Medicinal Marijuana-cannabis seeds for medical users

Medicinal Marijuana, a product having the properties of a medicine made from the dried flower clusters and leaves of the cannabis plant usually smoked or eaten to induce euphoria or to relieve pain. The effects of Medicinal Marijuana vary with its strength and dosage and with the state of mind of the user. Typically, small doses result in a feeling of well-being. The intoxication lasts two to three hours, but accompanying effects on motor control last much longer.

'the odor of marijuana wafted up to their windows'
San Francisco Examiner
June 30th 2005:

South of Market

resident Laura Weil celebrated with neighbors Wednesday after Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay ordered a medical marijuana dispensary abutting her property to close its doors. Weil and her neighbor, Aysu Zeidman, complained that the back door of Health & Wellness Alternatives, a pot dispensary at 935 Howard St., opened onto the heart of their residential block and that the odor of marijuana wafted up to their windows, where they and their children could smell it. They also worried about the patrons driving in the alley while stoned and complained there was a lack of security at the club. The ruling comes nearly four months after Weil, a registered nurse at UCSF and mother of two young children, started battling the recently opened club, and just a day after a city supervisor introduced a bill to ban the clubs in residential neighborhoods. While Weil welcomed that legislation, she said efforts to go through the political and planning channels were taking too long, so she and her neighbors decided to fight it in court. She said it has been expensive and time-consuming.

'cannabis-extract for migraine and rheumatoid arthritis'
London Evening Standard
James Rossiter
June 29th 2005:

Narural healthcare company William Ransom is working on producing a cannabis-extract for migraine and rheumatoid arthritis.The AIM-listed firm is better known for over-the-counter products, ranging from aloe vera-based toothpastes and Radian B muscle rub to Manuca honey, but a move into producing marijuana resins would not be a first for the firm. Hitchinbased Ransom used to produce extracts of the infamous weed more than 30 years ago, its chief executive Tim Dye told the Evening Standard, until changes to the law prohibited its prescription as a medicine in 1973. Now a EU1.3m (ukp862,000) grant from the EU to a consortium spearheaded by Ransom has triggered a two-year project to examine if there is a viable market for use in medical therapies.Earlier this month, GW Pharmaceuticals lost an appeal with UK regulators to allow it to market its cannabis-derived painkiller Sativex for multiple sclerosis sufferers. Dye said he is working closely with the University of London School of Pharmacy on his project. A further five Continental academic institutions and two small research firms are involved. He is also taking advice from former chairman Michael Ransom, a by the appointment as a director-of former Olympic swimming champion David Wilkie. Ransom bought his food supplements business a year ago.

'400,000 MS patients in the U.S no access to Sativex'
Journalstar.com
Wayne Whitmarsh
June 27th 2005:

Home grown or

community, area dispensary grown cannabis affects interstate commerce, so says the Supreme Court. How so? One way is that pharmaceutical companies will lose money on the sale of synthetic drugs. Another way is that some patients who, reluctantly, go to the street to find a dealer wouldn't have to do that. Therefore, the poor drug lords and dealers could only buy a Ford, not a BMW. Drug companies pump big money into politics today. It will be a cold day when our Congress goes against their benefactors and allows the public legal access to medicinal cannabis again. Drug companies would have to search dark corners of old vaults for old drug formulas. By the 1930s, Eli Lilly, Parke-Davis, Tildens, and Brothers Smith and Squibb were selling top quality cannabis products. Then again, new formulas are a possibility, perhaps like Sativex, recently developed in England. It is a cannabis spray applied under the tongue or in the cheek to help the pain and other symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Canada has approved its use for 50,000 MS patients. Unfortunately the 400,000 MS patients in the U.S. won't have access to Sativex. Full Access...........

Canada has approved a spray that is derived from the marijuana plant. The drug may take years to reach the

U.S. Canadians now have access to a legal spray alternative to medical marijuana.
Beginning this week, multiple sclerosis patients with constant tingling pain can get a doctor's prescription for a new drug, Sativex, derived from the marijuana plant. The under-the-tongue spray, approved only in Canada, is one of several emerging alternatives to smoking pot for medical relief. The new pharmaceuticals, some of which may not enter the U.S. market for years, may alter the public debate about medical marijuana. "People ... who don't want to break the law" will use the spray, says Dr. Lester Grinspoon, professor emeritus at Harvard University and an advocate for legalizing pot use. "They're elevating the debate on medical marijuana." But Grinspoon expects many new users will find they prefer smoking marijuana. "There is no holding back medical marijuana. It's going to happen," he says. Full Debate.........................

