Transcript medicinal marijuana

MEDICINAL
MARIJUANA
By Chris Ciely
In 2010 the Congressional Research
Service stated:
“Two bills that have been introduced in recent Congresses are
expected to be reintroduced in the 110th Congress: The States'
Rights to Medical Marijuana Act would move marijuana from
Schedule I to Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act and
make it available under federal law for medical use in the states
with medical marijuana programs, and the Steve McWilliams
Truth in Trials Act would make it possible for defendants in
federal court to reveal to juries that their marijuana activity was
medically related and legal under state law. Twelve states, mostly
in the West, have enacted laws allowing the use of marijuana for
medical purposes, and many thousands of patients are seeking
relief from a variety of serious illnesses by smoking marijuana or
using other herbal cannabis preparations. Meanwhile, the federal
Drug Enforcement Administration refuses to recognize these
state laws and continues to investigate and arrest, under federal
statute, medical marijuana providers and users in those states and
elsewhere”
The NJ Bill
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S119
Will legalize medicinal
cannabis for those who
apply
Sets up dispensaries in
NJ to distribute the new
drug
Diseases Allowed
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Cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis,
HIV/AIDS, seizure disorder, amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis, severe muscle spasms, muscular
dystrophy, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s
disease, and any terminal illness if a doctor has
determined the patient will die within a year.
Doctor Oppositions
“Causality is a difficult assessment in forensic toxicology.
It is often an 'exclusion diagnosis,' and so it is in our
cases. I'm therefore not sure about how to classify
those deaths. At the time I published that study I would
probably not classify [the cannabis] as primary
causation because it was not broadly accepted that [a
death from cannabis] could occur at all. Today I see
reports coming all the time that acknowledge cannabis
cardiovascular risks, and the situation may be different.”
-Liliana Bachs, MD (Senior Medical Officer at the
Norwegian Institute of Public Health )
Doctor Oppositions (Cont.)
“No acute lethal overdoses of cannabis are
known, in contrast to several of its illegal (for
example, cocaine) and legal (for example,
alcohol, aspirin, acetaminophen) counterparts.
Although the use of cannabis is not harmless,
the current knowledge base does not support
the assertion that it has any notable adverse
public health impact in relation to mortality.”
-Stephen Sidney, MD (Associate Director for Clinical
Research at Kaiser Permanente)
Ashley
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Background
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23 year old college
student
Diagnosed with multiple
sclerosis
Self medicating with
marijuana for 4 years
Has been prescribed a
little over 20 different
medications
Recently applied to
acquire the newly legal
drug
“I woke up one day and
the entire left side of
my body was numb.”
-Ashley
Ashley (Cont.)
“Contrary to belief
locations on where to
get it are still unclear.”
-Ashley
“Another rumor is that
with Christie now in
office he could change
the bill [from chronic to
terminal illness]
eliminating my disease
from the list.”
-Ashley
Public Opposition
“We can’t look at the
benefits of a few for the
dangers of many”
-Diane Lettiere (Executive
Director of the New Jersey
Prevention Network)
“All the people who
shouldn’t get it are going
to get it, youths are going
to get it, school children
are going to get it. It’s
going to be disseminated
all over.”
-Diane Lucianna
(New Jersey Resident)
*Interviews from CBS News
Conclusion
With more states legalizing the use of medicinal
marijuana its acceptance in society seems to be
more evident. With controversy around the true
affects of it and who should be eligible to obtain
it, this doesn’t seem like an issue that will
disappear anytime soon. This legalization in
New Jersey may just be a beacon of hope for
those who live in other states and are waiting for
the day their medication may be legalized.