Pubdate: Thu, 03 Apr 2014
Source: Boulder Weekly (CO)
Copyright: 2014 Boulder Weekly
Contact:  http://www.boulderweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/57
Author: Leland Rucker
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

MEDICAL CANNABIS HEADS TOWARD THE TIPPING POINT

Weed, the CNN documentary anchored by Dr. Sanjay Gupta that aired last
summer, highlighted the case of Charlotte Figi, a Colorado girl whose
epileptic seizures were calmed by use of a special strain of cannabis
high in cannabidiol, or CBD, a cannabinoid associated with the plant's
medical properties.

Television is a powerful medium, and the documentary showed the
anguish and ultimate relief of the parents, who OKed the use of the
cannabis oil only after exhausting all other possibilities. Millions
watched as Charlotte, after being given a specially grown and
manufactured tincture of cannabis oil, went from having hundreds of
seizures a day to just a few.

Gupta followed that special last month with Weed 2, which documents
children with similar epileptic disorders and the problems their
parents face in trying to obtain and use the special strain grown for
Charlotte. At least one family has relocated to the state because of
the difficulties associated with differences in state and federal laws
that don't allow them to get the medicine they hope will work for
their daughter.

Lawmakers have stepped up - sort of. Utah recently passed House Bill
105, a restrictive law that, beginning July 1, allows families that
meet certain guidelines to obtain the "Charlotte's Web" extract from
other states. A similar bill has passed the Kentucky House and is
being considered in the Senate. Pennsylvania legislators are proposing
a medical exception for patients with similar conditions, and
Alabama's governor has indicated that he will sign a bill already
passed by the legislature that gives a million dollars to the state
university for CBD research.

The problem, as NORML's Paul Armentano argues, is that these measures
are doomed to failure by their very nature. Just for starters, you
have to be a resident of Colorado and a registered medical patient to
purchase the extract, so outside residents won't be able to get it
here. Who knows how long it will take for the University of Alabama to
get cannabis, which must be approved by several federal agencies, to
do its research. The restrictions almost make it sound like lawmakers
are more fearful that somebody might get high on medicine than they
are invested in actually helping children.

As we head toward the fall elections, expect cannabis to be a hot
topic of discussion in many districts. Twenty-one states - Alaska,
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii,
Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island,
Vermont and Washington and the District of Columbia - now allow
medical cannabis of some kind. In a recent poll, an astounding 82
percent of Floridians said they would vote for medical cannabis. Even
noted conservative and presidential contender Gov. Rick Perry is
pushing for medical cannabis in Texas.

Just in the last few months, four states have approved studies of
cannabis in helping treat symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome
(PTSD). Maine, Michigan, Nevada and Oregon added PTSD as a qualifying
medical condition in their state medical marijuana programs, a
positive step in perhaps finding treatment for our veterans.

One of the major prohibitionist arguments against cannabis is the
fear, long embedded in American lore, that it will lead to an increase
in street crime. A study published last month from the University of
Texas that is long on statistics and short on hyperbole pretty much
puts that one to rest.

The authors analyzed the association between state medical cannabis
laws and state crime rates for all Part I offenses (i.e., homicide,
rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny/ theft, motor
vehicle theft and arson) collected by the FBI. They found that medical
cannabis states "did not indicate a crime-exacerbating effect of MML
on any of the Part I offenses."

"We're cautious about saying, 'Medical marijuana laws definitely
reduce homicide.' That's not what we're saying," Dallas criminology
professor and researcher Robert Morris told the University of Texas's
daily news service. "The main finding is that we found no increase in
crime rates resulting from medical marijuana legalization. In fact, we
found some evidence of decreasing rates of some types of violent
crime, namely homicide and assault."

As the misinformation it's based upon crumbles, prohibition is falling
fast. As Gupta pointed out in his first Weed special, the government
has used misinformation and outright lies instead of science upon
which to base its cannabis laws. If polls are anywhere close to
correct, far more people who don't identify as Democrats - and far
more than just cannabis users - are voting to change that.

So when will Congress reach the tipping point? There are a small
number of U.S. representatives, Colorado's Jared Polis and Ed
Perlmutter among them, trying to prod along various pieces of
legislation. More and more congresspeople are becoming aware of their
constituents' ire at the excesses of the drug war, Congress still
seems as unwilling to take up the topic of medical cannabis as it is
with changing federal banking laws to accommodate businesses in states
with medical programs.

Perhaps incumbents feel secure, but anyone running for office from now
on who ignores the fact that nearly 60 percent of Americans support
medical cannabis and/or outright legalization and decides to buck that
tide, deserves to lose.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D