CANNABLOG
A Journey of Medical Cannabis Activism and Outreach.
Jan 05, 2009
Support Charles Lynch This Week
Charles Lynch needs our support this week as he faces justice and morality. His request for a re-trial is today and we hope deeply that the Judge sees clearly the need for a retrial, as the injustice of Charlie's situation is unacceptable. For more info on his case visit www.friendsofccl.com. On January 12 Charlie will be facing the sentencing process, which is grueling and stressful for sure. Please drop him a line of support or show out in support if you are in the area. The courthouse is at 312 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles. I have confidence that all will end well, but now is the time we must stand in solidarity and proclaim "ENOUGH." Be a part of history and do your part. Every little bit helps.
Jan 01, 2009
Happy New Year
Here we are. 2009. The anxiety of what will be is upon me and I look forward to the possibilities of this New Year. We worked hard in 2008 to be here in 2009 and I plan on making the most of it. I am still in a rebuilding phase, as I struggle to find my way financially, but my spirit is strong. The world is changing, we hope for the best. I feel truly blessed that I am not making plans to turn myself into prison (knock on wood) and that I am capable of looking forward to better days. Please join us in our fight for justice and morality in the world of medical cannabis. Although the country may be on a downhill economic slope, it seems that socially we should all be much better for the wear. My new year wishes are that progress is made in the world of healthcare reform, that we find a path to a more peaceful and sensible world, and that Barck Obama pardons me for my role in providing safe and effective non-smoked forms of medical cannabis to the patients of California. I hope that I can get back to life and get to visit my mother, whom is in Arizona missing me and her grandsons greatly. My family in Colorado and Washington (in-laws) have also been deprived of our family visits, as this battle with justice has consumed our lives for many moons. I would hope to put an end to this madness and get back to a normal and uneventful life :). May all who have supported us on this journey be safe in this New Year. 2009 will be just fine. Be good to someone you love and be good to yourselves.
Dec 30, 2008
A Submission to the FDA on Marinol vs. Cannabis
I found this searching around for nomenclature for cannabis on the FDA site. I think this woman does a great job of explaining the silliness of allowing Marinol but not cannabis in its natural form. Too bad the FDA is in the pockets of big pharm and refuses to see the light, eh?
International Drug Scheduling; Convention on Psychotropic Substances; Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs; Butorphanol; Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Dronabinol); Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid; Ketamine;
FDA Comment Number :
EC3
Submitter :
Ms. Melissa Osterhoudt
Date & Time:
12/19/2005 01:12:00
Organization :
Ms. Melissa Osterhoudt
Category :
International Public Citizen
Issue Areas/Comments
GENERAL
GENERAL
Thank you for taking public ommentary on this topic.
Regarding delta-9-tetrahycrocannabinal or dronabinol otherwise known as marinol: this substance has been shown to be less effective than naturally occuring cannabis for the treatment of currently approved health disorders. In addition, cannabis is making headlines internationally in its effectiveness with RA, Parkinson's, Alzheimers and other diseases. It is time to delete this from schedule III. Marinol has it's own problems: it causes drowsiness and mental fog, whereas naturally occuring cannabis can be administered in more minute doses to allow the effective dose for treattment while preventing too large of a dose which causes the above mentioned symptoms. This allows for greater integration into activities of daily living, which is of utmost importance to those who are currently prescribed Marinol.
Lastly, all prescription drugs are abused, including aspirin. There is no way to prevent, fully, the abuse and misuse of drugs of any kind (even non-psychotropic). Abuse is known to stem from greater societal problems which need to be addressed in order to really get tot he root of the problem. In addition, cannabis in general has been proven to be non-habit forming, it is not physically addictive (unlike non- schedule 3 drugs such as prednisone and others and freely used/abused non-theraputic mind altering substances such as nicotine and alcohol). People abuse food and sex as well. It is really time to get real about this substance for its theraputic effects and non-addictive nature far outweigh the long standing stigma that has shrouded it for so many decades. If we look at Europe's stance of decriminalization we will find far less instances of abuse/addiction and criminal activity around this substance (either as natural cannabis or Marinol). Much of our problems lie in prohibition of this substance in general. People are drawn to that which is denied, like moths to the flame. When this substance (in every form) is no longer demonized and people are no longer presented with 1) factual scientific studies that clearly refute the propaganda 2) factual circumstansial evidence from other countries' successful decriminalization efforts 3) overt PR efforts to continue the ridiculous "war on drugs" which substantially focuses on cannabis despite the above facts; then the glamor of this supposed demon will be reduced and abuse will decrease (as it has in Europe).
