June 18, 2009 Decriminalizing MJ for HIV Medical & Personal Rec Use - States vs Feds
Some HIV poz gay men (and poz hets as well) who deal with pain, nausea or have lost their appetite choose to smoke pot rather than taking legal meds that can cause side effects. Other HIV+ gay men understandably don’t want to take the risk of getting busted since laws vary between the states. (see footnote) Pot smoking of course is not unique to gay men, millions of Americans have been smoking pot for years, so questions pertaining to marijuana law reform are among the most popular public policy issues, as voted on by the public, in a recent White House online poll.
Specifically, the public's call to legalize and regulate marijuana for personal and medical purposes finished among the top 10 questions, according to the poll.
In all, over 900 policy questions were submitted and voted on by the public during the week of May 21 to May 28, 2009.
According to the White House, the purpose of the poll is to "ensure that (the public's) ideas inform the development of open government recommendations and the writing of subsequent policy and the development of open government projects as soon as possible."
In previous White House sponsored online polls, questions pertaining to the legalization of marijuana have consistently garnered the top spot.
Commenting on the results, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said: "In both online surveys and in national public opinion polls, voters' support for common sense marijuana law reform – including the regulation of cannabis for adults – is greater than at any time in history. For the Obama administration, marijuana law reform represents a political opportunity, not a political liability. Federal lawmakers from both parties would be wise to embrace the results of this and other polls and act accordingly."
Marijuana or Cannabis sativa is an herb. It grows in many places around the world. It is also called hemp, reefer, or cannabis. Marijuana is an herb that is smoked or baked into food. It has been used for health purposes for thousands of years. It has had many uses in different cultures. These include reducing pain and increasing appetite. Marijuana contains chemicals called cannabinoids. The best known is tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. The marijuana "high" is mainly due to THC.
Marijuana was used medically in the U.S. until the late 1930s. It was legal in the United States until the 1930s. Then there were claims of "reefer madness." Supposedly, marijuana caused crime, violence, insanity, and death. In 1970, U.S. drug law classified marijuana as having a high potential for abuse and no medical use.
Marijuana was later found to have other health benefits. It can lower pressure within the eye. This helps treat glaucoma, an eye disease which can cause blindness. Marijuana also reduces nausea and vomiting in patients taking chemotherapy treatment for cancer. It reduces muscle spasms in people with nerve problems like multiple sclerosis and can help treat some types of pain. These uses led to the development of the drug dronabinol (Marinol), a synthetic version of THC. Health care providers can prescribe Marinol. Not everyone gets the same results from Marinol as from marijuana.
Thousands of patients and their doctors have found marijuana to be beneficial in treating the symptoms of AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, and other serious conditions. For many people, marijuana is the only medicine with a suitable degree of safety and efficacy.
In March 1999, the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its landmark study, Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. The scientists who wrote the report concluded that “there are some limited circumstances in which we recommend smoking marijuana for medical uses.”
Accordingly, public opinion polls find that most Americans support legal access to medical marijuana.
“For now, federal law is blind to the wisdom of a future day when the right to use medical marijuana to alleviate excruciating pain may be deemed fundamental. Although that day has not yet dawned, considering that during the last ten years eleven states have legalized the use of medical marijuana, that day may be upon us sooner than expected.” - Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Raich v. Gonzales, March 2007
Federal and state laws generally forbid the sale or possession of marijuana. Thirteen states have passed "medical marijuana" laws that permit limited use for health reasons. However, in May 2001 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that medical use of marijuana is illegal under federal law. The Court ruled in 2005 that federal officials can take action against medical marijuana users or "buyers' clubs" even in states with medical marijuana laws.
The link below will lead you to the Marijuana Policy Project's most recent edition of its state-by-state report on medical marijuana laws in the U.S. The report contains both a summary and an in-depth review of current medical marijuana laws; an overview of the history of medical marijuana policy; and MPP's model medical marijuana legislation, which is based on the most effective sections of current medical marijuana laws. It also features frequently asked questions about medical marijuana and the need to protect patients from arrest, as well as a list of dozens of medical, professional, and civic organizations that support medical marijuana. This report also analyzes the existing federal and state laws and describes what can be done to give patients legal access to medical marijuana. The most effective way to allow patients to use medical marijuana is for state legislatures to pass bills similar to the law enacted by the Rhode Island General Assembly in June 2007.
State By State Medical Marijuana Laws
(copy and paste this into your url)
http://www.mpp.org/legislation/state-by-state-medical-marijuana-laws.html
State By State Laws at NORML
(copy and paste this into your url)
http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4516
Despite marijuana’s widely recognized therapeutic value, the medical use of marijuana remains a criminal offense under federal law. Nevertheless, favorable medical marijuana laws have been enacted in 36 states since 1978.