'you got to beat the prosecution in court'
Elitestv
Brad Kurtzberg
June 25th 2005:

Federal

authorities raided medical marijuana dispensaries in California Thursday a mere two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled that they had jurisdiction to do so. The government agents claim, however, that the places they busted were using medical marijuana as a front to deal drugs and launder money and that the rings they broke up with yesterday's arrest extended all the way to some Asian countries. 'This organization had been operating for over four years,' Javier F. Peña, the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in San Francisco, said at a news conference. 'It is now dismantled.' Authorities say that 33-year-old Vince Ming Wan was the leader of a multimillion dollar trafficking operation of marijuana, Full Prosecution.................

Young people

who smoke cannabis are playing Russian roulette with their lives, according to a reformed heroin addict. Gary White, 37, was speaking after new research found that teenagers who smoked the drug were up to ten times more likely to suffer mental illness in later life.
Mr White took the drug for 20 years after he first tried it aged 11 and said it had taken him two years to get over the mental ill effects of the drug. He said: "I suffered with depression and paranoia on a regular basis. I would contemplate

suicide and made three genuine attempts. "I would say it was linked to my taking cannabis. "People all think it is a harmless drug but I met a large amount of people in prison who said they did not get depression or severe mental health problems until they started smoking it." Mr White, of Chase View, Geddington, was speaking after a study by a leading Swedish brain scientist Yasmin Hurd revealed that use of the drug could cause permanent change to the still growing brain of a teenager.The findings were revealed on Sunday night's Panorama programme on BBC1. Mr White, who now works with youngsters to highlight the dangers of drugs, also feels smoking cannabis leads to 'harder' drugs. He said: "I do say that it is a gateway drug and if you talk to prisoners the first drug they all started with was cannabis. "Reclassifying the drug was a particularly stupid move on the Government's part in my experience 70 to 80 per cent of young people think the Government was saying cannabis is safe. "In fact it is proven it can be a seriously dangerous drug, young people are playing Russian roulette with their lives."

Swiss Group Favors Legalization of Cannabis as MS Therapy
Bloomberg.com
June 23rd 2005:

Solvay SA's cannabis-based product Marinol should be legalized for treating symptoms of multiple sclerosis, the Swiss Multiple Sclerosis Society said. The Zurich-based group backs legalization and regulatory approval of products containing an active ingredient of marijuana, spokeswoman Annemarie Buergi said. At the right dose, they may be effective and offer an option to treat symptoms such as pain, spasticity and insomnia, she said. Companies including Solvay of Belgium and the U.K.'s GW Pharmaceuticals Plc are trying to get approval for products containing the active ingredient of cannabis to treat pain and other symptoms of multiple sclerosis, or MS. The Swiss MS group issued the statement because of questions about its position, Buergi said.

People with nerve pain from MS have another cannabis option besides smoking.

Health Canada approved sales of the pain relief medication for people with multiple sclerosis in April, the first drug regulator to do so. It's taken until now for the spray to make it into pharmacies.
Canada OKs cannabis drug for MS pain A woman with MS in Vancouver said she's glad she can finally go to a drug store to get the spray, called Sativex. The metered spray is administered under the tongue or inside the cheek. It's derived from extracts of the marijuana plant and is said to taste like peppermint. Suzanne Osborne of Vancouver started smoking marijuana for nerve pain about six years ago. She's had MS since her mid-40s, and she's now 60. More Drugs.............

'Smokeless' medicinal pot has its advocates
Sfgate
Joe Garofoli
June 20th 2005:

The future of medicinal marijuana is floating in a plastic, 2-foot-long turkey roasting bag, being sucked into the lungs of grandmas and AIDS patients at cannabis dispensaries and homes across the country. The allure to the sick -- and the health-conscious looking for a cleaner high -- is that the toke is nearly smokeless. The device that generates the smokeless drag is called a marijuana vaporizer. Medical cannabis advocates hope these devices -- which stand slightly larger than a blender and can cost close to $500 -- will help legitimize marijuana's medicinal use and take a swipe at its reputation as the devil's weed. By heating cannabis to a point where vapors are formed but before the herb combusts, a vaporizer creates a clear substance that, advocates say, is practically free of many of the toxins found in marijuana smoke. Full Inhalation...........

'eliminate the curious dilemma'
Folsom Telegraph
Jason Probst
June 19th 2005:

By a 5-0 vote, the Roseville City Council on Wednesday repealed an ordinance that allowed but governed the placement of medical marijuana dispensaries.

