Medical Marijuana Advocates Protest Obama's San Francisco Visit

Medical Marijuana Advocates Protest Obama's San Francisco Visit

SAN FRANCISCO -- Hundreds of marijuana advocates gathered in downtown San Francisco Tuesday to protest recent federal crackdowns on California's medical cannabis industry while President Obama attended a fundraising luncheon at the nearby W Hotel.

Among the demonstrators was an employee at a local marijuana collective. "I've worked there for years," the man, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Huffington Post. "But if the Feds close us down, I'll be out there on the street with the Occupy Wall Street protesters because I'll be out of a job. This is my career, my livelihood. What Obama has done to our industry is nothing short of entrapment."

Despite an earlier promise to leave medical marijuana laws to the states, federal officials recently launched a whirlwind crackdown on cannabis dispensaries throughout the state, threatening to shut down certain pot shops and targeting others with exorbitant IRS bills and other sanctions. At a press conference held prior to the demonstration, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) joined advocates, local lawmakers and business owners in calling on the Obama administration to intervene.

"It's a total overreaction by the U.S. attorneys and they need to be reined in," Ammiano said. "I don't know who let the dogs out, but they need to be called off."

San Francisco resident Misha Breyburg, who participated in the protest, said he was disappointed in Obama's regression from his campaign promises. "It's important for politicians to stand by their words," he said. "These people out here -- they've worked hard, they've saved their money and they've taken all of the legal steps -- and then to have their property taken away from them? Maybe in North Korea."

California voters approved the use of medical marijuana in 1996 with the passage of Proposition 215, later named the Compassionate Use Act, which allows patients to possess and cultivate cannabis with a doctor's permission. The law has been interpreted many times since its inception. In City of Garden Grove v. Superior Court in 2007, trial court sided with the patient, finding it "is not the job of local police to enforce the federal drug law." A California Supreme Court ruling in 2010 found residents may grow or possess "reasonable amounts" of marijuana with a doctor's blessing.

As a candidate, Obama promised to maintain a hands-off approach toward pot clinics adhering to state law, telling a 2007 town hall in Nashua, N.H., that a Justice Department prosecuting medical marijuana users was "not a good use of our resources." Now Ammiano, a self-described Obama supporter, is asking the president to "exercise some leadership on this issue."

"We have it on tape," Ammiano said of Obama's promise. "Eric Holder early in the campaign said that the Attorney General would not raid medical marijuana dispensaries -- there are around 16 states that have them -- then out of the blue comes this droid missile aimed at medical marijuana and the dispensaries, and there's a lot of untruth...to me this is kind of a 'Reefer Madness' mindset."

The crackdown comes even as 50 percent of Americans favor legalizing marijuana, according to a recently released Gallup poll, up from just 36 percent in 2006.

Authorities estimated nearly 1,000 protesters descended on the W Hotel during the duration of Obama's appearance. In addition to the marijuana enthusiasts, the president was greeted by environmentalists, anti-war activists and a smattering of Occupy Wall Streeters. The most vocal demonstrators opposed the construction of the Keystone pipeline in the Midwest.

Rally signs ran the gamut, from "Yes We Cannabis" and "Obama Changed," to "No Pipeline For The One Percent" and "Bring Our Troops Home." Another group set up a loudspeaker and played clips of promises made during Obama's 2008 campaign speeches that have not yet been met.

The president stopped by San Francisco as part of a West Coast tour promoting his economic and jobs plans as well as his 2012 campaign.

Access to Medical Cannabis ATTACKED by FED's;

http://www.kcra.com/news/29546818/detail.html

City May Lose Millions From Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

POSTED: 11:00 pm PDT October 20, 2011
UPDATED: 11:48 pm PDT October 20, 2011
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The California Cannabis Association estimates the city of Sacramento has taken in more than $2 million in taxes, permits and fees from medical marijuana dispensaries in the last year. The cities Economic Development Department doesn’t dispute that number.

Each dispensary has to go through a lengthy permit process, consisting of three different phases and costing more than $20,000, according to the Economic Development Department. The city also receives a 4 percent sales tax on the dispensaries profits from selling medical marijuana, said Maurice Chaney a representative of the Economic Development Department.

So will it hurt the city if the revenue stream from the dispensaries stops?

“That source of revenue is new anyway,” said Angelique Ashby, a city council member. “So hopefully we haven’t become too reliant on it in the year that we have had the ordinance.”

