Marijuana Wins Hands Down

Dr. Phillip Leveque Salem-News.com

Dr. Phillip Leveque spent his life as a Combat Infantryman, Pharmacologist, Forensic Toxicologist and Physician.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) – I was asked by a healthcare professional at the Portland VA Hospital if I would help PTSD Veteran Victims to get permits to use legalized medical marijuana. I already had some Veteran patients from WWII, Korea and Vietnam.

The doctors and other healthcare professionals had heard from a sprinkling of Nam Vets that marijuana provided good relief PTSD and probably other battle related problems including pain from gunshots, mine blasts and almost anything else.

I told her yes and within two weeks I had more than 50 Nam Vets requesting my help. As part of their medical history I asked what previous medicines they had been given or prescribed.

I was astonished to review the lists. There were two main types: strong pain killers like Oxycontin and Morphine and every related pain killer.

Apparently many of these were given just to knock out the patients. These drugs are called narcotics because they CAUSE sleep.

Most PTSD victims have insomnia or difficulty going to or staying asleep. The second type of drugs were anti-depressants. Severe pain causes depression and some do enable sleep.

I was flabbergasted to read the anti-depressant list of many patients; Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac, Lexapro, etc it goes on through the whole list of about 12.

The Vets were adamant about the miserable adverse side effects of both these kinds of drugs. I was familiar with the drugs like Morphine but the new class of anti-depressants had me baffled. I was also familiar with amphetamine type drugs which were stimulants which I originally assumed must be related in action to the anti-depressants.

Elavil was one of the first anti-depressants and it was a mild stimulant like a junior grade amphetamine but the newer ones were definitely in another ball park. The Vets complained that they were zombified by them and many stopped them and resorted to alcohol because of the illegality and scarceness of marijuana.

I checked my computer for anti-depressant dangers. I don’t shock easy but this was a shock. The FDA (Food & Drug Administration) reported that they caused a whole bunch of very bad adverse side effect including anxiety, depression, addiction, severe withdrawal, homicidal rage and suicide.

These PTSD Veterans didn’t need these adverse effects on top of PTSD.

Subsequent to my success with these Vets with marijuana I heard from Veterans all over the U.S. and the world that marijuana was better than both Morphine drugs and anti-depressants.

courtesy of www.salem-news.com

Now that the last escaped prisoner is in custody, Arizona’s elected officials are hoping this issue will die.  Don’t let it!

SAY “NO!” TO FOR-PROFIT INCARCERATION!

The escapes from the privatized Kingman prison highlight continuing concerns about the management of state prison facilities by for-profit corporations.  Arizona’s elected officials are suddenly expressing shock that such high-security prisoners would be held in a privately run facility.

Yet many of these same state leaders supported Governor Brewer’s budget bill, which would have privatized entire state prison complexes—including high security units like death row and the supermax.

This piece of the budget bill was later rescinded, but the state is still planning to hand out lucrative contracts to these same for-profit prison corporations to build and run an additional 5,000 prison beds in Arizona.

Among the for-profit prison corporations bidding for the contracts is Management and Training Corporation (MTC), the company that manages the Kingman prison and has been widely panned for glaring security lapses that lead to the escapes.

Recently it was revealed that two senior members of Governor Brewers’ staff are lobbyists for private prison companies.  But Arizona’s lawmakers have been drinking the private prison kool-aid for years.  The Institute for Money in State Politics reports that private-prison interests — primarily lobbyists — gave $77,267 to Arizona candidates during the 2002 and 2004 election cycles. Russell Pearce, then Chair of the Appropriations Committee, received the largest amount.  No surprise, Pearce was the main sponsor of the budget bill calling for privatizing more prisons last session, as well as the infamous SB1070 anti-immigration bill.

House Democrats are calling on the Governor to address the issue of prison privatization in the special session.  Let’s add our voices to the chorus calling for the end of for-profit incarceration in Arizona!

What YOU can do….

Contact Governor Brewer and Corrections Director Chuck Ryan and demand:

• An immediate halt to all bidding processes involving private prison operators and a moratorium on new private prison beds
• Hold public hearings during the special session to address the problems with for-profit prisons in Arizona
• Enact other cost-cutting measures that not only save money but enhance public safety, like earned release credits, amending truth in sentencing, and restoring judicial discretion

Governor Jan Brewer

602.542.4331 or 800.253.0883 ph,

602.542.1381 fax.

