20/20’s John Stossel on the case of Charlie Lynch vs the DEA

April 4, 2009

We couldn’t say “medical marijuana” [in court] - Charlie Lynch’s lawyers

20/20’s John Stossel recently reported on the case of Charlie Lynch. Mr. Lynch is the former owner and managing Caregiver for Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers in Morro Bay, California. Last year, he was convicted on five counts of distributing drugs and faces a minimum of five years in prison. This comes despite the fact that Mr. Lynch never once broke state laws by providing medicinal marijuana to patients that need it. In fact, when he opened his dispensary in 2006, many prominent city council members and local business people attended - even the Mayor of Morro Bay was there for the ribbon cutting ceremony. So why was he convicted of a crime if he never broke state laws? Just ask the renegade sheriff who, after the state refused to go after Mr. Lynch, turned to the DEA for assistance. Check out the intriguing video with John Stossel below:

Update: U.S. District Judge George Wu has postponed the sentencing of Charlie Lynch.

CNBC panel: marijuana should be legalized, regulated and taxed

April 4, 2009

“It was a bad year for wine, but a great year for marijuana”

Marijuana is America’s largest cash crop. More money is made via illegal marijuana sales than all vegetables and corn crops combined. Some 25 million Americans use marijuana illegally - meaning no tax revenue is generated. This poses an interesting question: how much money could be made if we legalized, regulated and taxed marijuana? President Obama shrugged off the idea that marijuana legalization and taxation could help boost the economy. Many leading economists (including Nobel Laureates, and economists from top-tier universities across the country), however, believe that taxing marijuana could help save our economy. Continue reading to check out the eight-person round table discussion on whether or not legalization is the path to go down.

California Judge says most harmful thing about marijuana is jail

April 3, 2009

Judge James P. Gray is a trial Judge in Orange County, CA, former attorney in the Navy JAG corps, federal prosecutor in Los Angeles and has been a civil litigation attorney for a private law firm. He has never consumed cannabis in his life, nor does he have any desire to do so. Despite this, Judge Gray recognizes that the prohibition of marijuana is significantly worse than legalizing and regulating. In the following video interview, Judge Gray offers five compelling reasons to decriminalize marijuana.

Many prohibitionists argue that the laws currently in place help protect children from acquiring and trying marijuana, but Judge Gray explains why exactly the opposite is true. Backed up by facts, experience and flat out common sense, he makes the case that marijuana is much easier to obtain by teenagers than alcohol and cigarettes are. This was also noted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in a report released last year.

Continue reading for the insightful two-part interview with Judge Gray.

Madrid study shows THC coaxes cancerous brain cells to self-digest

April 3, 2009

A new study conducted at Complutense University in Madrid and published in the April edition of US-published Journal of Clinical Investigation shows that THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, helps to defeat brain cancer by coaxing cancerous brain cells to self-digest.

Michigan Anti-Pot Group Launches Attack Ad

October 29, 2008

Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Kids, the major anti-Pot group opposing Michigan’s medical marijuana proposal, launched its first television ad this week.

In a grim voice, the ad states: “After California passed a law just like Proposal 1, hundreds of pot smoking clubs opened in strip clubs all over the state. They grow pot. They smoke it there. In every neighborhood - just blocks from schools. Vote no on Proposal 1.”

We’ve dissected the group’s arguments in the past (here), but you really have to watch the video to see fear mongering in full effect:

Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Kids Make Their Case Against Medical Marijuana

October 2, 2008

Yesterday, a new anti-Proposal 1 group emerged under the name Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Kids. The group was organized in an attempt to convince Michigan voters to vote NO on the proposal that would allow medical marijuana to help alleviate pain for seriously ill patients across the state. Today, the coalition, led by former republican Senator and current 4th district Appeals Court Judge Bill Schuette, announced a series of events in Southfield, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Traverse City and Saginaw. Their position on Proposal 1: it could “undermine efforts to limit smoking in public places, allow marijuana use as a defense in court and make pot shops a staple in every community.” With acquisitions like these, the people should demand concrete facts to back up their viewpoint.

In a press release today, the “Citizens” claimed that Proposal 1, if passed, would:

CPMK: Allow use of marijuana without a doctor’s prescription
Proposal 1: Permit physician approved use of marijuana by registered patients with debilitating medical conditions including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C, MS and other conditions as may be approved by the Department of Community Health.

(f) “Physician” means an individual licensed as a physician under Part 170 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.17001 to 333.17084, or an osteopathic physician under Part 175 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.17501 to 333.17556.

(h) “Qualifying patient” means a person who has been diagnosed by a physician as having a debilitating medical condition.

CPMK: Allow a person arrested on any offense to use marijuana use as a “medical” defense in court
Proposal 1: Except as provided in section 7, a patient and a patient’s primary caregiver, if any, may assert the medical purpose for using marihuana as a defense to any prosecution involving marihuana, and this defense shall be presumed valid where the evidence shows that: A physician has stated that, in the physician’s professional opinion, after having completed a full assessment of the patient’s medical history and current medical condition made in the course of a bona fide physician-patient relationship, the patient is likely to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from the medical use of marihuana to treat or alleviate the patient’s serious or debilitating medical condition or symptoms of the patient’s serious or debilitating medical condition.

7. Scope of Act.

Sec. 7. (a) The medical use of marihuana is allowed under state law to the extent that it is carried out in accordance with the provisions of this act.

(b) This act shall not permit any person to do any of the following:

(1) Undertake any task under the influence of marihuana, when doing so would constitute negligence or professional malpractice.