The cities ordinance allowing medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in the city limits is only a year old. Chaney said 35 dispensaries are going through the permitting process.

Since the city froze the permit process after the federal crackdown on dispensaries in California, some are wondering what will happen to the money that the city has already received for permits from dispensary owners still in the permitting process.

“I don’t think it’s logical to keep to the money,” said George Mull, the president of the California Cannabis Association. “Hopefully (the city government) will do the right thing and give back the application money.”

Chaney said the city is keeping the money, because it has only frozen the permitting process, not ended it.

Read more: http://www.kcra.com/news/29546818/detail.html#ixzz1bRqNOo6o

Legalize Cannabis Says The California Medical Association

Legalize Cannabis Says The California Medical Association
Editor's Choice

The California Medical Association (CMA) has officially announced its new policy on cannabis and recommends legalization.

Their decision was taken after a white paper concluded that physicians need to have better access to research and information that is simply not possible under the existing policy.

James T. Hay, M.D., CMA President-Elect confirmed :

"CMA may be the first organization of its kind to take this position, but we won't be the last. This was a carefully considered, deliberative decision made exclusively on medical and scientific grounds ... As physicians, we need to have a better understanding about the benefits and risks of medicinal cannabis so that we can provide the best care possible to our patients."



The problem doctors face with Cannabis being in a gray area in California is that they are the ones that have to recommend use of cannabis and marijuana to patients, and yet lack proper guidelines, research, medical precedents and to further complicate matters there is no quality control and not even a stated dose or strength of the various products provided to patients. Not only does this mean that there is no standard of use or prescription, it leaves doctors with potential legal liabilities.

Paul Phinney, M.D., CMA Board Chair clarified :

"We need to regulate cannabis so that we know what we're recommending to our patients ... Currently, medical and recreational cannabis have no mandatory labeling standards of concentration or purity. First, we've got to legalize it so that we can properly study and regulate it."



Whilst California has decriminalized marijuana seeing that policy as the only sensible way to tackle widespread use and possible medical benefits, cutting law enforcement and court costs, and preventing pointless arrests, on a Federal level the herb is still illegal meaning that research, testing, clinical trials and even possession and supply of the drug is highly restricted.

Dustin Corcoran, CMA Chief Executive Officer concluded :

"Our physicians have looked at this issue closely and carefully over a significant period of time ... after months of research and collaboration, they have chosen to adopt this forward thinking, medically sound policy that will only further their ability to properly treat patients."

Written by Rupert Shepherd

Feds don't get it !!!

Feds crack down on California pot dispensaries

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19056050

By Josh Richman and John Woolfolk
Staff Writers
Posted: 10/07/2011 06:07:07 AM PDT

Federal prosecutors are targeting medical marijuana dispensaries across California, warning them to shut down within 45 days or face federal criminal and civil penalties regardless of whether they are operating within state and local laws.

Prosecutors have sent letters to at least 16 dispensaries -- or their landlords -- warning them they are violating federal drug laws. There have been no reports yet of East Bay or South Bay dispensaries receiving the letters, although 12 in San Diego and a few in San Francisco and Marin counties have received them. The action marks a resurgence of the ever-present tension between federal law's blanket ban on marijuana and California's 1996 law permitting the drug's medicinal use.

The U.S. Attorneys for all four of California's federal districts have scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. Friday in Sacramento to "outline actions targeting the sale, distribution and cultivation of marijuana in California." A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in San Francisco didn't return messages Thursday, but a cannabis industry lawyer said he expects they'll announce a multipronged approach to squelch California's permissive stance on marijuana by any means necessary.

"What they're getting at is basically the Obama administration war on medical cannabis is exactly the same as the Bush administration war on cannabis," attorney Bill Panzer of Oakland said.

Panzer said these letters go hand-in-hand with Tuesday's
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news that the Internal Revenue Service wants Oakland's Harborside Health Center dispensary to pay $2.4 million in back taxes because it can't claim the same deductions as other businesses. "You've got a lot of things happening all at the same time, all trying to stem the tide of medical cannabis," he said.

Oaksterdam University founder Richard Lee, who bankrolled 2010's unsuccessful Proposition 19 for recreational marijuana legalization, says the federal action could be the result of cities and counties limiting medical cannabis to a few large, permitted dispensaries rather than a network of smaller, private-membership clubs that could stay under the federal radar.