The action hopes to eliminate the curious dilemma Capitol Compassionate Care brought when it opened the city's first medical marijuana business in January 2004.
City Attorney Mark Doane said he researched the Supreme Court's June 6 decision in Ashcroft vs. Raich, and upon review recommended the city repeal the existing ordinance.
Doane said the case does not specifically repeal state medical marijuana laws under the federal Controlled Substances Act, but it does give the city enough legal leeway to repeal the existing ordinance. "What we do know (now) is anyone who possesses marijuana in California, for whatever reasons, is still subject to prosecution by federal authorities," Doane said. Capitol Compassionate Care opened in Old Town Roseville under Proposition 215, which legalized medical marijuana in California in 1996. City leaders could do little more than regulate the placement of these businesses, and passed the now-repealed ordinance to do so.

Oregon's top lawyer OKs medical marijuana use
Newswraps:
Teresa Carson
June 18th 2005:

PORTLAND >Oregon's attorney general gave the state the go-ahead on Friday to resume issuing cards that

allow sick patients to smoke marijuana despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling the federal government could prosecute medical use of the drug."The (Supreme Court) decision has no legal impact on the operation of Oregon's program," according to a statement by Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers' office. Oregon had stopped issuing new prescription marijuana cards until the state's top lawyer could review the Supreme Court's June 6 decision. The court held in a 6-3 ruling the U.S. government could enforce a federal law prohibiting the cultivation, possession and use, More Use..........

Many adults in the United States believe a recent court decision should not bring immediate prosecutions for people who use cannabis under a doctor’s orders, according to a poll by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. for the Marijuana Policy Project. 68 per cent of respondents believe the federal government should not prosecute medical marijuana patients.
On Jun. 6, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal government can block the cultivation of cannabis for personal use, citing broader social and financial implications. The 6-3 decision effectively allows the federal government to override state legislation. Full Prosecution..........

House rules medical marijuana ruling should stand
AP
Andrew Taylor
June 16th 2005:

Washington>

Yes, the government can make a federal case out of medical marijuana use, the House said Wednesday. Less than a week ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the government can prosecute medical marijuana users, even when state laws permit doctor-prescribed use of the drug. In response, the House rejected a bid by advocates to undercut the decision.
By a 264-161 vote, the House turned down an amendment that would have blocked the Justice Department from prosecuting people in the 10 states where the practice is legal.
Advocates say it is the only way that many chronically ill people, such as AIDS and cancer patients, can relieve their symptoms. More Symptons............

"It is an absolute waste of public funds,
Tribune News Service
Emma Burgin
June 15th 2005:

Washington>

Seated and steadied by her husband's hand, Angel Raich's eyes welled up with tears at the mention of her son."He's 19 and tomorrow night he'll be going into the U.S. Army," she said.Raich is thankful she has lived to see

him grow up. She wasn't always sure she would.
Since she won her case against former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2002, Raich has become a public face for the legalization of medical marijuana. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals prohibited the Bush administration from prosecuting Raich and her suppliers, who grow about 8 pounds of cannabis each year for her at no charge. They all live in California, which legalized medical marijuana in 1996 through a statewide referendum.
On Tuesday, Raich was in Washington to support an amendment to an appropriations bill that would prohibit the Justice Department from spending taxpayer money on medical-marijuana prosecutions in states that allow its use.
"It is an absolute waste of public funds," Raich said. "They will be prosecuting us like criminals even though we're sick." Full Waste................

Honolulu>The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii today said it appreciated the "clarification" of comments by U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo regarding doctors who recommend medical marijuana to their patients. "The U.S. Attorney

has reversed his inaccurate and intimidating threats and clarified the facts for the benefit of doctors and patients in Hawaii," said Lois Perrin, Legal Director of the ACLU of Hawaii. "Doctors have a right to continue to recommend medical marijuana, and that right is extremely clear under both federal and Hawaii law. In the future we urge the U.S. Attorney be more careful before commenting on a matter that has grave public health implications and impacts thousands of patients and their families."
As Mr. Kubo has now recognized, in Hawaii doctors are legally allowed to certify patients with debilitating medical conditions to use marijuana. Kubo last week threatened to arrest doctors who recommend marijuana for their patients based on his inaccurate interpretation of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on medical marijuana in Gonzales v. Raich. Full Imtimidation..........

