eg420ne
04-11-2006, 01:18 PM
You see how hard our loving government fight this shit they dont want any1 using Cannabis... old news but what has changed
Patients who use marijuana fear worst if forced to stop
By Joan Biskupic, Wendy Koch and John Ritter, USA TODAY
Erin Hildebrandt moved her family from Maryland to Oregon last June for one reason: She wanted to live in a state where she could use marijuana legally.
Diane Monson, of Oroville, Calif., smokes marijuana to relieve back pain caused by a degenerative disease of the spine.
By Max Whittaker, AP
Hildebrandt has Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract that gives her nausea. The 34-year-old mother of five underwent surgeries and tried various treatments, but nothing worked until she tried marijuana.
Now, she's a registered marijuana user in Oregon, one of 10 states that has allowed patients who suffer from debilitating illnesses to use the drug as a pain reliever. "Medical marijuana gave me back my life," she said. "I don't do drugs. ... I'm just a mom."
But the Supreme Court's ruling Monday that state medical marijuana laws do not protect Hildebrandt and thousands of other medical-marijuana users from federal prosecution has her fearing the worst. "I moved here to be a law-abiding citizen, and I'm not sure that I am anymore," said Hildebrandt, who lives in Lafayette, about 30 miles southwest of Portland. "I'm afraid I'll have the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) at my door. Yesterday, I would have told so much more (about the treatment). Now, I'm afraid."
Her remarks reflected the concern Monday of medical-marijuana users who said the court's 6-3 decision had left them with a difficult choice: Break the law in order to take a drug that makes life tolerable, or give up marijuana and be miserable. (Related story: Court rejects medical marijuana)
The California patients behind the dispute that was decided by the court, Diane Monson and Angel Raich, were defiant Monday but hopeful that somehow a Republican-led Congress would approve a federal medical-marijuana law â?? even though it has shown no inclination of doing so. (Related story: Pot studies difficult to organize, analyze)
"I'm going to have to be prepared to be arrested," said Monson, 48, of Oroville, Calif., suggesting that she would continue to smoke marijuana to ease back pain caused by a degenerative disease of the spine.
Raich, 39, of Oakland, called on Congress to show compassion for those who have found marijuana uniquely effective in relieving their pain. "Now is the time for Congress to step in to help us sick, disabled and dying patients," said Raich, who has an inoperable brain tumor and a seizure disorder. "Something will be done if it takes every last breath in my body."
In Washington, the message was: Don't look for action anytime soon.
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., a co-sponsor of a bill that would gives Congress' blessing for states to make their own medical-marijuana laws, said the Supreme Court has "now made it clear that this is up to Congress. If Congress wants to do this, it can."
But Frank and other members of Congress suggested that even in a generation of lawmakers who came of age as marijuana became popular among youths, few are willing to go on record as voting for a bill to allow pot smoking.
"I think support is strong" for a federal medical-marijuana bill, said U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. "But people are still frightened a little bit by the politics of it. If you had a secret vote in Congress, I'll bet 80% would vote for it."
After taking several hours to digest the ruling, officials in California and other states with similar medical-marijuana laws â?? Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state â?? said they doubted that the decision would lead the U.S. Justice Department to significantly crack down on individual users of medical marijuana, including those who grow the leaf for their own use.
"People shouldn't panic. There aren't going to be many changes," California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said. "Nothing is different today than it was two days ago, in terms of real-world impact."
In Oregon, officials said they would temporarily stop issuing medical marijuana cards to sick people. The cards allow patients with prescriptions to possess the drug. "We want to proceed cautiously until we understand the ramifications of this ruling," said Grant Higginson, a public health officer who oversees Oregon's medical marijuana program.
Thousands of registered users
The Drug Policy Alliance, a group in Oakland that supports more lenient drug laws, estimated that there are more than 113,000 registered users of marijuana in the 10 medical-marijuana states, with more than 100,000 in California alone.
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the USA. About 95 million Americans age 12 and older have used marijuana or hashish in their lifetime, according to the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. About 15 million people use marijuana regularly, the survey found.
The Bush administration has made marijuana a priority in its war on drugs, casting it as an entry-level drug with no scientifically proven benefits that leads many users to try more dangerous ones such as cocaine and heroin. But DEA Administrator Karen Tandy said after the ruling that the administration's focus would remain on major growers and traffickers.
John Walters, the White House's anti-drug czar, said that those who flagrantly flout federal law will be punished, but he agreed with Tandy's emphasis on major traffickers.
"I don't think anybody makes a career out of arresting and punishing low-level users," he said.
In Washington, Walters, the anti-drug czar, saw the ruling as a rejection of the idea that marijuana is a proven pain reliever.