Oakland has allowed only four dispensaries; Lee owns one, the Coffeeshop Blue Sky on 17th Street, but declined to say Thursday whether he or his landlord have recently received a federal prosecutor's letter.

The Drug Enforcement Administration some years ago made similar threats to some landlords renting space to medical marijuana outlets, yet rarely followed through, Lee noted. But Panzer said the new letters strike a different tone, both because they come from the U.S. Attorneys, who have authority to pursue asset forfeiture in federal court, and because they set a 45-day deadline for compliance.

"That's a little different from what we saw before," he said.

Panzer said he has one of the most recent letters, but attorney-client privilege prevents him from sharing it or identifying its recipient.

Activists said they weren't aware of any notices received yet in the San Jose area. The San Jose City Council last month approved regulations allowing up to 10 marijuana collectives in a city now believed to have as many as 140, and requiring them to grow all their product on site rather than buying it wholesale from growers -- a requirement that some complained would invite federal drug raids.

Marijuana collectives complain the city's rules would effectively force all of them to close, and so they have launched a drive to collect the required 30,000 signatures of city voters needed to qualify a referendum to repeal the city laws.

Rich Robinson, a San Jose political consultant advising the city referendum drive, said the effort would continue unabated. He called the federal prosecutors' letters a "scare tactic to get as many clubs to close down as possible" and predicted it would fail because "there's too many to enforce."

San Jose City Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio, who led the city effort to regulate and tax medical marijuana shops, suspected the move stemmed from President Obama's concerns his administration's previous tolerance for medical marijuana in states that allow it may hurt his re-election chances. His predecessor, George W. Bush, and other presidents have strongly opposed state efforts to legalize marijuana use even for the sick.

"This is Obama freaking out about his re-election," Oliverio said. "It sounds like they reverted back to the Bush policy of zero tolerance."

The Justice Department issued an October 2009 memo saying that prosecution of significant drug traffickers remained a priority but U.S. Attorneys shouldn't focus resources on those acting in compliance with state laws allowing for medical use of marijuana.

Another Justice Department memo from June seemed to portend a crackdown, saying that dispensaries and licensed growers in states with medical marijuana laws could face prosecution for violating federal drug and money-laundering laws.

Keith Stephenson, director of the Purple Heart Patient Center -- another of Oakland's permitted dispensaries -- said he hasn't received a federal letter and didn't expect to.

"We are optimistic," he said. "We're really low-key, we're a small mom-and-pop (operation)."

Obama bumps up drug war; Protest him when he arives in Cali ...

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=6846


LA Medical Cannabis Emergency Response Rally & Protest Noon Friday

EMERGENCY RESPONSE RALLY & PROTEST
(Please distribute widely)

Who: All Supporters Of Medical Cannabis
What: Peaceful Rally & Protest
When: Friday, October 7, 2011 – High Noon
Where: Los Angeles Federal Building, 255 East Temple Street
Why: Federal Government Has Announced It Intends To Shut Down Every Collective In California – We Gather In Solidarity With The Emergency Rally In Sacramento Where Feds Will Make Their Official Announcement at 11 a.m.

Today, October 6, 2011, federal authorities announced that they intend to shut down every collective in California -http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/10/feds-cracking-down-on-california-medical-marijuana-dispensaries.html
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2096399,00.html

The DEA has teamed up with the IRS and ATF to attack medical cannabis patients across the country. You can read more news at PAN’s blog, Cannabis Patient Voice - http://panorg.blogspot.com/

The feds are going to announce their new policy to close collectives tomorrow, Friday, October 7, 2011, in Sacramento. We gather to voice our frustration with failed federal policy and the deceit by the Obama Administration.

Bring a friend (or two). Bring a sign. Be prepared to address the media.

PLEASE – Contact your Congressional Representative by phone or email and let them know how you feel about this new federal crackdown on medical cannabis patients and their rights under the Constitution. Find your representative here: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

The time for EVERY patient to get involved is now. Spread the word. Each one teach one. Congress has stated the reason that this battle continues is that THEY DON’T HEAR FROM PATIENTS. Let them hear from you loud and clear. In Solidarity.

Sincerely,

Degé Coutee
Education & Advocacy Director
Patient Advocacy Network


California NORML Press Release – Oct 7, 2011

SACRAMENTO - Medical marijuana supporters are rallying to protest the Obama administration's crackdown on medical cannabis dispensaries outside a press conference by U.S. Attorneys at the Sacramento Federal Court House this Friday, Oct. 7th from 10 AM to 1 PM.