Marinol is a step in the right direction, but it is a small and insufficient step. It has side effects that consumers find unpleasant while they are already dealing with horribly unpleasant symptoms. Only those folks who are suffering pretty horribly are prescribed this medication, which is like pulling teeth to get, and then they have to deal with the side effects while the naturally occuring substance is better controlled for administration of the drug and has little to no side effects. This is just plain silly to continue this substance as a Schedule III, it is contributing to untold human suffering and is a huge waste of taxpayer's money.
Dec 29, 2008
Looking Forward to Turning the Page on 2008
The year 2008 has been a trying one to say the least, but has had its moments of joy as well. The year began knee-deep in legal matters, asI fought for my freedom and essentially my life. The ups and downs of this experience are well documented here, so I will not delve to deep and relive the pain. From prosecution, to plea, to waiting, to sentencing, the journey is one I will never forget, but one I will hope to never relive. I believe 2008 gave me a great deal of gray hairs and pressed my stress levels to the point of madness, but alas it is almost over. 2009 is sure to have its battles, as I am still financially devastated and looking for full-time work, but I am hopeful. The election of Obama has given me "hope" for "change" and I look forward to turning the page on Bush as well. Whether the future is better is yet to be seen, but it is nice to think that things may be different. I am hoping for a pardon/commutation in 2009, so keep your fingers crossed. It would be nice to get life back to some sense of normality. Yes. I look back on 2008 and often just shake my head. What a year, eh? On to the next episode.
Dec 24, 2008
Merry Christmas from Tainted Compassion
It is this time of year I loved making cannabis foods. Many patients choose to use edibles this time of year for a number of different reasons, including less tolerant family members and the need for longer lasting effects to make it through all of the hub-bub. Whatever the reason, our kitchen was always alive with Christmas Magic. I would like to send out a special christmas tiding for all of those who were involved with Tainted Compassion over the years. Whether you worked with us, carried our products, or used our products we are thinking of you this holiday season. Best wishes on this Christmas. All of my Christmas wishes have come true, so I am blessed. May you also be blessed with joy and cheer.
Dec 22, 2008
Article On Obama and Cannabis Reform
Found this article on the lists and thought it was worthy of a read for everyone. At some point reason has to begin to outweigh irrationality. The War on Drugs is a complete failure and we must begin to rethink our policies. I am interested to see what progress is made on this front.
A tree grows in Washington? Writer-at-large John H. Richardson's column, "The Richardson Report," runsright here each Tuesday. Famously, Franklin Delano Roosevelt saved the United States banking system during the first seven days of his first term. And what did he do on the eighth day? "I think this would be a good time for beer," he said. Congress had already repealed Prohibition, pending ratification from the states. But the people needed a lift, and legalizing beer would create a million jobs. And lo, booze was back. Two days after the bill passed, Milwaukee brewers hired six hundred people and paid their first $10 million in taxes. Soon the auto industry was tooling up the first $12 million worth of delivery trucks, and brewers were pouring tens of millions into new plants. "Roosevelt's move to legalize beer had the effect he intended," says Adam Cohen, author of Nothing To Fear, a thrilling new history of FDR's first hundred days. "It was, one journalist observed, 'like a stick of dynamite into a log jam.'" Many in the marijuana world are now hoping for something similar from Barack Obama. After all, the president-elect said in 2004 that the war on drugs had been "an utter failure" and that America should decriminalize pot: In July, Obama told Rolling Stone that he believed in "shifting the paradigm" to a public-health approach: "I would start with nonviolent, first-time drug offenders. The notion that we are imposing felonies on them or sending them to prison, where they are getting advanced degrees in criminality, instead of thinking about ways like drug courts that can get them back on track in their lives -- it's expensive, it's counterproductive, and it doesn't make sense." Meanwhile, economists have been making the beer argument. In a papertitled "Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition," Dr. Jeffrey Miron of Harvard argues that legalized marijuana would generate between $10 and $14 billion in savings and taxes every year -- conclusions endorsed by 300 top economists, including Milton "Free Market" Friedman himself. And two weeks ago, when the Obama team asked the public to vote on the top problems facing America, this was the public's No. 1 question: "Will you consider legalizing marijuana so that the government can regulate it, tax it, put age limits on it, and create millions of new jobs and a billion dollar industry right here in the U.S.?" But alas, the answer from Camp Obama was -- as it has been for years -- a flat one-liner: "President-elect Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana." And at least two of Obama's top people are drug-war supporters: Rahm Emanuel has been a long-time enemy of reform, and Joe Biden is a drug-war mainstay who helped create the position of "drug czar." Meanwhile, in 2007, the last year for which statistics are available, 782,000 Americans were arrested for marijuana-related crimes (90 percent of them for possession), with