“Well, I didn’t really smoke it. My roommate blew it in my face. A bunch of times. Do you think I’ll pass?”

First I tried to figure out why my friend felt the need to have pot smoke blown repeatedly in her face. A fear of holding joints? A mating ritual akin to “Why don’t you give me a little massage”?

Then I had to wonder about the bigger issue: drug testing and all of its nefarious implications.

My friend is a geologist. She doesn’t operate heavy machinery. She doesn’t operate on hearts. She works with rocks and dirt. She writes reports about working with rocks and dirt. Why, then, does she have to pee for perfect strangers?

“I don’t know. I hate it too. I just have to.”

And again, we allow our constitutional rights go right up in smoke.

A few facts about drug testing:

• According the American Management Association, only 8 percent of companies with drug testing programs had performed any cost-benefit analysis.

• The National Academy of Sciences formed the Committee on Drug Use in the Workplace claims, “Illicit drugs contribute little to the overall rate of industrial accidents. This is because most workers who use illicit drugs never use them at work. And when they do so, it is in a way that does not affect their work performance.”

• The most common type of testing specimen is urine, followed closely by hair, saliva and breath testing. Blood testing is seldom used for employment testing, except in cases of accidents or court order.

• Most employers use a standard five-panel test of “street drugs,” consisting of marijuana (THC), cocaine, PCP, opiates (such as codeine and morphine) and amphetamines (including methamphetamine). Most drugs, as well as alcohol, are out of the system within days of use, except for marijuana.

• Urinalysis tests for marijuana, in their current form, are not suitable for detecting drug impairment or recent drug use because the procedure only looks for and detects drug metabolites, not the parent drug THC. Presently, no dose-concentration relationship exists correlating drug metabolite levels to drug impairment.

• Marijuana (or the metabolites created from it) can hang out in your body for quite some time because of its fat solubility. The amount of time ranges from several weeks to as long as 70 days, depending on body weight, frequency, etc. This means that drug testing in the workplace tends to discriminate against pot smokers most readily and easily. And, as mentioned above, pot smokers don’t tend to smoke on the job (unless they work for the arcades, movie theaters or the circus. I used to get stoned before working at this ice cream parlor at a mall. Good fun.)

Not what gets me (and undoubtedly many of the readers here) is that you could be a complete drunk, pose a genuine threat to your workplace, and easily be overlooked by most drug tests. (Heck, it’s only booze, right? The most dangerous “drug” out there.)

But what do expect employers supposed to do? They don’t want to hire a bunch of druggies. Presumably, “potheads” and the like costs them money in missed hours, workplace accidents and, I don’t know, general stoney behavior. But it doesn’t take a scientist to realize that alcohol can be much more a problem in the workplace. Pot smokers don’t tend to suffer from crippling hangovers or the shakes at lunchtime. Pot smokers don’t tend to be full-blown addicts.

Here’s some possible alternatives to discriminatory drug testing, suggested by the Cannabis Consumers Campaign :

Rather than submit a person to drug testing, why not use the traditional method of checking references to find out about an potential employee?

Supervisors need to be trained to identify, confront, or refer impaired employees to Employee Assistance Programs or other intervention programs. Impairment testing not only detects people who are impaired by drugs and alcohol, but also by sleep deprivation, stress, fatigue, emotional problems, over-the counter medications and prescription medications. These tests, once administered, can improve safety far better than drug tests can. They are not discriminatory. Rather, they measure everyone equally by their performance, which is the most significant factor in employment.

That’s crazy talk. Call previous employers? Watch an employee’s behavior? Why, when strangers can examine your bodily fluids and make false judgments about your performance ability?

So to recap:

• Drug testing costs a lot of money and doesn’t prove to be effective.
• Drug testing discriminates against pot smokers.
• Drug testing leaves raging alcoholics, well, raging.

Where’s the cup? Sign me up!