US Attorneys in California have begun sending letters to landlords of dispensaries threatening them with property forfeiture and criminal penalties for violating federal law.

In a letter to the landlord of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, the longest-operating dispensary in California, the US Attorney of Northern California warned that MAMM was operating within "a prohibited distance of a park." MAMM, which is officially backed by the city of Fairfax, has been operating without complaint for 15 years. Federal prosecutors complain that it is located within 1,000 feet of Bolinas Park, but this is perfectly legal under state and local law.

"The federal government has no business dictating local zoning issues.," says California NORML Director Dale Gieringer. "This is government over-regulation run amok."

The DOJ forfeiture threats are the latest in an escalating series of federal attacks on medical marijuana by the Obama administration:

• The IRS has assessed crippling penalties on tax-paying dispensaries by denying standard expense deductions.
• The Department of Treasury has browbeaten banks into closing accounts of medical marijuana collectives.
• The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms has warned firearms dealers not to sell drugs to medical marijuana users.
• The DEA has blocked a 9-year old petition to reschedule marijuana for medical use, ignoring extensive scientific evidence of its medical efficacy.

• NIDA has blocked proposed research on medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

California NORML estimates that the state's medical marijuana industry generates $1.5 - $4.5 billion in business, over $100 million in taxes, and tens of thousands of jobs in the state.

""With the federal budget on empty, the economy in disarray, our prisons overflowing, and prohibition-related violence raging across the border, it's an outrageous misuse of federal resources to wage war on marijuana dispensaries," says California NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer. "Federal anti-drug bureaucrats are afraid because the dispensaries are proving that it's possible for marijuana to become a safe, legal, tax-paying industry and so expose their own last-century policies as bankrupt and obsolete."

Supporters are urged to call on the President to respect state marijuana laws - White House Hotline: 202 -456-1111. A bill to let states regulate medical marijuana legally, H.R. 1983, has been introduced by Rep. Barney Frank and has several co-sponsors from California.

Release by Dale Gieringer, Director, California NORML

RALLY AGAINST DOJ CRACKDOWN
ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Friday October 7, 10 am-3pm
Sacramento Federal Courthouse
501 I Street

dale@canorml.org - (510) 540-1066 or (415) 563-5858

http://americansforsafeaccess.org/article.php?id=6846

Patient Advocates Accuse Obama of Hypocritical, Aggressive Policy on Medical Marijuana
Millions of taxpayer dollars spent undermining state and local medical marijuana laws

Sacramento, CA -- The Obama Justice Department (DOJ) held a press conference in Sacramento today announcing an array of enforcement actions against medical marijuana producers and distributors as well as landlords throughout California. Patient advocates are calling President Obama's enforcement effort harmful and unnecessary, representing a stark contradiction to his pledge of disengagement in medical marijuana states. The DOJ claimed it was carrying out civil and criminal enforcement actions against medical marijuana providers and sending "warning" letters to property owners leasing to dispensary operators.

"Aggressive tactics like these are a completely inappropriate use of prosecutorial discretion by the Obama Administration," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel with Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the country's largest medical marijuana advocacy group. "President Obama must answer for his contradictory policy on medical marijuana." On the campaign trial and in the White House, President Obama pledged that he was "not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state [medical marijuana] laws."

California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) said in a statement issued today that the DOJ enforcement strategy was "a waste of scarce federal resources," underscoring "the need for Congress to pass H.R. 1983, the States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act." H.R. 1983 would reclassify medical marijuana at the federal level and allow states to develop, implement and enforce their own laws.

This attack is the latest in a long line of federal intimidation tactics employed over the past few months by such agencies as Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). President Obama's DOJ has conducted well over 150 federal raids in at least 7 states since taking office and his U.S. Attorneys sent letters earlier this year threatening local and state officials in 10 states with criminal prosecution if they adopted proposed medical marijuana laws.

By sending threatening letters to landlords, President Obama is taking a cue from his predecessor George W. Bush, whose Justice Department sent similar letters to more than 300 property owners throughout California in 2007. Despite the seriousness of letters sent by the DOJ under Bush, no criminal or forfeiture enforcement actions were ever pursued. It's unclear if the federal government has the resources or inclination to act on these new threats in a significant way, but for the price of postage they have engaged in wholesale intimidation of the medical marijuana community.