"The medical marijuana farce is done," he said. " I don't doubt that some people feel better when they use marijuana, but that's not modern science. That's snake oil."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-06-06-marijuana-cover_x.htm
Patients who use marijuana fear worst if forced to stop
By Joan Biskupic, Wendy Koch and John Ritter, USA TODAY
Erin Hildebrandt moved her family from Maryland to Oregon last June for one reason: She wanted to live in a state where she could use marijuana legally.
Diane Monson, of Oroville, Calif., smokes marijuana to relieve back pain caused by a degenerative disease of the spine.
By Max Whittaker, AP
Hildebrandt has Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract that gives her nausea. The 34-year-old mother of five underwent surgeries and tried various treatments, but nothing worked until she tried marijuana.
Now, she's a registered marijuana user in Oregon, one of 10 states that has allowed patients who suffer from debilitating illnesses to use the drug as a pain reliever. "Medical marijuana gave me back my life," she said. "I don't do drugs. ... I'm just a mom."
But the Supreme Court's ruling Monday that state medical marijuana laws do not protect Hildebrandt and thousands of other medical-marijuana users from federal prosecution has her fearing the worst. "I moved here to be a law-abiding citizen, and I'm not sure that I am anymore," said Hildebrandt, who lives in Lafayette, about 30 miles southwest of Portland. "I'm afraid I'll have the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) at my door. Yesterday, I would have told so much more (about the treatment). Now, I'm afraid."
Her remarks reflected the concern Monday of medical-marijuana users who said the court's 6-3 decision had left them with a difficult choice: Break the law in order to take a drug that makes life tolerable, or give up marijuana and be miserable. (Related story: Court rejects medical marijuana)
The California patients behind the dispute that was decided by the court, Diane Monson and Angel Raich, were defiant Monday but hopeful that somehow a Republican-led Congress would approve a federal medical-marijuana law â?? even though it has shown no inclination of doing so. (Related story: Pot studies difficult to organize, analyze)
"I'm going to have to be prepared to be arrested," said Monson, 48, of Oroville, Calif., suggesting that she would continue to smoke marijuana to ease back pain caused by a degenerative disease of the spine.
Raich, 39, of Oakland, called on Congress to show compassion for those who have found marijuana uniquely effective in relieving their pain. "Now is the time for Congress to step in to help us sick, disabled and dying patients," said Raich, who has an inoperable brain tumor and a seizure disorder. "Something will be done if it takes every last breath in my body."
In Washington, the message was: Don't look for action anytime soon.
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., a co-sponsor of a bill that would gives Congress' blessing for states to make their own medical-marijuana laws, said the Supreme Court has "now made it clear that this is up to Congress. If Congress wants to do this, it can."
But Frank and other members of Congress suggested that even in a generation of lawmakers who came of age as marijuana became popular among youths, few are willing to go on record as voting for a bill to allow pot smoking.
"I think support is strong" for a federal medical-marijuana bill, said U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. "But people are still frightened a little bit by the politics of it. If you had a secret vote in Congress, I'll bet 80% would vote for it."
After taking several hours to digest the ruling, officials in California and other states with similar medical-marijuana laws â?? Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state â?? said they doubted that the decision would lead the U.S. Justice Department to significantly crack down on individual users of medical marijuana, including those who grow the leaf for their own use.
"People shouldn't panic. There aren't going to be many changes," California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said. "Nothing is different today than it was two days ago, in terms of real-world impact."
In Oregon, officials said they would temporarily stop issuing medical marijuana cards to sick people. The cards allow patients with prescriptions to possess the drug. "We want to proceed cautiously until we understand the ramifications of this ruling," said Grant Higginson, a public health officer who oversees Oregon's medical marijuana program.
Thousands of registered users
The Drug Policy Alliance, a group in Oakland that supports more lenient drug laws, estimated that there are more than 113,000 registered users of marijuana in the 10 medical-marijuana states, with more than 100,000 in California alone.
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the USA. About 95 million Americans age 12 and older have used marijuana or hashish in their lifetime, according to the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. About 15 million people use marijuana regularly, the survey found.
The Bush administration has made marijuana a priority in its war on drugs, casting it as an entry-level drug with no scientifically proven benefits that leads many users to try more dangerous ones such as cocaine and heroin. But DEA Administrator Karen Tandy said after the ruling that the administration's focus would remain on major growers and traffickers.
John Walters, the White House's anti-drug czar, said that those who flagrantly flout federal law will be punished, but he agreed with Tandy's emphasis on major traffickers.
"I don't think anybody makes a career out of arresting and punishing low-level users," he said.
In Washington, Walters, the anti-drug czar, saw the ruling as a rejection of the idea that marijuana is a proven pain reliever.
"The medical marijuana farce is done," he said. " I don't doubt that some people feel better when they use marijuana, but that's not modern science. That's snake oil."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-06-06-marijuana-cover_x.htm