There's been a lot of talk about the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes since last week's Supreme Court ruling, but can anyone actually tell me with straight

face that there is a medical use for marijuana? Didn't think so, dude.What would be the first clue that medical marijuana is bogus?
Could it be that all the folks who were behind the push for 100% legalized pot in the 60s and 70s are the same ones who are behind "medicinal marijuana" now? As a dope-smoking teen in the 70s, I don't remember NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) being all gung ho for "medicinal marijuana". Back then they were all about lighting up a doobie for pleasure.
Could it be the fact that all the folks you see on television partaking of the benefits of the "medicinal use" of the wacky weed look like either hippies of the 70s or stoners of the new generation?
Although the "victims" of the Supreme Court's recent decision, to anyone with rational thinking skills, are obviously old hippies and young stoners, they are always portrayed as pathetic, tortured figures in the media's three-minute (or less) "in depth" reports, Full Rant.............

Now it's up to Congress. The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld federal drug laws that permit prosecution of

marijuana use for medical purposes. The court said the authority was squarely within Congress' power to grant. If that's the case, it's up to Congress to change the application of the federal drug law to make exceptions for medical marijuana.The House will soon vote on an appropriations amendment that would prohibit the Justice Department from spending money on drug enforcement when the targets are patients using and growing marijuana to ease suffering from a variety of painful conditions. A similar amendment failed last year despite growing bipartisan support. It ought to pass this time as a humane gesture at least. Eleven states have recognized the relief cannabis brings to patients with dire medical needs that accompany diagnoses from AIDS to cancer to a host of debilitating syndromes. For some chronically or terminally ill patients, marijuana is the godsend that gets them through the day. More Compassion.......

Medicines regulators said today they had turned down an appeal to allow the licensing of a cannabis-based drug in the UK. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) confirmed that the Medicines Commission has turned down an appeal by GW Pharmaceuticals over the licensing of Sativex. The MS Society said patients would greet the latest decision with dismay.
The MHRA said that the CSM was not satisfied with the efficacy of Sativex in the indication sought by GW Pharmaceuticals. Sativex oral spray has already been given the go-ahead in Canada to treat neuropathic pain in MS patients. Mike O’Donovan, chief executive of the MS Society, said: “This news will be greeted with absolute dismay by many of the 85,000 people in the UK who have MS and suffer from distressing symptoms including spasticity and pain. Read On.......

THIS week the U.S. Supreme Court let down folks suffering from a plethora of conditions and diseases across the

nation. But the justices upheld existing law that allows the federal government the right to control marijuana. That needs to change and the agents for that change sit in America's Capitol.
Until Congress moves to legalize cannabis for medical use, there's little anyone can do about the plight of patients who risk arrest when following doctor's orders. The feeling is that our representatives will steer clear of the matter, seeing it as a lose-lose situation politically. Where's a statesman or stateswoman when you need one? Cowering behind their poll numbers, But they need to get beyond the "Reefer Madness' mentality and explain to constituents that while Full Madness,,,

'until you're in that situation of how scary it is'
Gazzettenet
C Benjamin Ford
June 9th 2005:

Shay Murphy

is scared of the federal government. Like her late husband who inspired Maryland's medical marijuana law, she used the drug to control her nausea during chemotherapy in her battle against breast cancer last year.Murphy's revelation came just days after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling set back the medical marijuana movement. In a 6-3 decision, the high court ruled that the federal government could prosecute those in states that have approved marijuana for medical use. "People don't realize it until you're in that situation of how scary it is," she said. "You're afraid. You're literally afraid." More Fear...........

Pot users see ruling as restraint on liberties
Rocky Mountain News
David Montero
June 8th 2005

She shuffles with a cane, struggles to get up from the couch and winces with pain with almost each movement. After four back surgeries for three slipped discs in the past year, Joleen exists in agony. Her only recourse, she said, is to drink chilled iced tea that contains traces of cannabis. That medicinal cocktail was perfectly legal for the 34-year-old to take Sunday. By Monday morning, when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Colorado and 10 other states that had legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, she had become a lawbreaker. Full Tale.........

GW Pharmaceuticals Plc has lost an appeal to be allowed to market its cannabis therapy Sativex without having

to do additional clinical trials, according to a report published on Monday.
Online medical news agency Agence de Presse Medical (APM) (www.apmnews.com), citing an unidentified government source, said Britain's Medicines Commission had heard an appeal by the firm two weeks ago and rejected its case. Although Sativex is approved in Canada for the relief of neuropathic pain in multiple sclerosis, UK officials said in December they wanted more evidence about its efficacy when used to relieve spasticity. This triggered the appeal by GW Pharma to the commission. A spokesman for the Medicines Commission saids he could not comment on the case.