approximately 60,000 to 85,000 of them serving sentences in jail or prison. It's the continuation of an unnecessary stream of suffering that now has taught generations of Americans just how capricious their government can be. The irony is that the preference for "decriminalization" over legalization actually supports the continued existence of criminal drug mafias. Nevertheless, the marijuana community is guardedly optimistic. "Reformers will probably be disappointed that Obama is not going to go as far as they want, but we're probably not going to continue this mindless path of prohibition," NORML executive director Allen St. Pierre tells me. Some of Obama's biggest financial donors are friends of the legalization movement, St. Pierre notes. "Frankly, George Soros, Peter Lewis, and John Sperling -- this triumvirate of billionaires -- if those three men, who put up $50 to $60 million to get Democrats and Obama elected, can't pick up the phone and actually get a one-to-one meeting on where this drug policy is going, then maybe it's true that when you give money, you don't expect favors." Another member of that moneyed group: Marsha Rosenbaum, the former head of the San Francisco office of the Drug Policy Alliance, who quit last year to become a fundraiser for Obama and "bundled" an impressive $204,000 for his campaign. She said that based on what she hears from inside the transition team, she expects Obama to play it very safe. "He said at one point that he's not going to use any political capital with this -- that's a concern," Rosenbaum tells me. And the Path to Change will probably have to pass through the Valley of Studies and Reports. "I'm hoping that what the administration will do," she says, "is something this country hasn't done since 1971, which is to undertake a presidential commission to look at drug policy, convene a group of blue-ribbon experts to look at the issue, and make recommendations." But ultimately, Rosenbaum remains confident that those recommendations would call for an end to the drug war. "Once everything settles down in the second term, we have a shot at seeing some real reform." Still, a certain paranoia prevails. Rumors about Obama's choice for drug czar have lingered on Republican Congressman Jim Ramstad. "He's been a standard anti-drug warrior for the whole time he's been in Congress," says St. Pierre. Another possibility is Atlanta police chief Richard Pennington, who raises fears in the legalization community of more of the same law-enforcement model. Another prospect stirring the pothead waters is Dr. Don Vereen, the chief drug policy thinker on the transition team. "He's really a believer in prohibition and he can excite an audience," says Rosenbaum, who says a friend on the transition team refused to hint at final contenders for the drug czar pick. "I'm joking with him, 'I'm going to have to open up the New York Times for this, aren't I?'" His answer: "We're going to send out smoke signals."
NADELMANN FOR DRUG CZAR PETITION
Please sign the petition at http://drugczarofmydreams.com/node/2 to show our support for sensible policy makers at the Nation's highest level. the War on Drugs is a failure and there should be a person who knows this leading the charge onnew policy and different directions in our nation's drug policy.
To: President-elect Barack Obama We the undersigned request the appointment of Ethan Nadelmann to direct the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (“Drug Czar”) of the United States of America. For more than 20 years, Dr. Nadelmann has advocated in The United States and abroad for an open discussion of national drug control policy. His grasp of international law, the history of prohibition and current global drug control regimes is unparalleled. Through his books, dozens of published articles, academic lectures and papers, Dr. Nadelmann has demonstrated a detailed grasp of the evolving network of global prohibitions and international enforcement treaties. His exemplary research skills and resulting accomplishments have provided him a unique understanding of the history, development and contemporary practices of U.S. drug control policy and its relationship to the health of the citizens of The United States. Dr. Nadelmann’s command of the best available peer-reviewed scientific research would best serve The United States at the Drug Czar position, responsible for setting national goals on education, drug abuse prevention and law enforcement. He is eminently qualified to conceive of a national drug control policy that vastly improves on the current model, which has changed little over the last 35 years, in order to better safeguard the health of our children and the general U.S. population, reduce crime rates and recidivism, abate drug-related violence, conspiratorial activity and address head on a vast source of clandestine financial support for international terrorism. Dr. Nadelmann has directed the non-partisan, nonprofit advocacy group the Drug Policy Alliance for more than 15 years, which boasts the support of Nobel laureates, prominent U.S. government representatives from both political parties, economists, scientists, and members of law enforcement. It is our belief that his rigorous approach to identifying common-sense solutions, combined with his unique ability to inspire diverse audiences from both sides of the aisle, makes Dr. Nadelmann uniquely qualified for the position of Drug Czar in an administration whose stated goals are to repeal the harshest drug sentences, remove federal bans on funding syringe-exchange programs to reduce AIDS, give medical marijuana a fair chance to prove itself, and support treatment alternatives for low-level drug offenders. Sign Petition @ http://drugczarofmydreams.com/node/2Nadelmann for Drug Czar Petition
Dec 20, 2008
Bristol Palin's Mother-In-Law Dealing Oxycontin?
