PA Medical Marijuana: It "Cann'tabis"

As it looks, the PA medical cannabis bill is getting strangled in red tape. Revisions have been introduced, but no clear outline is in place for more qualifying conditions based on science aside from the creation of a medical cannabis board, which in and of itself is going to delay access to medicine for at least two years, even if SB3 and its respective House bill pass, and get by Governor Wolf, who has already indicated his support for a medical bill.

What's unfortunate, is as seen in the picture above, smoking and vaporization have been excluded as medical delivery mediums, straight out of the gate. This sentence stands boldly, early in the SB3 as a clear, "No, F*** you." from the far right-leaning PA politicians, as few and disliked as they are.

In all seriousness, there have been paraphrasing of medical cannabis meetings where ignorant politicians propose that mixing decarboxylated cannabis with mashed potatoes would be fine, whereas processing cannabis into butter and creating edibles should be illegal.

Because, you know. After all, it's all about the m***erf***ing kids, isn't it?! It's always about the kids, until the sick and in-need kids are paraded in front of your hearings, pleading for an effective program because they have little time left. Politicians shake their heads, shake their hands, bow in silence and refuse to act in compassion. Well, we were all kids at one point, and to think that you're denying medicine to someone as bright, innocent and full of potential as you when you were a child should be a crime.

Stigma concerning this plant that has been seeded in racism and government sponsored propaganda against the counter-culture movements associated with jazz and cannabis has literally ruled our policy since the late days of alcohol prohibition. Prohibition has never been an effective tool against use of a substance, nor has it been fiscally responsible for the State. The fact that we are still caught in this stalemate between the public will for change, against the obstinate "Representatives" of our voice who do nothing, if not the opposite, of what we're clamoring about!

Matt Baker - R-PA: Opponent of Medical Cannabis in PA

If we continue to let the minority, elitist individuals who are privileged enough to get paid $10's of $1,000's of dollars by Pharmaceutical company's lobbyists ANY say in the development of cannabis legislation that has an impact on Pennsylvanian lives, we are going to go the way of New Jersey: stuck in a poorly laid out State program with strict and unreasonable regulations that inhibit patient access for years after a MMJ law passes.

When this doomed piece of legislation goes through and inevitably fails because it does not describe any delivery means of this medicine, aka: there is no dispensary infrastructure described, any right-winged politicians that get in control of PA in the future are going to attack its failures as a reason that it should be shut down. All this legislation describes are fees and costs associated with licensure and the strict adherences that must be made if actually operating a dispensary. It does not protect itself through establishing a system of checks and balances within the new MMJ industry, nor does it effectively allow for the qualifying conditions that science shows can be treated or cured with cannabis.

While we tout the progress of being able to get a medical bill through in a State where a conservative jerk ruled ignorantly just years prior, we need to be wary of letting things slip by just on their perceived value.

90% of the population may support MMJ in PA, but of that 90%, how many are going to READ SB3 or other legislation before it passes and voice out? Not 90% of them, I'd wager. That would be great, but the numbers just don't work. Those that are most actively involved may, but the bell curve majority will only celebrate in private revelry when the announcement is made that PA has legalized Medical Marijuana. Little will they know how limited a program it is, especially when taking into account the vast popularity of medical cannabis across the population here.

While we fight and fight to make a difference and be heard, it seems that politicians can't get anything right because regardless of testimony and true urgent need, there are still those that believe they are "righteous crusaders", protecting the future generations of children from a "gateway drug".

If you believe that kind of psycho-babble bullshit, I personally hate you and I hope we never meet.
Cannabis is medicine and I know first hand, so stop making decisions that affect others' lives, when you quite obviously know so little about the science of cannabis-based medicine, politicians.

If we pass a CBD only or limited MMJ bill, we are coming in meekly on the right side of history. We're limping onto the winning side's battle, late and warily. Pennsylvanians aren't limp or weak - we proudly have polled in strong favor of cannabis, so far as establishing a majority in favor of recreational cannabis! We should forge a strong, medically-based, patient access friendly program NOW and show New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Delaware (all medical States ahead of PA) how to effectively implement the Peoples' will!

MMJ Bill SB1182 Passes PA Senate

After being delayed in the Appropriations Committee, SB1182 was finally brought to term and moved to the full Senate for a vote today, Sept. 24th. Originally, this bill included the ability for patients to grow up to six plants at home, and it clearly allowed for the smoking or vaporization of cannabis flower material or concentrates.