My geologist friend has a good job now. (She passed.) It pays well, she’s insured, she’s doing what she likes, but she sacrificed privacy and her beliefs to get it. I, on the other hand, may never have that kind of career-advancing, well-paid job because I would never submit to a piss test. So a drug test means more than a humiliating piss in a cup; it has far-reaching implications that shape professional paths and money-making ability. And that pisses me off.

[Warning: Below is a photograph of a geologist high on the job. This could be you.]

Sources:

MAF Background Screening

NORML

CannabisConsumers.org

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished artist with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can be found surfing or singing karaoke at a local dive bar.

Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

Medical Cannabis Helps ALS Patient Outlive her Own Doctors

Last month, Cathy Jordan sat on a panel at the Cannabis Therapeutics Conference in Arizona.  Before taking the stage, she discussed the medical use of cannabis for ALS with Jahan Marcu, the Science Editor at Freedom is Green.

Cathy Jordan first noticed something was wrong in summer of 1985 when she couldn’t pick things up. Her muscles weren’t responding. In 1986, she was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is characterized by the death of motor neurons leading to loss of limb control, breathing, swallowing, speech and widespread cellular dysfunction. Most cases of ALS are sporadic; it is not a viral or autoimmune disease.

“Most people start using a feeding tube because they are afraid of choking to death”, says Cathy.

In 1986, she was given 3 – 5 years to live according to her neurologi st. Nearly 3 decades later, she is still alive and living with ALS.

“All my docs are retiring or dead. I’ve outlived 5 support groups and 4 neurologists,” said Cathy. This actually posed a problem for Cathy who lost her social security benefits because she lived passed her expiration date. The state of Florida said her ID and regular documentation wasn’t good enough to prove she was alive and to continue to receive benefits. She had to ask her neurologist to fill out paperwork to prove she was still alive.

Mrs. Jordan began using Cannabis from a Florida grower to treat her ALS in the late 80’s. “Donny Clark provided my medicine, grown in the Myakka River Valley…he was busted and sentenced to life in prison, and that strain of Cannabis was lost.

“You know, they say the fountain of youth is in Florida. Maybe it was something in the soil that made this plant helps me…and I don’t understand why doctors wouldn’t study me. But I still would like to know why this is helping me.”

At first, doctors wouldn’t accept Cathy’s that marijuana could be responsible for her extended life span. Other doctors thought that smoking anything would impair her lung function and even threatened to have this paralyzed women committed, simply based on the fact that she thought Cannabis was actually helping her.

“I visited a neurologist at Duke University. When I told him that I was smoking Cannabis, he didn’t know what to do with me. He was afraid. He wouldn’t even take my blood pressure because I was using an illegal drug.”

Cathy adds:

“I asked my docs if they would take a drug if it was neuroprotective, an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory. They say ‘yes’ and ask me if I know of one. Cannabis, I tell them.”

Nearly three decades later, the science has caught up with this miracle patient. Scientists created a mouse with ALS, which was very exciting for Cathy. Research has shown that THC and other cannabinoids can benefit mice with ALS. The mounting evidence of cannabinoids halting the progression of ALS has started to change the attitudes of doctors and prominent researchers have recently called for ALS clinical trials with Cannabis or cannabinoids.

“They all agree today that I should smoke Cannabis,” says Cathy. Twenty six years later, my original neurologist fought [successfully] to make sure Cannabis is legal for patients in Delaware.”

Researchers think Cannabis may help ALS patients relieving pain, spasticity, drooling, appetite loss and has minimal drug-drug interactions and toxicity.

“There are ALS patients associations that fight for the right of patients to die with dignity. But what about my right to life?” asks Cathy. “Keeping my medicine illegal removes my right to life.”

Video: Tucson AZ – The Use of Cannabis for ALS – Jahan Marcu & Cathy Jordan

Finally, Obama speaks directly in a recent Rolling Stone interview, clarifying his position:

In the Rolling Stone interview, Obama said his view has not changed. He noted that the raids in California have focused on large-scale commercial operations that fall outside the scope of doctors prescribing medical cannabis.