Most of the favorable state laws are ineffectual, due to their reliance on the federal government’s directly providing or authorizing a legal supply of medical marijuana. Fortunately, since 1996, 13 states have found a way to help seriously ill people use medical marijuana with virtual impunity, despite federal law.
(A 14th law, enacted in Maryland in May 2003, is weaker than the 13 other laws because it protects medical marijuana patients only from jail sentences — not fines — and it forces patients to obtain their supply of medical marijuana from drug dealers. The Maryland law should not be used as a model for other states.)
Although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in U.S. v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative (OCBC) that the medical necessity defense cannot be used to avoid a federal conviction for marijuana distribution, a state may still allow its citizens to possess, grow, or distribute medical marijuana.
Furthermore, a 2007 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision — Gonzales v. Raich — left open the possibility that a patient may be able to raise a medical necessity defense to prevent a federal criminal conviction. The OCBC ruling does not nullify the 13 effective state medical marijuana laws, nor does it prevent other states from enacting similar laws.
This is important because the overwhelming majority of marijuana arrests are made at the state and local level, not the federal level.
The few marijuana arrests made at the federal level almost always involve large-scale distribution. “We do not target sick and dying people,” according to federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief Karen Tandy, who insists that the federal government is interested in only those who traffic in large amounts of the drug.
What Are the Side Effects?
Smoking marijuana can cause some of the same health problems as smoking tobacco, including bronchitis. However, it has not been clearly linked to lung cancer.
Smoked or eaten marijuana can disrupt balance, physical coordination and visual perception. This can make it dangerous to drive a car or operate machinery. Some people feel stoned (very disoriented or dizzy) when using marijuana. This effect can be stronger when marijuana is eaten than when it is smoked.
Some users develop a tolerance to marijuana. This means they need higher and higher doses to get the same effect. Users can also become dependent on marijuana. They may have mild withdrawal symptoms when they stop using it.
How Does It Interact With Other Therapies?
There are no known interactions between marijuana and medications or other herbs. However, very few interactions between herbs and medications have been studied. Tell your health care provider if you are using any herbs or supplements.
A research study found that smoking marijuana does not increase HIV viral load or reduce CD4 cell counts.
UPDATE JUNE 2009
At the time this article was posted (June 18, 2009), Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, along with co-sponsors Ron Paul (R-TX); Maurice Hinchey (D-NY); Dana Rohrbacher (R-CA); and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), will reintroduce legislation to limit the federal government’s authority to arrest and prosecute minor marijuana offenders.
The measure, entitled an “Act to Remove Federal Penalties for Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults,” would eliminate federal penalties for the personal possession of up to 100 grams (over three and one-half ounces) of cannabis and for the not-for-profit transfer of up to one ounce of pot – making the prosecutions of these offenses strictly a state matter.
Under federal law, defendants found guilty of possessing small amounts of cannabis for their own personal use face up to one year imprisonment and a $1,000 fine.
Passage of this act would provide state lawmakers the choice to maintain their current penalties for minor marijuana offenses or eliminate them completely. Lawmakers would also have the option to explore legal alternatives to tax and regulate the adult use and distribution of cannabis free from federal interference.
To date, thirteen states have enacted laws ‘decriminalizing’ the possession of marijuana by adults. Minor marijuana offenders face a citation and small fine in lieu of a criminal arrest or time in jail.
“The federal government has much more important business to attend to than targeting, arresting and prosecuting adults who use marijuana responsibly,” NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said. “This is an issue that ought to be handled by the states, not the Feds.”
According to nationwide polls, three out of four voters believe that adults who possess marijuana should not face arrest or jail, and one out of two now say that cannabis should be regulated like alcohol.
The reintroduction of the Frank - Paul bill comes one week after the duo reintroduced HR 2835, The Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act of 2009 – which seeks to halt federal interference in states that have enacted medical marijuana laws – and just days after Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) called for federal legislation to sentence certain first-time marijuana offenders to 25 years in prison.
“The US Congress has a definite choice,” said St. Pierre. “They can choose the path of compassion, fiscal responsibility, and common sense by supporting Barney Frank’s and Ron Paul’s efforts, or they can continue down America’s failed drug war path by endorsing Rep. Kirk’s draconian legislation. It is abundantly clear which direction the voters wish to go; will their elected officials follow?”
To learn what you can to do to advocate for change on a federal level visit NORML at
(copy and paste into your url) http://www.norml.org/
FOOTNOTE
(The use of the words poz gay men in our featured articles helps others finds us in searches)
WASHINGTON – Federal drug agents won't pursue pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers in states that allow medical marijuana, under new legal guidelines to be issued Monday by the Obama administration.
Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law.
The guidelines to be issued by the department do, however, make it clear that agents will go after people whose marijuana distribution goes beyond what is permitted under state law or use medical marijuana as a cover for other crimes, the officials said.
The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes.