Advocates argue that states should be allowed to enforce their own public health laws, including those concerning medical marijuana. "It is unconscionable that the federal government would override local and state laws to enforce its will over the will of the people," said ASA spokesperson Kris Hermes. "States must be allowed to enforce their own laws without harmful interference from the Obama Administration." California Attorney General Kamala Harris was apparently not warned by the DOJ about the heightened federal enforcement effort before today.

The DOJ enforcement effort comes as hundreds of demonstrations against Wall Street are continuing to occur across the country. These protests are, at least in part, questioning the federal government's allocation of limited resources. Meanwhile, President Obama has chosen to expend federal resources to crack down on medical marijuana in states that have legalized its use. "By shutting down dispensaries, the Obama Administration is not only pushing legal patients into the illicit market," continued Hermes, "it's also wasting taxpayer dollars at a time of fiscal crisis."

Bad News; Governor Clown Reduces Patients Rights

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2011/08/jerry-brown-gives-cities-powers-over-pot-shops.html

Save Collectives in Ca !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear California ASA Members & Friends,

There are two bills on the Governor’s desk that will severely limit safe access to medical cannabis in California. Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is calling on supporters to contact Governor Jerry Brown today and ask him to veto SB 847 and AB 1300 to protect local access in our communities.

Can you take a few minutes right now to call or email Governor Brown? ASA’s online action center makes it easy!

Senator Lou Correa’s (D-Santa Ana) SB 847 requires that medical cannabis cooperatives and collectives be located at least 600 feet from any residential zone or use. This will force patients’ associations to the outskirts of most cities – if they can find a location at all! Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield’s (D-Van Nuys) AB 1300 explicitly authorizes cities and counties to ban cooperatives and collectives. That means access can be eliminated in some communities altogether! That is not what voters intended when they adopted Proposition 215 in 1996, calling on lawmakers “to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana.”

These bills passed through the legislature easily. If we do not make a good show of opposition at the Governor’s office, he will sign SB 847 and AB 1300 into law. Research conducted by ASA and years of experience in implementing our statehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif law show that sensible regulations reduce crime and complaints around cooperatives and collectives. Tell Governor Brown we can work with lawmakers to adopt better laws than these.

Please act today. The bills could be signed at any minute!

Thank you for helping,

Don Duncan
California Director

http://lakeelsinore-wildomar.patch.com/articles/medical-marijuana-bans-get-a-lifeline

DRUG CZAR "TOO BUSY" TO MEET WITH FELLOW COPS

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/norm-stamper/drug-czar-too-busy-to-mee_b_920218.html


Back in June, representatives of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a 40,000-member organization led by Executive Director Neill Franklin, marched from the National Press Club to the Office of National Drug Control Policy headquarters. Our mission: to hand-deliver a copy of our new report, "Ending the Drug War: A Dream Deferred," to the nation's drug czar.

We thought the 40th anniversary of President Nixon's famous declaration of the "war on drugs" would be a good time for reflection on what has been achieved -- or not -- over these past decades.

Common courtesy dictates that the head of ONDCP, Gil Kerlkowske, do what his aide promised on his behalf, namely that he would read the report and tell us what he thinks. Perhaps we weren't sufficiently "official" in our request. Perhaps this appeal will be more successful.
MEMORANDUM

Date: August 6, 2011

To: Gil Kerlikowske, Seattle Chief of Police (Ret.)

From: Norm Stamper, Seattle Chief of Police (Ret.)

Subject: You Can Run But You Can't Hide

We didn't just drop by on June 14, Gil. We had sent emails and made phone calls asking for a meeting. Our requests went unanswered. So we decided to show up in person, and hope for an audience.

Instead, you sent your aide downstairs to head us off in the lobby. The man graciously accepted the report, promised to deliver it to you, and to convey our request that you get back to us with your reactions.

Just curious, have you read it?

It's a short report, only 19 pages. The print is large, there are lots of charts, graphs, photos, even an executive summary. Perhaps if you read only the executive summary?

As we told your aide, and the press, we were seeking an opportunity to present evidence of the sweeping failure of U.S. drug policy. History confirms that prohibition causes death, disease, crime and violence. It also contributes to addiction. Prohibition costs this country between fifty and seventy billion dollars a year. Think about the fiscal effect of replacing prohibition with a regulatory model. (Such a change may not have single-handedly staved off the debt-ceiling crisis, but it's hardly chump change.)