Make a comment online at:  http://azgovernor.gov/Contact.asp

Arizona Department of Corrections Director Chuck Ryan

(602) 542-5225

cryan@azcorrections.gov

Why Arizona should SAY NO to for-profit prisons:

1.  For-profit prisons have histories of escapes, disturbances, prisoner abuses, financial mismanagement, and other scandals.

The Kingman escapes come on the heels of a riot at the same facility in June in which eight prisoners were injured.  A prison run by Corrections Corporation of America in Eloy was recently on lockdown after prisoners from Hawaii rioted over an Xbox video game.  When a staff member attempted to intervene, he was severely beaten, suffering a broken nose, broken cheekbones and damage to his eye sockets.  The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) found a significantly higher rate of prisoner-on-prisoner assaults in private prisons (66% more) than in public prisons.  Inmate-on-staff assaults were 49% higher in the for-profits.

2.  You get what you pay for.

For-profit prison corporations are primarily concerned about the bottom line and making money for their CEO’s and shareholders.  The companies cut corners everywhere they can, but primarily on staff pay and training.

The result is a facility with high turnover rates, where the staff is inexperienced and the prisoners have nothing productive to do.  Such a prison is unsafe for the inmates, the guards, and the surrounding community.

Finally, there’s no evidence that private prisons can do it cheaper.  Maximus, an independent, reputable research firm, compared cost savings in Arizona’s public and private prisons in 2006. It determined taxpayers were spending an estimated $1,526,289 MORE annually on two privately run prisons.

3.  Less Transparency and Accountability.

For-profit prison companies are corporations doing the job of government without any of the checks and balances that keep government accountable to the people.  In the case of the Kingman escapes, which occurred at 9:00 pm, MTC waited until 10:20 pm to notify The Mojave County’s Sheriff’s Office.  Another 80 minutes elapsed before MTC notified state officials with the Arizona Department of Corrections. The media wasn’t alerted until mid-morning the next day, and thus the public was not informed about the dangerous escapees until that time.

There is an inherent threat to democracy when an institution with so much power over the lives of so many individuals is immune to any public accountability.

If you wish to contact Rep. Gabrielle Giffords click on her signature to be taken to her contact information.

August 19, 2010
 
 
Dear “Constituent”,
 
Thank you for contacting me about current marijuana legislation.  I appreciate hearing from you.
 
Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), marijuana and its derivatives are classified as a Schedule I substance, the most restrictive of five categories.  According to Congressional Research Service, Schedule I  substances have a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety standards for use of the drug under medical supervision.  Currently, state medical marijuana laws do not preempt the CSA.
 
As you may know, several bills have been introduced into the 111th Congress regarding marijuana.  Specifically, the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act (H.R. 2835) would allow the medical use of marijuana in states that permit its use with a doctor’s recommendation.  This bill would relax the classification of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II and exempt patients and medical marijuana providers, who act in accordance with state laws, from federal prosecution.  This bill was introduced on June 11, 2009 and has been referred to House Energy and Commerce Committee.
 
The Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2009 (H.R. 2943) was introduced on June 18, 2009 and would eliminate the Federal penalties for possession of 100 grams or less of marijuana for personal use.  This bill has been referred to both the House Judiciary and Energy and Commerce Committees.  Should either of these bills come to the House floor for a vote, I will keep your thoughts in mind.
 
In 1996, Arizona voters passed Proposition 200, also known as the Drug Medicalization, Prevention and Control Act, which allowed doctors to prescribe marijuana for medicinal use. Soon after, the Arizona legislature passed legislation overturning the initiative. In 1998, voters again supported referendums that would defeat the changes–Proposition 300 and 301–which were then again overturned by the state legislature. In November 2002, voters rejected a new drug policy reform bill, Proposition 203. This bill would have decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, set up a medical marijuana program and removed court control of non-violence drug offenders.
 
On June 6, 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that there was no medical necessity defense against prosecution for the federal crimes of cultivating or distributing marijuana, even in places where state law recognizes such a defense. The state of Arizona does not.  In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration issued a statement reinforcing the federal government’s position that “smoked marijuana is harmful” and has not been approved “for any condition or disease indication.”
 
