently considers standard for newly developed drugs. Nor should this be necessary. Marijuana is not a newly developed drug. Marijuana has been used medicinally for thousands of years and was included in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia until the 1940's.
Even if some non-profit medical center or university was inclined to spend the hundreds of millions of dollars to obtain FDA approval, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has been obstructing, and continues to obstruct, scientific research in this area. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst is currently suing the DEA to allow it to grow its own marijuana to conduct clinical trials. The DEA refuses to allow anyone but itself to legally grow marijuana even for research or compassionate use programs. With very few exceptions, independent clinical trials of marijuana's medical benefits simply cannot get done here in America.
Look at New Jersey. In 1981, the New Jersey legislature unanimously passed into law the “Dangerous Substances Therapeutic Research Act.” This law was designed to protect New Jersey patients who were engaged in clinical trials of marijuana. In 28 years not a single New Jersey resident has been able to take part in a clinical trial of medical marijuana here. The National Academy of Sciences' 1999 Institute of Medicine report, which recommended immediate access to clinical trials of marijuana, called the DEA's death grip on marijuana “a daunting thicket of regulations to be negotiated at the federal level.”
There is only one federal study currently being done--one--and it has been closed to new applicants since 1992. There are fewer than a half dozen patients still involved in this Investigational New Drug (IND) study. Every month, the federal government sends these patients 300 marijuana cigarettes. They have been doing so for over 20 years. In all that time the federal government has never once asked these patients how they are doing. It fell to a private organization, Patients Out of Time, to gather these patients together and study them. Patients Out of Time found that none of the IND patients suffered any adverse effects from marijuana, their conditions were all under control, and marijuana was the only therapeutic agent they were using. The federal government simply does not want to know how effective marijuana is—reality would clash too greatly with its preconceived notions that marijuana has no recognized medical uses and is unsafe for use even under medical supervision.
It was a political decision to ban marijuana, not a medical or scientific one. Previous scientific studies have been routinely ignored. The Schafer Commission studied the issue for two years. In 1972, they reported, “Marijuana has important therapeutic qualities which should be aggressively explored.” Nothing came of this.
Also in 1972, some groups petitioned the federal government to reschedule marijuana to make it available for doctors to prescribe. The government refused to hold hearings for 14 years. Finally in 1986, after three court orders, hearings were held which lasted two years. The DEA testified why marijuana should remain unavailable. Doctors, nurses, patients and researchers testified that marijuana should be available. The decision was given by the US Department of Justice, DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young on September 6, 1988. He said:
“The evidence in this record clearly shows that marijuana has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision. It would be unreasoning, arbitrary and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between these sufferers and this substance in light of the evidence in this record...Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.”
Marijuana should have been approved nationwide for medical use then and there. Unfortunately, the Administrator of the DEA overturned the judge's decision, acting in an arbitrary, capricious and unreasoning manner.
The whole point of any “compassionate use program” is to allow innovative therapies for seriously ill patients prior to FDA approval. This is why we must pass into law the “New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.” Patients in New Jersey have a right to the best possible care available, and there is ample evidence of marijuana's safety and efficacy. FDA approval of this program is both impossible and unnecessary.
Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey
844 Spruce St.
Trenton, NJ 08648-4530
609.394.2137
www.cmmnj.org
ohamkrw@aol.com
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Marijuana is Medicine- CMMNJ documentary on YouTube
Marijuana Is Medicine PT1- New Jersey Documentary
A documentary film directed by Jim Incollingo and produced by The Coalition for Medical Marijuana - New Jersey CMMNJ. Featuring patients and health care providers struggling under marijuana prohibition.
Parts 2 and 3 along with additional CMMNJ video is available at http://www.youtube.com/user/NJmedicalmarijuana
A documentary film directed by Jim Incollingo and produced by The Coalition for Medical Marijuana - New Jersey CMMNJ. Featuring patients and health care providers struggling under marijuana prohibition.
Parts 2 and 3 along with additional CMMNJ video is available at http://www.youtube.com/user/NJmedicalmarijuana
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