(2) Possess marihuana, or otherwise engage in the medical use of marihuana:

(A) in a school bus;

(B) on the grounds of any preschool or primary or secondary school; or

(C) in any correctional facility.

(3) Smoke marihuana:

(A) on any form of public transportation; or

(B) in any public place.

(4) Operate, navigate, or be in actual physical control of any motor vehicle, aircraft, or motorboat while under the influence of marihuana.

(5) Use marihuana if that person does not have a serious or debilitating medical condition.

CPMK: Allow a flood of lawsuits over things such as whether doctors and hospitals must allow patients to smoke marijuana in a doctor’s office or hospital room, despite every other law banning smoking
Proposal 1: This is purely unsubstantiated speculation and has not been the case in the 12 states that have already legalized medical marijuana.

CPMK: Allow the opening of pot shops and smoking clubs in neighborhood strip malls, like has happened in –California under a similar proposal
Proposal 1: There is nothing in the proposal that approves this. Of the 12 states that have approved medical marijuana, only California allows for medical marijuana dispensaries, which patients need a state registry card to enter.

CPMK: Cost taxpayers by requiring the funding of a new Lansing bureaucracy to license marijuana users along with the regulatory expenses that follow.
Proposal 1: The department shall issue registry identification cards to qualifying patients who submit an application or renewal fee.

The fact of the matter is it’s currently easier for teens to obtain marijuana than it is alcohol - the illegality of the drug has done nothing to curb easy access. Regulation works. Teen use of marijuana is actually down more in states where it has been legalized for medicinal use than those where it remains completely illegal.

If the “Citizens” are concerned about marijuana dispensaries than they mustn’t be concerned about the cost to taxpayers; annual tax revenue brings in an estimated $100 million in California on the sales tax of medical marijuana alone. It’s clear that citizens who are truly concerned about protecting our children won’t hide behind an advocacy group that uses fear-mongering to suggest that regulated control of a substance is less safe or practical than no regulation at all, failed policies that have empowered drug dealers and cost this country hundreds of billions of dollars on enforcement that does nothing to curb use among teens. But legalizing marijuana is not what Proposal 1 is about - it’s about providing a proven-effective drug to those who need it most.

Schwarzenegger Vetoes Medical Marijuana Employment Protection

October 1, 2008

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday vetoed California Assembly Bill 2279 which would have declared it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against qualified medical marijuana users. Under a recent California Supreme Court ruling, state-authorized medical marijuana patients may be fired for their off-the-job marijuana use. The bill would have left intact state laws against on the job marijuana use and protected employers for liability. The Governor cited the following reasons:

This bill attempts to shield qualified medical marijuana patients employed in non safety-sensitive positions from employment discrimination. However, I am concerned with interference in employment decisions as they relate to marijuana use. Employment protection was not a goal of the initiative as passed by voters in 1996.

Anti-Medical Marijuana Group Names Itself “Citizens Protecting Michigan Kids”

October 1, 2008

After garnering over half a million signatures in support, Michigan will vote on Proposal 1 - legalizing medical marijuana for the seriously ill - in the upcoming November elections. Until now, there has been little opposition to the measure, and a recent Detroit Free Press poll showed voters were in favor of the legislation nearly 2-1.

Today, however, the first anti-Proposal 1 group emerged. The coalition is presenting itself as the ill-conceived Citizens Protecting Michigan Kids, and is led by former republican Senator and current Appeals Court Judge from Michigan’s 4th district, Bill Schuette. The group is planning on launching their campaign with news conferences across Michigan this Thursday. While no other information has yet been released, their name raises serious questions. The implication that teen use of marijuana will increase as a result of Proposal 1 passing is flat out wrong. In fact, in states where medical marijuana has been legalized, teen use has dropped faster than the national average.

This proposal, just like similar proposals that have passed with overwhelming support in 12 other states to date, will not send the message that marijuana use is acceptable anymore than any other drug being legally available to those that need it will. It’s absurd to suggest that because we allow people dying from cancer to smoke marijuana to alleviate their pain and not face legal repercussions, that it will promote its use to children. To deny the use of medicine to patients who are suffering under the guise of “saving the children” is not only reprehensible and ill-informed but immoral as well.

We’re looking forward to the upcoming news conferences from the Citizens Protecting Michigan Kids and will report on those and other related events as they happen.

Cannabis May Slow Progression of MS

September 18, 2008

It has been known that cannabis helps deal with symptoms of multiple sclerosis but a new study finds that it may actually halt progression of this degenerative disease.

“Recent clinical trials may indeed suggest that cannabis has some potential to relieve, pain, spasms and spasticity in MS. In addition, CB(1) and CB(2) cannabinoid receptor stimulation may also have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective potential as the endocannabinoid system controls the level of neurodegeneration that occurs as a result of the inflammatory insults. Therefore cannabinoids may not only offer symptom control but may also slow the neurodegenerative disease progression that ultimately leads to the accumulation of disability.“

This is very exciting news for those suffering with MS. Click here for the study.

Adult marijuana use a “disease” in America according to new government report

September 18, 2008

In a new report from the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the federal government provides its most comprehensive smear campaign yet against cannabis use in the United States. Despite a reported 25% drop in marijuana use among teens since 2001, the “greatest cause of illegal drug abuse” as the report is bylined, suggests a growing epidemic among adult users. In the Marijuana Sourcebook 2008, posted in its entirety below, the ONDCP liken medical marijuana dispensaries to drug traffickers, claim growers present environmental hazards, and call into question the legitimacy of seriously ill patients taking the plant as medicine.