Obama also pointed to presiding over a change in federal sentencing guidelines that shrank the disparity between mandatory penalties for crack and powder cocaine users. Crack users have long been hit with far harsher sentences, disproportionately affecting the minorities who are far more likely to use crack than powder cocaine.

 

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/

 

 

 

 

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished artist with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can be found surfing or singing karaoke at a local dive bar.

Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

ATTORNEYS WILLIAM H. BUCKMAN AND ANNE M. DAVIS

CONTACT: Anne Davis Esq. 732 477 4700, William Buckman Esq. 856 608 9797 or Chris Goldstein 267 702 3731

CONSTITUTIONAL LAWSUIT FILED OVER FAILED NJ MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM

Trenton- Today a lawsuit was filed against the State of New Jersey over the failure to implement the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. Named in the suit are the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Commissioner Mary O’Dowd and the newly appointed director of the Medicinal Marijuana Program John O’Brien.

Civil rights attorneys William H. Buckman of Moorestown and Anne M. Davis of Brick brought the suit on behalf of a New Jersey medical patient who would qualify for cannabis access. The suit also represents one of the few medical doctors who have registered with NJ to recommend medical marijuana.

The compassionate use law was passed in January 2010 with a six-month implementation timeline. But since 2010 a series of politically motivated regulatory, legislative and bureaucratic delays have kept the program from operating at all. None of the six approved Alternative Treatment Centers have been fully permitted by DHSS to open.

“We represent a patient who suffered actual damages as a result of these delays,” said Anne Davis, “He cannot utilize the cannabis because New Jersey’s lack of a working program means he could lose his disability pension if he tested positive for cannabis.”

Davis continued, “Our neighbors with AIDS, cancer, MS and the worst of medical conditions have testified before the legislature and changed the law. Now, patients and doctors have to go to court to win the rights that they should have already been afforded.”

The lawsuit gathers more than two years of facts demonstrating that those in charge of the implementation process for New Jersey’s medical marijuana program have been unable or unwilling to put the law into place.

“Today we are filing suit to require the DHHS to do what every other citizen must do – follow the law,” said William Buckman, “We are also insisting that pursuant to the legislature’s will, sick people have access to medical marijuana without fear of arrest.”

For more information about this advisory please contact Anne M. Davis Esq. 732 477 4700, William H. Buckman Esq. 856 608 9797 or Chris Goldstein 267 702 3731

Today, I woke up to find that the Supreme Court of the United States ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that officials may strip-search people arrested for any offense,  however minor, before admitting them to jails even if the officials have no reason to suspect the presence of contraband.

Now, I’m no Constitutional know-it-all by any stretch of the imagination, but I seem to recall something called, oh what is it…oh that’s right: The Fourth Amendment, which goes a little something like this:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,  papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall  not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,  supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place  to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Interesting. The HIGHEST COURT IN THE LAND just rolled back the Fourth Amendment…because it can.

But then again, that pesky Constitution as well as laws that the public has resoundingly voted in favor of don’t seem to stop public officials from doing whatever the hell they want.

Take a look at Oaksterdam College, which the DEA and IRS raided on Monday, shutting down the cannabis industry trade school while carrying out a federal search warrant. And guess what? They don’t have to explain what they’re doing to anyone because all of the paperwork is “under seal” other than to confirm it is part of a (insert sarcastic laughter) “ongoing joint investigation.”

Now, Oakland doesn’t have a lot of money. But it does have a lot of crime. Which coincidentally occurred during this needless raid. In a different part of the city, seven people at Oikos Christian University were lined up and gunned down by a former student.

We will probably never know whether the limited police force raiding a successful trade school could have actually fought real crime only miles away. (You know, do that “life saving” thing that we pay them to do.)