Where is the outrage? Why are there not armed gunmen storming the offices of the maker of oxycontin? With this type of blatant abuses in the "closed" drug system, when does the harm outweigh the benefit? The dangers of oxycontin far outweigh the dangers of cannabis, yet there are growing abuses in the system and doctors continue to half-hazzardly prescribe these drugs at alarming rates. Why the hypocrisy?
Posted on Fri, Dec. 19, 2008 last updated: December 19, 2008 11:34:30 PM WASILLA, Alaska — Wasilla resident Sherry L. Johnston, mother of Bristol Palin's boyfriend, faces a Jan. 6 court date for an oxycontin-related arrest at her home by Alaska State Troopers. Little additional information was available Friday on the case as authorities remained unusually tight-lipped about details. But Palmer court records listed Johnston's scheduled court date and a troopers spokeswoman said in a release late Friday afternoon that the charges "are in relation to the drug oxycontin." Johnston is the mother of Levi Johnston, who Gov. Sarah Palin said was the father of Bristol Palin's unborn child. Levi Johnston joined the Palins at the Republican National Convention when Palin was running for vice president. It was during the convention that the governor and her husband, Todd, announced Bristol's pregnancy. She was arrested around noon Thursday by troopers serving a search warrant in an undercover drug investigation. A standard press release issued by troopers said Johnston was arrested on six felony counts: second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance - generally manufacturing or delivering drugs - as well as fourth-degree misconduct involving controlled substances, or possession. She was released on bail Thursday afternoon, just a few hours later. Johnston has not responded to phone messages or requests for comment left at the family home. Nobody answered the door there Friday. Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters wouldn't say Friday if there were other potential defendants. Normally, troopers file charging documents in court to back up arrests. Clerks at the Palmer courthouse said they hadn't seen any filings, and none has to be filed until the hearing. The Palmer District Attorney's office prosecutes drug cases. Palmer District Attorney Roman Kalytiak said he was aware of the arrest, but also had not seen any reports or charging documents. Kalytiak said the standard protocol for drug arrests is that law enforcement officials observe one drug buy, then get a warrant that permits them to record conversations and document more buys. "I'd imagine standard protocol was followed," the district attorney said. A spokesman for Gov. Palin on Thursday said the arrest was "not a state government matter" and so no comment or interviews on the topic would be forthcoming.McClatchy Washington Bureau
Palin soap opera: Drug in Levi's mom's case is oxycontin
Zaz Hollander | Anchorage Daily News
Dec 19, 2008
DEA Continues Absurd Assault on Medical Cannabis
Yesterday the Drug Enforcement Agency continued their assault on medical cannabis providers, raiding a dispensing collective in San Fernando Valley. The enforcement officers continued to confiscate medicine, computers, and patient records, but made no arrests. Why? How can this law enforcement agency continue to bully dispensing collectives out of money, medicine, and records with no accountability or fair trial for those assaulted? not that I believe these folks should be prosecuted, but isn't that normal protocol? You raid. You confiscate. You arrest someone and charge them with the crime you busted down their door for? It is maddening to me to think that this rogue group is senselessly and randomly exerting unnecessary force in the community to simply confiscate people's medicine supply. It is like the monkeys are running the zoo or something.
Dec 17, 2008
New ideas
I am hopeful to launch two new interactive pages on this site. One would be a questions page. There are many folks who have asked me a number of different questions regarding medical cannabis, the legal system, and providing food-based and other types of cannabis medicines. I hope to develop a forum where folks can post respectful questions and I can answer them. This dialogue will help to educate and inspire others and I look forward to using my experience to help others make a difference.
Another project I am in the process of developing is a political prisoner outreach and communication program. There are many others working to help keep those in the community that are either in prison, awaiting court actions, or have been imprisoned in the past in touch with what is going on in the community. I hope to add to that vehicle and create an electronic system to submit communications, post communications from the political prisoners to the community, and I hope to possibly create a video system where others can submit video communications from prisoners to their families who may not be capable of meeting with them. This program can help keep those suffering grounded and keep the folks in the movement appraised of their situations and what we can do to help. Stay tuned.
