NowhereMan
05-01-2004, 05:37 AM
The Associated Press; April 27, 2004
by Wilson Ring
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - A question and answer period with a top Bush administration drug control official ended early Tuesday after a supporter of medical marijuana disrupted the meeting.
Dr. Andrea Barthwell was taking questions after outlining the administration's prevention efforts when the man started shouting from the audience at the Pavilion office building.
"These people are telling me I have to live in pain," the man said to a scattering of applause before being confronted by a security guard. After a few minutes he left.
Barthwell had just finished an outline of the Bush administration's drug control plan, which calls for an almost equal balance of preventing drug use and abuse, providing treatment for addicts, and using law enforcement to disrupt illegal drug supply.
She had only begun to discuss the medicinal use of marijuana while taking questions when her talk was disrupted. The time scheduled for her presentation was up and Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Paul Jarris decided to end the meeting rather than try to continue.
The Vermont House is considering a bill that would exempt patients with certain chronic conditions from arrest and prosecution for possession of limited amounts of marijuana. The bill was approved by the Senate last year.
Advocates of medicinal marijuana argue it can be a humane and effective pain reliever for people suffering from a variety of chronic illnesses, such as cancer, AIDS or glaucoma.
Barthwell, whose formal title is deputy director for demand reduction for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said after the meeting that the Bush administration opposed the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana for medical use.
"Our position is that a crude plant product is not medicine," said Barthwell. "We would not want to see that here or anywhere."
She said the active ingredient in marijuana, which can provide relief to chronically ill patients, can be found in the drug Marinol.
And she said advocates for reforming national marijuana laws were supporting efforts to use marijuana for medicinal purposes as a way to begin legalizing it for other uses.
Earlier Tuesday Barthwell appeared before the House and Senate Health and Welfare Committees.
Gov. James Douglas opposes the use of medical marijuana. His Health Commissioner, Dr. Paul Jarris, said that as a physician he couldn't support the use of medical marijuana, a plant that contains numerous chemicals.
Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle, who is seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, supports legalizing medical marijuana.
There is growing public support across Vermont for medical marijuana. On Town Meeting Day more than 82 percent of Burlington voters came down in favor of legalizing marijuana for medical use.
At Tuesday's meeting several people in the audience wore T-shirts with the slogan "ONDCP Spreads Myths," but the audience was quiet until the one man started shouting, ending the meeting.
http://www.mpp.org/VT/news_7012.html
by Wilson Ring
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - A question and answer period with a top Bush administration drug control official ended early Tuesday after a supporter of medical marijuana disrupted the meeting.
Dr. Andrea Barthwell was taking questions after outlining the administration's prevention efforts when the man started shouting from the audience at the Pavilion office building.
"These people are telling me I have to live in pain," the man said to a scattering of applause before being confronted by a security guard. After a few minutes he left.
Barthwell had just finished an outline of the Bush administration's drug control plan, which calls for an almost equal balance of preventing drug use and abuse, providing treatment for addicts, and using law enforcement to disrupt illegal drug supply.
She had only begun to discuss the medicinal use of marijuana while taking questions when her talk was disrupted. The time scheduled for her presentation was up and Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Paul Jarris decided to end the meeting rather than try to continue.
The Vermont House is considering a bill that would exempt patients with certain chronic conditions from arrest and prosecution for possession of limited amounts of marijuana. The bill was approved by the Senate last year.
Advocates of medicinal marijuana argue it can be a humane and effective pain reliever for people suffering from a variety of chronic illnesses, such as cancer, AIDS or glaucoma.
Barthwell, whose formal title is deputy director for demand reduction for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said after the meeting that the Bush administration opposed the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana for medical use.
"Our position is that a crude plant product is not medicine," said Barthwell. "We would not want to see that here or anywhere."
She said the active ingredient in marijuana, which can provide relief to chronically ill patients, can be found in the drug Marinol.
And she said advocates for reforming national marijuana laws were supporting efforts to use marijuana for medicinal purposes as a way to begin legalizing it for other uses.
Earlier Tuesday Barthwell appeared before the House and Senate Health and Welfare Committees.
Gov. James Douglas opposes the use of medical marijuana. His Health Commissioner, Dr. Paul Jarris, said that as a physician he couldn't support the use of medical marijuana, a plant that contains numerous chemicals.
Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle, who is seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, supports legalizing medical marijuana.
There is growing public support across Vermont for medical marijuana. On Town Meeting Day more than 82 percent of Burlington voters came down in favor of legalizing marijuana for medical use.
At Tuesday's meeting several people in the audience wore T-shirts with the slogan "ONDCP Spreads Myths," but the audience was quiet until the one man started shouting, ending the meeting.
http://www.mpp.org/VT/news_7012.html