Richard Lee, who runs the “cannabis college”, was detained then released. His home was raided by  agents with guns (because this wheelchair bound activist is such a threat. Where’s your raid on Wall Street?), according to Dale Sky Jones,  chancellor of  Oaksterdam. Four marijuana nursery workers were detained at Oaksterdam. No arrests were made.

Don Duncan of Americans for Safe Access writes:

This is a grave injustice against local patients and a slap in the face for a city that has led the state in sensible regulations for medical cannabis. Americans for Safe Access (ASA) helped to mobilize protesters this morning, and is working to frame this story in the media right now. We wish we did not need an Emergency Response Campaign but today’s events show that we still do.

So whose to blame for all of this needless militaristic force that descended upon a legitimate trade college going about their business?

From left, U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner (Eastern District), U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy (Southern District), U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag (Northern District) and U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte (Central District)

These four attorneys stated in October that they would aggressively  prosecute many marijuana dispensaries as profit-making criminal  enterprises. Staying true to their word, three dispensaries in San Francisco, one in  Marin County and 50 in Sacramento have closed under  pressure, in addition to about 150 others throughout the state of California.

This team of legal vigilantes have made it their mission to defy their constituents’ wishes under the guise of “protecting the children”, whose schools may be too close to dispensaries. (Note: The “protecting the children” defense is almost always a cloak for politically motivated agenda.)

“Its a total waste of federal resources,” Stephanie Tucker,  spokesperson for the San Francisco medical cannabis task force, told The Huffington Post. “They’re attacking a peaceful, regulated community, and  it’s wasting money. Shame on them.”

Indeed shame on them. And shame on all of the legislators who have taken it upon themselves to rewrite The Constitution and hoist their own self-created political agenda upon a public that voted them into office.

God bless America…it’s going to need all the help it can get.

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished artist with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can be found surfing or singing karaoke at a local dive bar.

Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

Contributions by:

Jahan Marcu is currently investigating the pharmacology of cannabinoid receptors. He was working at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute when exciting discoveries were made showing enhanced anti-cancer effects with THC and CBD from the Cannabis plant. The findings were published in the Journal of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. In 2009 he received the Billy Martin Award from the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS). Jahan is currently the vice-chair the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board at Americans for Safe Access (ASA). Questions? Contact science@freedomisgreen.com

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent any University, business or affiliates. While the information provided in this blog is from published scientific studies it is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease.

Patricia Smith’s appeal was denied several months ago. This New Hampshire-based nurse with no criminal background is currently serving the next 2 – 4 years in the New Hampshire Department of Corrections for growing marijuana in her own home. Financially she was nailed too, paying over $35,000 in fines.

Letters to inmates help considerably with morale, self-esteem and connectivity to the “outside world.” And it only takes a few minutes.

In general, it’s best not to go on endlessly about the injustice surrounding her case (she gets it, trust me), but instead write about yourself, incidents in your life, interests, etc. Think of writing to a pen pal in a really crappy situation. Keep it informal, supportive and friendly.

Sabrina from NORML passed on this information:

Please write to hospice nurse and MMJ patient Patricia Smith who was sent the NH State Prison for growing medicine. She is serving 2-4 years. Please send her a letter of encouragement and solidarity today. Patricia Smith, Inmate #90724, NHSP/W 317 Mast Rd, Goffstown, NH 03045. If you wish to send her books or magazine subscriptions, they must be sent directly from recognized mail order companies or publishers. The receipt must be included within the packaging or it will be returned to the sender. Let’s support our struggling but brave sister.

More on Patricia Smith’s story:

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished artist with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can be found surfing or singing karaoke at a local dive bar.

Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

I receive Google alerts every day for “women and marijuana” as part of my ongoing research for Freedom is Green. It’s usually a strange compendium of criminal reports (including two women who were found pantless in their car after St. Patrick’s day. Ladies, reign it in!), political and legal issues, and scientific reports.