Well, that was until the Republicans got their hands on it.

Being able to grow six plants went WAY early. It was struck down and unchallenged. Though it certainly would have allowed access quicker than implementing a control board and dispensary system, growing plants legally still scares the bejeezus out of government shills that get lobby money to keep all drugs illegal, (police, big pharma... the lobby list goes on). So we as activists kind of bent over and took it up the tail pipe on being able to grow here in PA. (**Note - In Colorado, the legalization of cannabis came paired with the freedom to grow up to six plants**)

So here we were resting on our SB1182 - it was one pillar less strong out of the gate, but it was still strong. It had (and has) protections for patients in arenas previously untouched by States with MMJ laws: legally, employers can't fire you in PA for being a MMJ patient. You can't lose custody of your kids for being an MMJ patient according to this bill. While the stigma sticks that cannabis intoxicates an individual beyond the capacity to drive, it was pretty much expected that wording would exclude driving, flying and vehicle privileges while high. What we DIDN'T count on was the stated 10 Nanogram limit on THC in the body of the patient... It didn't stop getting worse there...

So a core group of 5-8 people, (and I use that term loosely) just HAD to amend SB1182 until it was satisfactorily "no fun" - amendments went in that literally bar patients from smoking or vaporizing their cannabis for medicinal purposes. Senator Smucker, out of Lancaster, led the charge against this bill with chiming morons, Pat Vance and Senator Mensch backing his blind attack. Smucker went so far as to actually propose ANOTHER amendment that would have limited SB1182 to CBD only - something ALL activists and Cosponsors were dead set against. Luckily, that amendment got utterly crushed, and the Senate did end up passing SB1182.

Enemy of the State of Pennsylvania (Or at least Enemy to the 85% Supporting Cannabis Law Reform)

Now it's a steady march to the House, where plenty of doubtful media outlets are staking money on this bill dying. With such fervent support from activists like Les Stark, who boldly declared on Facebook that this bill WILL be moving through the House to become law, it's hard to think about a future where this hard fought battle fizzles into a retreat on part of the MMJ warriors. Nonetheless, Gov. Corbett has vowed to veto any legislation that reaches him concerning cannabis. A super majority is needed in Congress to nullify Corbett's veto power, and what's impressive is that we just might have it. Either way, come elections in November, Corbett is largely predicted to lose to Tom Wolf, (currently trailing him in polls by nearly 30%). Tom Wolf is a forward-thinking Democrat with a mind to revise PA's archaic approach to cannabis law reform. In fact, the word "legalization" has actually come out of his mouth.

With these advances, it's clear that we're on the winning side of history. We just need to keep on pushing for legislation that takes us closer to a "Pro Full Legalization of Marijuana"  world!

NJ Weedman Going to Court Today to Fight Evesham Township

Ed Forchion, aka: NJ Weedman, has had a full plate regarding his involvement with the government over marijuana. Today, (6-27-13) he will appear in court to fight a search that was conducted under the pretense that the officer has, "never seen a person wearing a weed shirt that didn't have weed on them". He was pulled over in Evesham Township and he recorded video of the event that can be seen here:




Because of a small patch on his vest, NJ Weedman was searched, where upon the officer found a small amount of personally prescribed marijuana of Ed's. This led to an arrest and today is the day that Ed goes again before a Judge and begins a fight over the legitimacy of marijuana law.

After his arrest, Ed put out a Brief that questioned the legitimacy of criminal statutes when NJ law distinctly recognizes marijuana as a medicine. So far, several cases have been dismissed as a result of Ed's open-access Brief. This means that while these cases are not going to court to settle the question of whether the medical laws prevail, several young, innocent, non-violent smokers are free to continue about their days without worry of jail, court costs, fines and other nasty side effects of getting found guilty.

We'll be keeping up with Ed as things unfold. Since this was a very personal amount (grams), the likelihood of this being a precedent setting case is low. Nonetheless, if Ed gets this case dismissed or otherwise, he is pro full legalization of marijuana and he'll be continuing the good fight far into the future.

Rep. Steven Cohen (D-TN) Rips Eric Holder a New Bunghole on Federal Marijuana Policy

Rep. Steven Cohen (D-TN) is NOT having it anymore. He is thoroughly done being overlooked and unheard after extraneous efforts to forward the reform of marijuana laws in the US. Cohen has backed efforts to get back into step with the public opinion on marijuana and he has long been a proponent of ending the drug war. Well, Eric Holder had an open forum in form of a House oversight hearing this past Wednesday, (May 15th, 2013) and he was unprepared for the feedback that Cohen had prepared.