I believe that while legalization of marijuana might help alleviate pain for some patients and reduce the high costs of prosecuting and enforcing some narcotics crimes, the larger cost to society must be considered. There are serious public health costs associated with drug misuse, as well as larger economic and societal costs.  For these reasons, I do not support broadly decriminalizing marijuana.
 
I always appreciate hearing from constituents, like you, who are informed and interested in the important issues affecting Arizona and the nation.  My job as your representative is to help you connect with federal agencies, access services and get your questions answered thoroughly.  Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if you require assistance.
 
 
Sincerely,

I hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend. Let us remember our soldiers who are fighting in a desolate land far away. On this weekned, with family and friends, we must try to think of their tremendous and diffcult sacrifice. Thank you for doing your part to make a difference!

We had our 2nd summer forum on Cooking with Marijuana last week and it was a huge success. Michelle, Mary and Roz answered lots of questions and helped patients figure out whether edibles might be a good choice for them. It is a safe, long lasting way to receive the benefits of medical marijuana. Stay tuned for our next forum on the Legal Aspects of Medical Marijuana on Wednesday, July 21st, more details to follow.

We also had an informational tent at the St. Phillips Farmer’s Market on Saturday, July 03rd! Ed runs the show down there and does a tremendous job! Although traffic was light we were able to engage the public on this important issue. Thank you to Garrett, Kyl, Mary, Michelle, and Chris for holding this successful event and our table later that night at the Top Dead Center show at The Hut!

On a serious note, medical marijuana patients are being arrested in Arizona. We must put an end to that., Please support Proposition 203 and help medical marijuana patients get the medicine that helps them best!

AZ4NORML needs your donations! We accept donations via our google checkout link on the Donate page of www.az4norml.org. Keep in mind, whenever you buy something at www.amazon.com, please link through our website so AZ4NORML can earn a small commission that costs you nothing additional. Thank you!

Our next meeting will be the leadership meeting this Wednesday July 07 at 3PM. Please join us as we determine the future events that AZ4NORML will be participating in as well as helping us establish our community presence. We meet at the Ward 6 Council Office, a huge thank you to the Ward 6 Council Staff who have treated us very kindly.

The next general meeting will be Saturday, July 17th at 3PM at the Ward 6 Council Offices at 3202 E. 1st St, 1 Block South of Speedway, 1 Block East of Country Club Rd in Tucson. New members are welcome! Please bring a canned food donation for the food bank!

We will be staffing informational tents around town all summer. If you would like to participate, please reply to this email.

Also, we heard the story this week about a man who was fired from his job because he was charged with a drug offense over 10 years ago, charges that were dismissed for lack of evidence. Those charges were used to deny this man a job! This is another outrage that we must speak up against!

News & Information

Hello Friends and Supporters of AZ4NORML,

This upcoming week some members of AZ4NORML are putting on a program at the
River Library on cooking with Medical Marijuana. You may already have seen
theflyer, but I wanted to invite you personally to come attend this program.

COOKING WITH MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Wednesday, June 30 from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm River Center Library (corner of River & Craycroft)
5605 E. River Rd.

This program is part of our summer/fall public forums on medical marijuana
and an exciting line-up will continue until the election on November 2.

Please feel free to bring a friend or a family member to learn more about
medical edibles. A short film (Making Cannabutter) that was produced and
shot locally by graduates of the Pima College Digital Arts program will be
shown on Wednesday.

Any questions please let me know and I’ll get right back to you.

Highest regards now,

Michelle
Chapter Secretary ~ AZ4NORML

Pot for Pain?

Supporters of Arizona’s medical-marijuana initiative say the law will pass—and better yet, survive this time

by Mari Herreras

About 10 years ago, a near-fatal car accident left Jon Gettel in unbearable pain, especially during therapy, when the then-25-year-old was forced to learn how to walk again.

The only thing that helped him get through the pain, he says, was marijuana.

Gettel, director of the local chapter for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, aka NORML—a marijuana-legalization group—says the illegal drug saved his life.

“I spent six months in the hospital, and four months in intensive care. I nearly died. I had to go through months of grueling physical therapy,” Gettel remembers.

The painkiller that doctors prescribed made him nauseous, Gettel says.