One thing for sure: the alerts have been increasing in size and strangeness. Today, I read about the trial of one of the biggest marijuana crop busts in Australia’s history, spearheaded by a man who planned on using the funds for a massive anti-abortion campaign (to the tune of $69 million.)

Michael Bennet Gardner Sr. argued in his defense because, apparently, he possessed certain memories that would aid his cause:

Mr Gardner told the court he was in a unique position to argue against abortion as he could remember his time in the womb.

He said women who had abortions carried demons with them for the rest of their lives and argued society was doomed for allowing them to take place.

“Abortions are an act of treason against the reasons our men fought and died on the cliffs of Gallipoli,” Mr Gardner said.

He made his submissions wearing a ragged shirt that was missing the back panel, saying it was an ancient Jewish custom for grieving people to tear their clothes.

He apparently believes in shackling his children and forcing them into hard labor as well as torturing animals. So there you go. Radical conservatism and flagrant nutjobs aren’t beyond the use of marijuana to further their cause.

The right and the left continue to collide and intermingle in Connecticut, where Connecticut voters overwhelmingly support the use of medicinal marijuana with a doctor’s prescription, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Great news, right?

Well, this same group also strongly supports the death penalty, calling a legislative proposal to abolish it a “bad idea” by a margin of 62-31 percent.

We seem like a nation (or a world) of a fractured and mercurial belief systems that changes from day to day. No surprise.

I’ll continue to monitor and relay the varied stories…though the pantsless women types always have a special place in my heart.

Here’s a little excerpt. (Note their refusal to don pants even after instructed by the cops. Rebel.):

Two women wearing nothing but shirts were found by a Baldwin Borough police officer inside of a gray Ford Focus stuck on the railroad tracks along Streets Run Road near Route 51 at around 2:59 a.m. on Saturday, St. Patrick’s Day.

When the officer approached the Focus, he smelled the strong odor of alcohol, according to his report.

The officer requested numerous times that the driver—Andrea M. Vennare, 23, of 233 Albany St. in Pittsburgh’s Ridgemont neighborhood—get dressed so that he could put her through field-sobriety tests, but Vennare refused. Eventually, Vennare failed all field-sobriety tests and a breath-analyzer test before being arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Vennare said that she accidentally drove onto the railroad tracks.

Before being taken to the Baldwin police station, Vennare and the other woman in the Focus—a 22 year old who has not been charged with any offenses—both finally put on their pants.

See? Happy ending.

3/1/2012 -

Apparently, just one briefing from his in-house attorneys was enough to make Governor Christie an expert on the proper amounts of medical marijuana for patients and the complex disease of multiple sclerosis.

Here’s a transcript of the exchange:

NJ 101.5 - [John Ray Wilson]  was caught growing marijuana in Somerset county.  He suffers from MS …says he was growing for it for his own use for his symptoms. There was nothing really presented governor that would indicate that this guy was a drug dealer….he’s in jail for 5 years… do you disagree with that?

Christie –I do. And I’ve been briefed..

NJ 101.5 – You think John Ray Wilson was a drug dealer?

Christie –This is what I believe…I believe John Ray Wilson… that there are a lot of questions that have yet been answered about John Ray Wilson’s activity. The amount of pot that he was growing was well beyond the amount of pot you would need for medicinal use for yourself. Um yaaa know… His diagnosis um has been has brought into question…to whether he really does have MS or not. Umm I asked my counsel’s office which I said at one of my town hall meetings to review this umm and I’m not gonna talk about all the things that they raised with me. But I will tell you that based on the things that they raised with me and the report, the briefing that they gave me that I am not inclined to give any clemency to John Ray Wilson.

NJ 101.5 – So as far as you’re concerned that’s a dead issue?

Christie – I mean unless something new comes up I think he’s gotta go to jail – And stay there.

Full video from NJ101.5 here.

Prosecutors attempted to bring Wilson’s MS diagnosis into question during his trial but were unsuccessful. When he was jailed in 2010, before being released pending appeal, prison authorities set up medical treatments for Wilson’s MS symptoms.