While most other doddering bobble heads in the halls of Congress pinned Holder on the recent scandals concerning the invasion of privacy committed against the Associated Press and also the "outrageous" unfair targeting of Tea Party groups applying for their tax-exempt statuses, Cohen quietly brooded over The Justice Department's refusal to acknowledge the public favor of medicinal marijuana programs and the States' rights to decide best practice regarding marijuana policy. When given the opportunity, Rep. Cohen had this to say,

"One of the greatest threats to liberty has been the government taking people’s liberty for things that people are in favor of. The Pew Research Group shows that 52 percent of people do not think marijuana should be illegal. And yet there are people in jail, and your Justice Department is continuing to put people in jail, for sale, and use, on occasion, of marijuana. That’s something the American public has finally caught up with. It was a cultural lag. And it’s been an injustice for 40 years in this country to take people’s liberty for something that was similar to alcohol. You have continued what is allowing the Mexican cartels power, and the power to make money, ruin Mexico, hurt our country by having a Prohibition in the late 20th and 21st century. We saw it didn’t work in this country in the 20s. We remedied it. This is the time to remedy this Prohibition, and I would hope you would do so."

Holder's response to this has not been widely documented, though if it followed suit with his previous comments regarding this issue, it would sound something along the lines of, "We're getting around to it". Despite his assurance after the votes were in from CO and WA showing that the people's voice says to legalize marijuana that a Federal response would be provided, it has been six months with no clear statement from the Administration.

Regional Federal officials, however, have started a response of their own in the form of a crackdown on established dispensaries and new businesses. They have threatened and raided hundreds of dispensaries in the past term of Obama and this term looks to be no different in their mind.

It is our RESPONSIBILITY to tell them in a loud voice that the actions performed by the DOJ and Federal Law Enforcement in Obama's first term are NOT going to fly in the second. We have the power and our voice is starting to increase in volume as we make steady gains in legalizing medicinal marijuana as well as recreational marijuana use among responsible adults in our own States.

Contact your elected officials today and tell them that you are PRO full legalization of marijuana!

  

Bill Proposed to Keep the FED's From Raiding MMJ Patients and Caregivers

Dana Rohrbacher, (R-CA) Basically Says, "Back off of the patients and dispensaries, FED's..."

Dana Rohrbacher, (R-CA) has undertaken the ongoing fight to keep the Federal government away from State legal dispensaries, patients and grow fields. His proposed bill, HR 1523, "Respect State Marijuana Laws Act" was brought before Congress by a bipartisan coalition including Rohrbacher and two other Republicans and three Democrats. In a prepared statement, Rohrbacher said,

"This bipartisan bill represents a common-sense approach that establishes federal government respect for all states' marijuana laws...It does so by keeping the federal government out of the business of criminalizing marijuana activities in states that don't want it to be criminal."

In addition to the "Respect State Marijuana Laws Act", several other bills have been proposed on this very topic. They include:

 House Resolution 499: The Ending Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2013

House Bill 689: the States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act

Senate Bill 359: the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013

IMAGE: Wake And Bake Time

IMAGE: Fresh Budding Marijuana

IMAGE: In Weed We Trust

14th NJ District Senate Candidate Don DeZarn Smokes a Joint in Hamilton Park in Protest

Don DeZarn puffing on a joint in Hamilton Park

NJ State Senate candidate Don DeZarn took a radical approach when promoting his upcoming bid for a Senate seat: at Hamilton Park when addressing supporters and pedestrians at the park, DeZarn whipped out a joint from deeply embedded in his sock and he made a bold declaration.

“Yes, I will be firing one up in public. Hopefully you will be able to run a story on Tuesday titled ‘State Senate candidate arrested at press conference.”

Don proceeded to light and smoke the joint while addressing the issue of the drug war to the public. He went on to say, “Who is this for? This is for all of my brothers and sisters who are being held prisoners of war by our government as a result of our war on drugs,” as he took several puffs on the joint. While a step outside of traditional, DeZarn represents the Libertarian Party for the nomination of the Senate seat and he faces off against tough candidates such as the incumbent,  Democratic Sen. Linda Greenstein as well as the Republican Former Senator, Peter Inverso.