Think about the return on investment, human and financial, if we were to pump at least a portion of those savings into drug education, prevention, and treatment.

The "Ending the Drug War" report leaves no doubt about the absurdity of the country's drug policies. But, to this day, we have not heard from you. Is your silence because you lack an adequate answer to the points we've made?

From all outward indications, you are following in the steps of your predecessor, John Walters. A George W. Bush appointee, Mr. Walters rarely missed an opportunity to duck a debate with drug policy reformers.

Or, did you dodge us because, by law, the drug czar cannot support legislation or any other initiative that would legalize drugs?

Crazy as it seems, and as un-American and unscientific as it plainly is, it is true that you must oppose any and all attempts to legalize the use of currently illicit drugs. According to the "Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998," the director "shall ensure that no Federal funds appropriated to the Office of National Drug Control Policy shall be expended for any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in schedule 1."

But we weren't there to ask for money, Gil. And we do understand that you haven't the authority to change laws.

Our expectation was that you'd at least be willing to have a grownup conversation about our drug laws.

In today's climate, with marijuana clearly on a course to legalization by popular demand, we were particularly interested in your personal view that cannabis has "no medicinal benefit," a position recently made official by the Drug Enforcement Administration. DEA? Narcs, not docs?

You've also asserted that marijuana should continue to be classified, along with heroin and crystal meth, as a "Schedule 1" drug, thereby buttressing the position that the feds, not the states, reign triumphant in the government's battle to keep recreational marijuana out of the hands of responsible adults, and medicinal marijuana away from patients suffering intractable pain, wasting and terminal illnesses.

These are issues that beg to be discussed, Gil. With all stakeholders, including your former colleagues in law enforcement.

LEAP repeats its request. Will you please sit down and have an open dialogue with us? We are, as you know, current and former chiefs, sheriffs, rank-and-file cops, prosecutors, judges, prison wardens, and agents of the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security.

We've come by our anti-drug war views honestly, through scholarship, research and real-world experience. Our point of view is increasingly in alignment with that of citizen-taxpayers across the country.

We're not going away, Gil. Talk to us.

Draft MMJ Cannabis Rules for 2011

http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2011/07/2011_ca_atty_gen_marijuana_guidelines_leaked_read.php

Cannabis Oil Fights Cancer

Cannabis Oil Fights Cancer
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
A number of recent studies have confirmed the cancer-fighting, tumor-shrinking value of medical marijuana.

Although the first study to demonstrate that cannabis has anti-carcinogenic properties was done back in 1974 by the U.S. National Institute of Health, more recent studies, which began abroad in 1999, have shown that cannabis can effectively and safely treat many forms of cancer.

Since 1999, there have now been a number of studies that clearly demonstrate that cannabis has the ability to effectively shrink tumors, kill cancer cells, and safely treat many aggressive forms of cancer, including brain, breast, skin, prostate, and lung cancer.

However, due to the political controversy that surrounds medical marijuana, some physicians still remain unaware of these valuable studies, and mistakenly believe the misguided government reports that cannabis actually causes cancer. In some cases, it may be important to educate your doctor about the important research discussed in this column.

A study done at UCLA in 2006 showed that not only does smoking marijuana not cause lung cancer, as had been previously thought, but that smoking cannabis actually protects the lungs from cancer. The study followed four groups of subjects: nonsmokers, cannabis-only smokers, tobacco-only smokers, and cannabis and tobacco smokers.

The results showed that nonsmokers and cannabis-only smokers had the same amount of lung cancer, and that tobacco-only smokers had the highest rate of lung cancer. Those subjects that smoked both cannabis and tobacco had significantly less lung cancer than those who just smoked tobacco. In other words, smoking cannabis actually had a protective effect on the tobacco smokers’ lungs.

Recent talks by medical marijuana expert Valerie Corral at the Santa Cruz Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) meetings have focused on the valuable medical properties of highly-refined, therapeutic cannabis oil, which may be the most powerful cancer-fighting agent that has been developed from the cannabis plant to date.

Cannabis oil, also commonly known as “golden oil” or “honey oil,” is a concentrated extract from the cannabis plant that is highly refined and chemically standardized, so that the amount of bioactive components (known as “cannabinoids”) in the oil are of a consistent strength. The clear-golden oil is a resinous matrix of cannabinoids, which is similar to dark-colored hash oil, only more distilled and much more potent.