“I had remembered marijuana from my college days. I found I could get through it much easier with the help of marijuana, and I could use less painkillers,” Gettel says. “And it improved my mood. Here I am, a 25-year-old man, using a walker. You get depressed. Marijuana elevates your mood and relieves your pain, and does that nontoxically, so I found it incredibly helpful during that time, and I recovered fairly well.”

Gettel says he knows many others in Tucson who use marijuana to treat pain and other illnesses—and have to break the law to do so. That could change, however, if Arizona voters approve a medical-marijuana law in November.

The medical-marijuana law would only allow patients with a terminal or serious illness to get the drug with a doctor’s approval. The initiative defines the qualifying illnesses as “debilitating medical conditions,” such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV/AIDS. People with prescriptions for medical marijuana would be allowed to buy 2.5 ounces every two weeks.

Gettel continues to use marijuana to treat pain from nerve damage in his feet and fingers that he says was probably caused by an allergy to CT scan dye.

“It doesn’t take away the pain, but it does help me to not focus on the pain,” he says.

Gettel says he belongs to a medical-marijuana dispensary in California, but he only goes there when visiting, and he never brings that pot back to Tucson. He buys his pot from local dealers, or what he calls the “black market.”

“I recommend that people never travel between states with marijuana, even if it’s medical marijuana from California. The problem is at the Border Patrol checkpoints: They are zero-tolerance checkpoints,” Gettel says. “The police here (in Tucson) are very fair-minded and seem to evaluate the facts of the case before they will arrest you.”

If the Arizona law passes, there will be reciprocal benefits for card holders between Arizona and California. And until then, Gettel says, his organization is holding events to campaign for the initiative—and to dispel lingering misconceptions.

Gettel says he hears people comment, “Isn’t smoke bad for you?” He agrees that “burning plant material may not be the best choice,” but says the marijuana’s benefits are immediate for someone who needs instant relief, whereas it takes time to, say, make brownies or brew tea.

Gettel says smoking it also makes it easier for someone to control the dosage.

“While a cancer patient may need four to five puffs or inhalations of marijuana smoke, someone like me, I can get relief from my pain from one or two. You can pick the number you need to get the relief you want. That’s why smoke has to be an option. Sure, you can make edibles, but you can’t control the dose.”

Another concern he has heard—from people he describes as “prohibitionists”—is that marijuana strains are getting stronger, and are therefore more dangerous. But to him and other medical-marijuana advocates, stronger is better. Most of the marijuana bought from dealers is low-quality, he says, which means patients have to smoke more to get anything out of it. Meanwhile, strains sold legally through pot dispensaries are “simply more effective.”

California is often used as an example by people opposed to medical marijuana, because of the growing number of marijuana pharmacies or clubs there.

“I often hear the mainstream media say, ‘There are more marijuana shops (in California) than Starbucks,’” Gettel says. “But Arizona’s law is tightly controlled.”

According to the initiative, only one medical marijuana dispensary will be allowed for every 10 pharmacies registered in Arizona. However, the initiative also says the state can go over the limit to make sure there is at least one dispensary in each county.

However, the biggest hurdle Gettel thinks the initiative may face is disillusionment from voters who have passed medical-marijuana laws before, in 1996 and 1998, only to see them dismissed by the state legislators.

However, in 1998 voters also approved Proposition 105, the Voter Protection Act, which prohibits lawmakers from substantially altering voter-approved ballot initiatives.

“So when people say to me, ‘Why should I vote for it this year when they ignored it in previous years?’ There are things that are different this time,” Gettel says.

Organized efforts against the initiative have had little fanfare thus far. Stop the Pot, a campaign committee against the initiative, was started by Max Fose with a $2,500 contribution of his own money. Fose, a former John McCain political aide, owns a website-development and political-consulting firm. He developed the committee’s website, www.stopthepot.com.

Fose did not respond to e-mail requests for comment.

Andrew Myers, campaign director for Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project, which led the effort to get the initiative placed on the ballot, says he’s unsure how many people in Arizona will access pot dispensaries if the initiative passes. However, he compares Arizona’s law to that recently passed in Colorado, where 60,000 people are registered to receive medical marijuana.

While Myers says he was pleased the campaign was able to collect more than enough signatures to put the initiative on the ballot, he admits he’s surprised by its across-the-board support.

“Much of that is passive support,” Myers says. “Most elected officials have remained silent, and that is telling. No one wants to come out in favor or against, and that’s OK.”