The US Supreme Court on Monday refused to sanction the use of marijuana for medical purposes, dashing the hopes of thousands of US patients

illicitly using the substance for pain relief. By a vote of six to three, the US court refused permission for 10 states to allow residents to use the drug with a doctor's permission and under highly-regulated conditions.The case was brought by two California women, Angel McClary Raich and Diane Monson. Raich suffers from an inoperable brain tumor, and insists that marijuana is the only remedy that alleviates her pain and allows her to to keep down enough food to stay alive.
Monson smokes marijuana to handle severe back pain.US government 'drug czar' John Walters welcomed the ruling, saying it struck a blow against pro-drug groups who preyed on the compassion of Americans. "For years, pro-drug groups seeking the legalization of marijuana and other drugs have preyed on the compassion of Americans to promote their political agenda and bypass FDA's (Food and Drug Administration) rigorous standards which have safeguarded our medical supply for over 100 years," Walters said in a statement."To date, science and research have not determined that smoking a crude plant is safe or effective," Walters said. Since 1996, California has allowed residents to cultivate cannabis for personal use if medically prescribed, a move followed by nine other states. In writing for the majority, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stephens refuted Raich's claim that "a locally cultivated product that is used domestically rather than sold on the open market is not subject to federal regulation ... given the ... undisputed magnitude of the commercial market for marijuana."

Ukiah: Calif. - A man burned up about the stink from his neighbors' indoor pot garden has won $1,610 in damages

in a Mendocino County courtroom. Landlord James Kerr said the stench became obnoxious after his tenants planted 100 marijuana plants last year in their garage next door to his home in Redwood Valley, north of Ukiah. Kerr had given permission to his tenants to grow the plants, but didn't know they'd grow so many and was unaware how pot smells when it ripens. Full Stink........

'right to remove 200 marijuana plants'
Abbotfordtimes
Christina Toth
June 5th 2005:

Marc Boyer, a Marijuana Party candidate, said the City of Abbotsford and the Abbotsford police didn't have the right to remove 200 marijuana plants from what he says is a legal medical marijuana growing site in Abbotsford. The Abbotsford police were assisting bylaw officers who followed up on a complaint that Boyer said that came from a former police officer who lives near the pot operation. Boyer said he received calls Wednesday from bylaw department head Gord Ferguson, who said city workers were preparing to inspect the property, Full Removal..........

Hartford> A bill to legalize medical marijuana is heading to the Connecticut House. The Senate approved the bill 19-to-15 early today. It would allow the Department of Consumer Protection to license physicians, who could then certify patients for medical marijuana. A certified patient could cultivate and grow up to four plants for personal use. The drug could be used by people with diseases such as cancer, glaucoma, H-I-V-AIDS, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis.

How's that for an innocent little puff ?
The Whistler
Dr. Paul Martiquet
June 3rd 2005:

Cannabis…

what's an occasional little toke between friends? It will relax you and is so much better than cigarettes, alcohol and other drugs. Besides, didn't we all ‘inhale' when we were young and we're fine? What claptrap!
Smoke from burning Cannabis pollutes the lungs and will deliver up to four times as much tar as tobacco cigarettes. And because users hold their toke longer before exhaling, the lungs are exposed to even higher levels of cancer-causing toxins. How's that for an innocent little puff? The high incidence of Cannabis use is not exclusive to any community, but the latest McCreary survey of adolescents on the Sunshine Coast shows that half of our youth have tried marijuana at some point, More Puffs...................

Salem, Ore. There's a lot of money to be made in marijuana -- by the state. Oregon has a medical pot program that's bringing in big bucks. State officials never thought medical marijuana would be as popular as it is now. The legal pot program is running a surplus of more than a one million dollars. More than ten-thousand patients have paid a fee to register over the last six years. Legislators want to tap the pot surplus to help balance the state budget. But medical marijuana advocates say any surplus should stay in the program.

L.A. County blocks pot dispensaries
Daily Bulletin
Shirley Hsu
June 1st 2005:

County supervisors on Tuesday blocked medical marijuana dispensaries from opening in unincorporated areas, but that may not stop a Hacienda Heights dispensary from operating.
The 45-day moratorium only applies to new dispensaries, and the Hacienda Heights dispensary opened just before Tuesday, said Don Duncan, a consultant for the dispensary called California Medical Caregivers Association. "They're open and registering members," he said. "I think this will be a big benefit to residents of Los Angeles County, and I think people recognize the need for a place like this," he said. Full Blockage..........