John Wilson was prosecuted by the New Jersey’s Office of the Attorney General. Usually such marijuana cultivation cases are prosecuted by the municipality.

Ken Wolski is a registered nurse an executive director of The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey. Wolski has been helping Wilson with his case since it began.

“On 1/26/12 I faxed to NJ Dept. of Corrections Commissioner Gary Lanigan a copy of Mr. Wilson’s most recent MRI,” Wolski said, “This MRI clearly documents the progressive nature of his MS lesions, and is entirely consistent with his clinical symptoms.”

John Ray Wilson’s family allowed Freedomisgreen.com to review his latest MRI report. Performed on 12/1/2011 it states the following:

“The lesions are considerably more extensive than that seen in 2002. Findings are consistent with demyelinating disease as can be found in patients with multiple sclerosis.”

Wolski also pointed out that there were experts willing to come forward in this case, “Dr. Denis Petro, a Board Certified Neurologist stands ready to testify to Wilson’s diagnosis and marijuana’s usefulness for it, but Dr. Petro’s testimony was not allowed by the trial judge.”

The amount of medical marijuana patients are allowed varies from state to state. At the time Wilson cultivated the seventeen plants there was no medical marijuana law in New Jersey. He grew the plants outdoors so there may have been some reasonable planning for the crop to last into the next year’s growing season.

Wolski had this to say about the not-so-transparent briefing from the Governor’s Counsel: “Gathering secret information on citizens is no way to make a decision about whether or not they received justice in a courtroom.”

On February 16, 2012 the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee passed a resolution urging Governor Christie to grant John Ray Wilson clemency. SCR89 could still go to the Senate floor for a vote in March.

CMMNJ – http://www.cmmnj.org

Support John Ray Wilson on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-John-Ray-Wilson-New-Jersey-MS-Patient/104540271138

CALL or TWEET to Governor Chris Christie 609-292-6000 or @GovChristie – ask him to “Pardon medical marijuana patient John Ray Wilson!”

Read more at Freedomisgreen.com

IMPORTANT - Full Text: Department of Justice Memo on Medical Marijuana

Freedom Buzz

• NJ Legislators Support New Marijuana Decrim Bill
• New Jersey MS Patient Prepares for Medical Marijuana Prison Term
• Town in Maine Cuts Public Housing for Medical Marijuana Patients
• NY and CT Move Closer to Jersey-style Medical Marijuana
• New Jersey Still Working on Medical Marijuana Regulations
• New Jersey Patients Say Medical Marijuana Regulations Still Need Work
• Maine Gov LePage Signs Medical Marijuana Privacy Law
• PA Medical Marijuana Bill Named After Gov Shafer

Maryjane’s Corner

• NYC Weed-smoking Moms Come Out
• Miss USA Alyssa Campanella for Medical Marijuana…Like, Kinda
• How to Help Women Behind Bars for Marijuana

Sensible Science

• THC Tunnel Vision Limits Therapeutic Cannabis Variety
• Scientists Uncover How CBD Treats MS, Alters Cholesterol Metabolism
• Cannabis Laboratories: The Testing Landscape in America

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  chris@freedomisgreen.com

Ronda Rousey speaks out (actually shouts out, if you listen to the interview below) on medical marijuana after fellow fighter Nick Diaz tested positive for marijuana. Due to his attention deficit disorder, Diaz has a medical marijuana card in California, but unfortunately, it doesn’t supersede commission policy.

Rousey fights back by saying that Diaz’s privacy is being invaded and the repercussions are severe and unfair.

“They have just as much of right to say that ‘you know what? We don’t believe that athletes should be promiscuous so we’re going to start testing for genital herpes and genital warts,’” said Rousey. “‘We’re going to start testing women for birth control because we don’t think you be having premarital sex. They don’t have a right to do it. It has nothing to do with sports.”