Peter Inverso

Linda Greenstein

“It’s just something that I see as a tremendous waste of taxpayer money,” he said. “It’s complete insanity that we spend that type of money when there are far worse things out there. ... There isn’t really a good reason for it to be illegal in my mind.” DeZarn said while smoking and speaking publicly. Indeed, it has been a "tremendous waste of taxpayer money". According to NORML, the cost to taxpayers since the inception of cannabis prohibition stands at over 4.02 BILLION dollars. They also calculate statistics showing what could have been a profit of over 11 billion should we have integrated cannabis further into our culture rather than cutting it out of the picture in the late 1930's.

DeZarn stands shakily in interview dialogue concerning his ability to win the election. “Just the campaign itself is a long shot...Even if my two opponents were indicted in a federal corruption probe a week before the election I’m still not sure I’d win.” Though DeZarn admits openly that his bid is a long shot, the support for cannabis legalization in the US has recently surpassed the majority mark according to recent Pew poll results. 52% of Americans believe that cannabis should be legal and even more are adamant that the Federal government should butt out of State's rights concerning medical programs.

Though DeZarn's campaign may raise an eyebrow or two about the efficacy of third party candidates winning majority support, one thing is clear. His activism and support for this issue paired with the increasing popularity of the issue will make it very difficult for other candidates to dodge the issue in the future.

Further, the NJ Weedman is currently offering all New Jersey residents who've been charged criminally on counts of marijuana related offenses to come forward and file a "Motion of Dismissal" that he has prepared on his site. He argues that since NJ has both criminal and medicinal laws on the books, the most recent legislation overrides previous statutes. DeZarn has not commented on this in interview, but it's safe to presume that DeZarn is PRO full legalization of marijuana.

No Link Between Cannabis Use and Lung Cancer, Says American Association of Cancer Research

University of California researchers have once again concluded a study that shows that cannabis does not have the detrimental effects once thought and taught by doctors, politicians, teachers and law enforcement. Whereas at one point during D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), I distinctly recall being told that a SINGLE JOINT was just as detrimental to the lungs and body as ONE PACK OF CIGARETTES, recent findings published in The Oncology Report show otherwise.

The study included data from six case-control studies conducted from 1999 to 2012 in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand, with a subject pool of 2,159 lung cancer cases and 2,985 controls. All of the studies were part of the International Lung Cancer Consortium (ILCCO), an international group of lung cancer researchers with the aim of sharing comparable data from ongoing and recently completed lung cancer studies from different geographical areas and ethnicities...

When compared with cannabis smokers who also used tobacco, habitual pot smokers had no significant increase in cancer risk. In an analysis of marijuana smokers that excluded tobacco smokers, there were no significant differences in any of the comparisons, including habitual vs. nonhabitual use; number of joints smoked per day; duration of up to 20 years or duration of more than 20 years.

This obviously flies in the face of previous schools of thought claiming marijuana to be detrimental to the body in terms of carcinogenic content. Despite this conclusive research, it is almost assured that the government will continue to deny that marijuana is at very least, "neutral" to an individual's health. Consistently, the campaign to maintain validity of the DEA and countless billions of dollars that go to incarceration and propaganda that keeps the stigma of "reefer madness" alive.

It's time to contact our local officials and raise up uproariously to call that marijuana be legalized Federally. It is time to push off the old "Schedule I" mentality in favor of an integration of the cannabis plant into our medicine and our recreational scene.

Without emailing and contacting our legislators, they will never consider this issue important. Only by vastly outnumbering those with financially vested interests against cannabis can we be a serious force that is heard by our government!

See the Action / Resources Page for current petitions on Change.org.

Pennsylvania is Pushing to be the Keystone State for Cannabis Legalization on the East Coast

Pennsylvania has lagged behind many New England States in regard to cannabis law reform, but that may be changing soon. While States such as Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island have moved forward to offer patients access to medicinal marijuana, PA has only recently begun pushing through legislation for medicinal marijuana.

In the wake of Washington and Colorado legalizing the use of cannabis for any reason among adults, a PA State Senator named Daylin Leach has introduced SB 528, the "Regulate Marijuana Act" for Pennsylvanians. Though PA has lagged even behind New Jersey in terms of medical access to marijuana, it stands to be the first East Coast State to legalize marijuana for all reasons among adult users. Philadelphia has been a hub of major support for legalization.

