Song in my head: God rest ye Unitarians... let nothing you dismay....There's no historic evidence there was a Christmas day....When Christ was born is just not known.... no matter what they say....O... Tidings of reason and fact... reason and fact...Glad tidings of reason and fact..via Pharyngula
Alter-Abled News
Oregon's Medical Marijuana Program allows me to provide myself with a non toxic, non addictive method to treat chronic pain and glaucoma quite effectively. Some new administrative rules will take effect in January, 2006 that will help me keep my "stash" up to par with my current needs.
I will be allowed to have 18 seedlings and 6 mature plants.
I will be allowed to have 24 ounces away from my grow site. Current regs allow me to have one ounce away from my grow site. -LINK-
Not everyone can grow their own medical marijuana. It is typical for ill patients to designate a caregiver to grow their medical marijuana for them. The danger comes in the transport of the medicine from the grow site to the patient's home. The new regs will allow caregivers to transport ample amounts of medication to the patient. On the surface, the new regs are uber-generous and seem to allow more medical mj than needed. However, like any gardening operation there are setbacks that occur. Pest infestations, equipment failures, and poor crop quality are common problems. Amounts needed for each patient vary according to the medical condition being treated and the size and weight of the patient, and strength of the finished product.
Another issue is the use of medical marijuana in the workplace. Some important workplace issues are beginning to be addressed in Oregon as this article states
The number of Oregonians carrying a medical marijuana card is growing each year and more than ever employers are finding themselves walking a fine line between their companies’ drug-use policies and Oregon law.
Oregon employers and medical marijuana card holders await a November Court of Appeals decision about whether companies must accommodate employees with marijuana in their system. The decision stems from a lawsuit brought by a former employee of Columbia Forest Products in Klamath Falls.
The employee had obtained a medical marijuana card in 1999 and was later fired after a urine test indicated the presence of THC, the active chemical in marijuana. The lawsuit contends a positive drug test based on a urine sample doesn’t prove the employee used or had marijuana at the workplace. A blood test is a more accurate measuring tool. -LINK-
Here are some interesting statistsics about Oregon's Medical Marijuana Program from the same article:
• Oregonians who have medical marijuana cards: 11,100
• Benton County, 131; Linn County, 281; Marion County, 467; Lane County, 1,442
• Caregivers with cards for patients: 5,406
• Pending applications as of July 1: 663
• Oregon-licensed physicians who have signed card applications: 1,946
Almost 2,000 medical doctors have supported their patients right to choose a more natural substance to medicate with. I think thats awesome.
Medical marijuana dispensaries are vulnerable to that whims of the federal government as seen today in San Diego...via The Raw Story
Update, December 12th, 2005: Police launched a massive sweep of San Diego's medical marijuana dispensaries today. Most of the city's 18 known dispensaries are reported to have been hit. The raids appear to be led by local police, but DEA agents are also said to be involved.
Finally, a Washington Post article explains how researchers are challenging the government's monopoly of research on the most used illicit drug in the U.S.
In a hearing due to start today before an administrative law judge at the Drug Enforcement Administration, professor Lyle Craker and his supporters will argue for a DEA license to grow the research drugs. It is the climax of a decades-long effort to expand research into marijuana and controlled drugs and of Craker's almost five-year effort to become a competing marijuana grower.
"Our work is focused on finding medicinal uses of plants, and marijuana is one with clear potential," said Craker, director of the medicinal plant program of the university's Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences in Amherst, Mass., and editor of the Journal of Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants. "There's only one government-approved source of marijuana for scientific research in this country, and that just isn't adequate." -LINK-