Fourteen states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
California is unique among those for the widespread presence of dispensaries — businesses that sell marijuana and even advertise their services. Colorado also has several dispensaries, and Rhode Island and New Mexico are in the process of licensing providers, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that promotes the decriminalization of marijuana use.
Attorney General Eric Holder said in March that he wanted federal law enforcement officials to pursue those who violate both federal and state law, but it has not been clear how that goal would be put into practice.
A three-page memo spelling out the policy is expected to be sent Monday to federal prosecutors in the 14 states, and also to top officials at the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration.
The memo, the officials said, emphasizes that prosecutors have wide discretion in choosing which cases to pursue, and says it is not a good use of federal manpower to prosecute those who are without a doubt in compliance with state law.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the legal guidance before it is issued.
"This is a major step forward," said Bruce Mirken, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project. "This change in policy moves the federal government dramatically toward respecting scientific and practical reality."
At the same time, the officials said, the government will still prosecute those who use medical marijuana as a cover for other illegal activity. The memo particularly warns that some suspects may hide old-fashioned drug dealing or other crimes behind a medical marijuana business.
In particular, the memo urges prosecutors to pursue marijuana cases which involve violence, the illegal use of firearms, selling pot to minors, money laundering or involvement in other crimes.
And while the policy memo describes a change in priorities away from prosecuting medical marijuana cases, it does not rule out the possibility that the federal government could still prosecute someone whose activities are allowed under state law.
The memo, officials said, is designed to give a sense of prosecutorial priorities to U.S. attorneys in the states that allow medical marijuana. It notes that pot sales in the United States are the largest source of money for violent Mexican drug cartels, but adds that federal law enforcement agencies have limited resources.
Medical marijuana advocates have been anxious to see exactly how the administration would implement candidate Barack Obama's repeated promises to change the policy in situations in which state laws allow the use of medical marijuana.
Soon after Obama took office, DEA agents raided four dispensaries in Los Angeles, prompting confusion about the government's plans.
A federal judge on Thursday (June 11) sentenced the owner of a marijuana dispensary to a year in prison, a sign that providers of medical marijuana still face the possibility of jail time despite the Obama administrations promise not to prosecute them if they comply with state law.In imposing his sentence on Charles C. Lynch, who ran a dispensary in the surfing hamlet of Morro, Judge George H. Wu said the changed federal policy did not directly affect his ruling. But the judge talked at length about what he said were Mr. Lynchs many efforts to follow Californias laws on marijuana dispensaries and the difficulty the judge had finding a loophole to avoid sending him to prison.
I find I cannot get around the one-year sentence, Judge Wu said of federal sentencing laws.
The judge said he had reduced the sentence from a mandatory five years because Mr. Lynch had no criminal record or history of violence, and did not fit the strict definition of a leader of a criminal enterprise.
Mr. Lynch, 47, was convicted last summer on five federal counts in connection with the running of his dispensary and the selling of medical marijuana to customers under 21.
Legal experts said the case highlighted the conflict between state and federal laws on medical marijuana. Federal law prohibits the cultivation, sale and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, but 13 states allow it. In prosecuting for medical marijuana, the Bush administration had considered only federal laws.
Advocates of medical marijuana said the Lynch case would have a chilling effect on activities and undermine state laws. At his trial, and again in seeking leniency in his sentence, Mr. Lynch argued that he had complied with Californias law, which allows certain uses of marijuana with a doctors prescription.
He is caught between Californias voter-approved medical marijuana system and the Bush administrations single-minded effort to smother it, said Stephen Gutwillig of the Drug Policy Alliance, an organization that favors a change in drug policy. That Attorney General Holder changed federal policy three months ago only makes this miscarriage of justice all the more disturbing. Charlie is like a forgotten prisoner of war, abandoned after a truce was declared.
The United States attorney for the Central District of California, Thomas P. OBrien, said Mr. Lynch had violated state laws because he was not his customers main caregiver and provided no medical services beyond the marijuana sale.
Matthew Miller, a Justice Department spokesman, said that as a general rule we are not prioritizing federal resources to go after individuals or organizations unless there is a violation of both federal and state law.
More than 100 marijuana dispensaries — most in California — have been raided since 1996, when California voters passed Proposition 215, which sanctioned medical marijuana. About half the raids resulted in prosecutions, and about a dozen owners received prison sentences.
There are now about 25 pending federal prosecutions of medical marijuana dispensaries, most in California, said Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana advocacy organization.
Among them is a case against Virgil Grant, whose dispensary was raided twice in 2007. He is scheduled to go on trial in the fall. But unlike Mr. Lynch, Mr. Grant has a criminal record and so faces at least 10 years in prison.
Most advocates of medical marijuana agreed that Mr. Lynch presented the best face for a movement that has tried to cast itself as mainstream — like yoga and herbal medicine — and distance itself from recreational drug use and advocates for legalization of marijuana.
Mr. Lynchs defense lawyer, Reuven Cohen, said he planned to appeal the sentence.
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