Nevada State Athletic Commission chairman Keith Kizer disagrees.

“The drug is banned because of the damage it does to the person taking it. It could make you lethargic, slow your reflexes, and those are dangerous things in a combat sport,” Kizer told the L.A. Times in 2009.

Call me crazy but I get the distinct impression that this man’s reflexes are just fine:

Ronda Rousey’s Interview:

Source: Yahoo!Sports

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished artist with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can be found surfing or singing karaoke at a local dive bar.

Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

Thursday’s protest is organized by Americans for Safe Access and is taking place in cities across the country. Portland, Maine is another East Coast city participating in the “Rally for Safe Access.”

The Schedule I status under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 is the reason that marijuana is prohibited. Schedule I drugs are described as having “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States;” and lack “accepted safety for use under medical supervision;” and, have “a high potential for abuse.”

In the past 40 years voluminous criminal code has since been created at the federal and state level to enforce the Schedule I prohibition of cannabis. Suffering the worst part of this continued effort are seriously ill Americans. They live in fear of losing their lives not just to their disease, but to prison because they find relief from a medication that remains illegal.

Advocacy groups including NORML and MAPS petitioned the DEA for many years seeking to move cannabis to another schedule. The most recent denial last summer culminated a process that the DEA under several presidents, obfuscated for more than a decade.

There are two important factors in the re-scheduling debate. The first is a 1972 report entitled “Marijuana, A Signal of Misunderstanding.” Commissioned by President Nixon and Congress it was crafted by former Pennsylvania Governor Raymond Shafer who lead a group that spent almost two years on the issue. Their final recommendation was that cannabis should not be regulated under the CSA or prohibited with criminal laws.

“The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only ‘with the greatest reluctance.”

The second important factor is a ruling from an Administrative Law Judge within the DEA. In 1986 Francis L. Young said that “Marijuana is one of “one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. (T)he provisions of the (Controlled Substances) Act permit and require the transfer of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II.”

In ’72 and again in ’86 the Executive Branch tossed aside serious and well-thought recommendations about cannabis policy. Instead of considering solid information millions of Americans have been arrested, trillions of tax dollars spent and untold lives lost or ruined.

Modern science that investigates the natural plant and its component cannabinoids continues to re-verify the tremendous medical benefits of cannabis. The reality is that marijuana is used as a medicine every day by millions of seriously ill Americans – legal or not. That’s why medical marijuana activists say the DEA ruling is good for nothing but shredding and recycling.

More on the ASA rally locations: http://americansforsafeaccess.org/article.php?id=7062

More the CMMNJ Trenton action: http://cmmnj.blogspot.com

Read more at Freedomisgreen.com

• NJ Senate Resolution Urges Clemency for Jailed Medical Marijuana Patient
• DC, NY and East Coast residents pay highest prices for marijuana

• NJ Legislators Support New Marijuana Decrim Bill
• New Jersey MS Patient Appeals Marijuana Cultivation to State Supreme Court

• New Jersey MS Patient Prepares for Medical Marijuana Prison Term
• Town in Maine Cuts Public Housing for Medical Marijuana Patients
• NY and CT Move Closer to Jersey-style Medical Marijuana
• New Jersey Still Working on Medical Marijuana Regulations
• New Jersey Patients Say Medical Marijuana Regulations Still Need Work
• Maine Gov LePage Signs Medical Marijuana Privacy Law
• PA Medical Marijuana Bill Named After Gov Shafer

Maryjane’s Corner

• NYC Weed-smoking Moms Come Out
• Miss USA Alyssa Campanella for Medical Marijuana…Like, Kinda
• How to Help Women Behind Bars for Marijuana

Sensible Science

• THC Tunnel Vision Limits Therapeutic Cannabis Variety
• Scientists Uncover How CBD Treats MS, Alters Cholesterol Metabolism
• Cannabis Laboratories: The Testing Landscape in America

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  chris@freedomisgreen.com