Recently in the past year, events such as Smokedown Prohibition, hosted by Philly NORML and a comedy troop called The Panic Hour have shown consistently growing turnout and speakers including the NJ Weedman, Hempland Security representatives and Kevin Clough, Executive Director of Philly NORML. There have been patients who beat cancer using cannabis and advocates for justice through Jury Nullification that fight unjust criminal convictions.

 There is currently a petition on Change.org available here that will be sent at the end of May, 2013 to the Law and Justice Department of the Pennsylvania Senate, (this is the committee to which SB 528 has been assigned for review). Take the time to e-sign and send a loud message to the PA Senate - we want cannabis legal in Pennsylvania not only for its amazing medical benefits but also because it is a non-lethal substance with less intoxicating effects than alcohol!

Vermont Senate Votes in Favor of Decriminalizing Cannabis

Vermont now not only has legislation allowing for the use of medical marijuana, it now has made major progress in decriminalizing cannabis use. Both the Vermont Senate and House have approved bills respective to their department of Congress in favor of decriminalizing cannabis use in the State. They will now work out a compromise between the two bills and forward the legislation to Vermont's governor, Peter Shumlin, who has already expressed that he is in favor of signing the bill into law. Read the full story via NORML's News page Vermont pushes closer towards the ultimate passage of the bill that has been proposed to legalize cannabis similarly to how Washington and Colorado had during the last election. Find the full text of the Vermont legalization bill here.

Maryland Passes Medical Marijuana Legislation in Senate - Heads to Governor

On April 8th, the Maryland Senate passed legislation legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes in the State. As seen in California and other medicinally legal States, this legislation will allow for the cultivation and sale of medicinal cannabis for patients suffering from a variety of ailments including bowel illnesses, cancerous tumors, eye conditions like glaucoma and many other issues. In light of this move towards legalization, Maryland stands one step closer to legalizing cannabis for all purposes. There is currently a piece of legislation in Maryland that would legalize cannabis the same way that Washington and Colorado did in the last election. It can be found on Maryland's State government website here. If this legislation passes, it will make Maryland the 3rd State in the US to legalize cannabis for adult consumption. In addition to Maryland, there are seven other States considering outright marijuana legalization. They include: Nevada, Pennsylvania, Maine, Vermont, Oregon, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. If you live in any of these States, the only way to get the bills to move forward is to contact your local Representatives and Senators and let them know that you are in favor of legalizing cannabis. Emails and phone calls are thoroughly encouraged. As more States legalize similarly to Washington and Colorado, it will become increasingly difficult for the Federal government to ignore cannabis legalization as a major platform to address in upcoming elections.

Washington and Colorado Pass Historic Cannabis Legalization Legislation

This past election, State initiatives in Colorado and Washington yielded a positive result for the legalization of marijuana: both States determined that cannabis should be legal for both medicinal and recreational purposes. These initiatives are historic as they are the first that fly in the face of Federal law when it comes to the recreational use of marijuana. While cannabis is still scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act as a "Schedule I" drug, States have been legalizing it for medicinal purposes since California passed legislation in 1996. Being a schedule I drug, cannabis, according to the Federal government, has "a high risk for abuse" and "no acknowledged medicinal properties". Let it be known: even cocaine is listed as having medicinal properties according to the Controlled Substances Act, (it is currently scheduled as a Schedule II drug). According to the 44th President, Barack Obama, pursuing marijuana smokers and users will be "low" on the priority list of the administration. During his last term in office, however, his administration proved that his reassurance on the issue of medicinal and illegal cannabis cultivation and distribution was unfounded. More raids on dispensaries have occurred under Obama's first term as President than over the entire term of 43rd President, George W. Bush. Read the Story on Huffington Post Here With two States now pounding out State legislation to respect the will of the voting majority in respect to recreational marijuana business regulations, eight [8] more States have had legislation filed to legalize the adult consumption of cannabis for all purposes. These include: Rhode Island Vermont Massachusetts Maryland Nevada Maine Oregon Pennsylvania Hawaii had a bill to legalize that has already been defeated and Nevada's appointed committee has vowed to let their legalization bill die in committee. Without serious grassroots support, many of the other bills may suffer the same fate. It is important to note that without a gigantic outcry of voters, local and State politicians will not fear for their re-election should they oppose these bills, or just let them die in the committee without a hearing. Be sure to contact your elected officials via email or phone to let them know that this cause is important to you. There are petitions for all of these bills available through a quick search on Change.org.