Rick Simpson, founder of Phoenix Tears, an organization which studies and promotes the medical use of cannabis oil, has become a leading spokesperson for the medicinal value of cannabis oil, after effectively treating himself with the oil to help heal from a serious head injury in 1997. For years, Simpson has been supplying the valuable oil to medical marijuana patients free of charge. According to Simpson, many of the cancer patients who have used his oil were cured or vastly improved, and that many other illnesses have been effectively treated with the oil as well.

Although the medical establishment and the mainstream media have largely ignored the evidence that cannabis oil has powerful cancer-fighting properties, it appears that this silence is beginning to end as more and more people are discovering the truth about this forbidden medicine.

For example, according to ABC News, a father in Montana, Mike Hyde, claims that cannabis oil helped to cure his two-year-old son of a stage 4, malignant brain tumor on his optic nerve. Hyde said that he secretly slipped cannabis oil into his son Cash’s feeding tube out of desperation, after the boy’s chemotherapy treatments were making him too sick to eat. According to ABC News, Cash, who is now 3 years old, has made “a miraculous recovery.”

Spanish researcher Manuel Guzman has done a whole series of studies since 1999 demonstrating the efficacy of cannabinoids to fight cancer. Studies have demonstrated that (isolated chemical components of cannabis), such as THC (tetrahydrocannibinal) and CBD (cannabidiol), can shrink tumors, and some reports suggest that the whole plant extracts are more effective than the isolated cannabinoids.

There is evidence that not only do some cannabinoids kill cancer cells, they cause healthy new cell growth in the brain--a process known as “neurogenesis”--and that the cannabinoids may have a protective effect on the nervous system as well.

WAMM is currently working with physicians and biochemists to develop the use of this enchanted oil further. Cannabis oil is extremely nontoxic, and unlike every pharmaceutical drug that is approved to treat cancer, there are no serious health risks associated with using it. In all of human history, no one has ever died from a cannabis overdose. It is arguably the safest, therapeutically-active drug known.

Cannabis oil can be vaporized, orally ingested with other oils, or used topically. Oral ingestion will produce the strongest effects, and would likely be the most effective for serious medical conditions.

And yes, the oil is also quite psychoactive. It can make you very high, and it can even bring on a full-blown psychedelic experience. I think that this (often-sought and sometimes-criticized) aspect of the healing herb’s effects should not be disregarded, trivialized, ridiculed, or (Heaven forbid) removed. I suspect that that the well-known mental effects--an improved mood and transcendent perspective--are vital aspects of the healing mind/body magic that cannabis can provide.

To find out more about cannabis oil see: http://phoenixtears.ca/

To find out more about WAMM see: www.wamm.org

Cannabis Protects the Brain From Aging

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110712093856.htm

Obama; MMJ is a Drug; But Cigs ARE OK

President Barack Obama said Friday that the U.S. Would not be ending its war on drugs under his watch.

“Much is being asked of our generation,” a doctoral student named Steve told the president at a town hall event in Maryland. “So, when are our economic perspectives going to be addressed? For example, when is the war on drugs in society going to be abandoned and be replaced by a more sophisticated and cost effective program of rehabilitation such as the one in Portugal?”

“I have stated repeatedly — and it’s actually reflected in our most recent statement by our office of drug policy — that we need to have an approach that emphasizes prevention, treatment, a public health model for reducing drug use in our country,” Obama said. “We’ve got to put more resources into that. We can’t simply focus on interdiction because, frankly, no matter how good of a job we’re doing when it comes to an interdiction approach, if there is high demand in this country for drugs, we are going to continue to see not only drug use but also the violence associated with the drug trade.”

After several minutes of explaining U.S. Efforts to help Mexico fight transnational drug dealers, the president got to the point.

“Just to make sure that I’m actually answering your question, am I willing to pursue a decriminalization strategy as an approach?http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif No.”

“But I am willing to make sure that we’re putting more resources on the treatment and prevention side,” Obama added.

http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/07/obama-says-hes-not-willing-to-end-the-drug-war/

Doctors are providing proof; Cannabis Kills Cancer

Cannabis Science Announces Critical Cancer Patient Dr. Lynnice Wedewer, Ph.D., Cured Seven Times By Medical Cannabis

The Company Plans A Documentary Featuring Dr. Lynnice Wedewer, Ph.D., And Other Cancer Patients Being Treated with Medical Cannabis

June 29, 2011

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cannabis Science Inc. (NASD OTCBB: CBIS) a pioneering US biotech company developing pharmaceutical cannabis products, is pleased to announce that it has been contacted by Lynnice Wedewer, Ph.D. who is a 34 year multiple cancer patient survivor who has been cured of 7 of her 8 cancers in a major part because of medical cannabis. Dr. Wedewer wishes to share her story through Cannabis Science and help our case and education towards general acceptance of medical cannabis as a natural and viable treatment for cancer.

In 1979, Iowa passed a medical marijuana law which impacted five children suffering from cancer and who were placed into a cancer treatment program using medical cannabis under the supervision of the University of Iowa. Dr. Wedewer was one of those children and only 1 1/2 years ago did the law in Iowa finally change to allow these patients to finally speak out about their treatment and success stories in battling cancer with medical cannabis.

The Company is excited to feature Dr. Lynnice Wedewer’s cancer success story and testimonial in its upcoming documentary, along with other cancer survivors who were cured through the use of medical cannabis.

Dr. Wedewer runs a website www.lynnicewedewer.com where she provides her testimony, speeches, educational material, marijuana facts, interviews and documentaries, and other informational links regarding marijuana.

Dr. Robert Melamede, Ph. D., Cannabis Science Inc., President & CEO said, “These are exciting times to be part of a burgeoning medical marijuana movement and shedding light on patients who are telling their stories and opening up medical files to demonstrate the cancer curing power of medical cannabis. We are enthusiastic and hopefully that Dr. Lynnice Wedewer’s testimonial and cancer success along with other patient success stories, including profound medical evidence, will help to educate and finally open up the eyes of federal regulators to decriminalize medical cannabis; so more people’s lives can be saved by this natural herbal remedy and stop killing people with man-made pharmaceuticals."

About Cannabis Science, Inc.
Cannabis Science, Inc. is at the forefront of pharmaceutical grade medical marijuana research and development. The Company works with world authorities on phytocannabinoid science targeting critical illnesses, and adheres to scientific methodologies to develop, produce and commercialize phytocannabinoid-based pharmaceutical products. In sum, we are dedicated to the creation of cannabis-based medicines, both with and without psychoactive properties, to treat disease and the symptoms of disease, as well as for general health maintenance.

This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing works such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by thesehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif forward-looking statements may not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based drugs. Cannabis Science, Inc. does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements.

http://www.cannabisscience.com/news-a-media/press-releases/229-cbis-announces-critical-canacer-patient-cured.html

http://www.cannabisscience.com/download/cancer_extract_kills.pdf#page=2

Hash Oil Saves Child From Cancer, Tumors, & Pharmaceutical Killers

Father saves son secretly.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/05/05/2011-05-05_dad_says_medical_marijuana_helped_cure_2yearolds_cancer_pop_slipped_son_pot_oil_.html



http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/offbeat/montana-dad-claims-cannabis-helped-his-two-year-old-beat-cancer-050511http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Happy 420 From SF 2011

Study shows cannabis helps cancer patients

"Robert Melamede, Ph.D., Cannabis Science’s CEO stated, “As we’ve previously reported, one of the most interesting findings that has emerged since the discovery of the endocannabinoid system (marijuana like compounds produced by humans, and all vertebrates) is that cannabinoids have profound cancer-killing and anti-metastatic properties. There is strong scientific support, demonstrated in tissue culture and animal studies, of the potent cancer killing properties of cannabinoids for such deadly cancers as glioma, lung cancer, breast and prostate cancer, leukemias and lymphomas, and as well as skin cancers. "

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110331006640/en/Cannabis-Science-Reports-National-Cancer-Institute-Updates

Cali Cannabis Doc Explains the Law Calls for Inquiries 2/3 of Docs Fakes

Fake Doctors and Illegal Clubs ...
http://www.potdoc.com/PDFs/mmpe-norml-meeting-jan2011-flyer-v4.pdf

Explains why prop 19 was a disaster ...
http://www.potdoc.com/PDFs/mmpe-prop19-overrides-prop215-v1.pdf

How Arnold cannabis infraction law can screw patients ...
http://www.potdoc.com/PDFs/mmpe-infraction-equals-v1.pdf