Florida Medical Marijuana Debate Vid

Today's post from politics.heraldtribune.com (see link below) is a report on a debate about the efficacy of medical marijuana. It includes a video of the debate at the end. It's a fascinating look at both sides of the legislative argument regarding marijuana as a pain reliever and as many people with neuropathy are interested in the truths behind the matter, it's well worth a read and a view.

Medical marijuana debate at Tiger Bay
By Jeremy Wallace , Herald-Tribune / Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Selective statistics, references to God and highly-charged emotional stories of lost loved ones were lobbed back and forth Wednesday during the first major debate here over medical marijuana since a proposed constitutional amendment was certified for this year's ballot.


Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight and John Morgan, of Morgan; Morgan Attorneys, debate a proposed constitutional amendment allowing Medical Marijuana in Florida during a Sarasota Tiger Bay Club event at Michael's On East in Sarasota on Wednesday. (Staff Photo by Elaine Litherland)

But in the end, Orlando attorney John Morgan, who has become the statewide face of the push to legalize medical marijuana, and Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight, who opposes the effort, turned a clash in Sarasota over the issue into two simplified choices.

Morgan argued that allowing marijuana to be prescribed for those in pain is preferable to far more dangerous and addictive medications.

"The downside of marijuana pales with the FDA-approved drugs like Oxy, Percocet, Darvocet, Xanax," Morgan told more than 400 people at a Sarasota Tiger Bay luncheon. "It pales, because one is a narcotic poison and one is an organic plant in nature."

But Knight characterized the choice as one between the current quality of life in Florida and that in California and Colorado after marijuana use became legal there. Both have seen marijuana dispensaries proliferate, including some that have been tied to Colombian drug cartels, Knight said.

"One, our children are going to have much easier access to pot" if the proposed medical marijuana amendment passes, Knight said. "Secondly, crime will increase in this community. And thirdly, our quality of life will be negatively affected."

Knight said tourism, beaches and property values would all be affected if Florida followed other states in loosening restrictions on marijuana for medical use.

Debate over the issue is gaining momentum after the Florida Supreme Court ruled last month that an amendment to legalize marijuana for medical use could be on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

If 60 percent of voters approve the measure, Florida would follow 18 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing medical patients to use marijuana.

Two states, Washington and Colorado, allow legal purchases for non-medical use.

A Quinnipiac University poll conducted in November showed a large majority of Florida voters, 82 percent, backed allowing adults to use marijuana for medical purposes if their doctor prescribes the drug. Just 16 percent of voters said they opposed marijuana for medical use.

Knight said those poll numbers are bound to change as opponents of the effort spread the word on the unintended consequences of the ballot measure.

"Only one side of the argument has been heard on this so far," Knight said at the meeting of Sarasota Tiger Bay, a civic group that meets monthly to talk about community issues and politics.

No one in the state is more responsible for the marijuana amendment getting on the ballot than Morgan, the attorney known statewide for his Morgan and; Morgan law firm's advertising campaign: "For The People."

Morgan has spent millions of dollars to draft the amendment, pay people to gather the signatures required to get the measure on the ballot and advocate for its passage.

The reason for his commitment is simple, he said. His father had cancer and his brother Tim is quadriplegic. He said when both used marijuana they were in far less pain, had improved appetites, and in the case of his brother, fewer spasms.

"It works," Morgan said. "I don't know why it works. I don't know why water quenches thirst. But it works."

Morgan even wove in a divine reason why marijuana should be legal.

"I don't know why God put this plant onto this Earth for us, but He did," Morgan said.

Knight was quick to counter.

"God put this on the Earth for us, but God also put cocoa leaves for crack cocaine and God also put the plants on the Earth for opiates, for heroin," Knight said. "God also put criminals on Earth."

Knight is part of a growing wave of opposition from sheriffs and law enforcement officials against the marijuana initiative.

He and other sheriffs have been writing letters to the editor in newspapers across the state opposing the marijuana initiative.

During Wednesday's meeting Knight also tried to counter Morgan's characterization of marijuana as a better alternative than prescription drugs. He said if marijuana has medical uses, he needs to see something from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration first that says "for sure" that it is medically useful.

"There is no scientific proof to say if legalized marijuana would help cure chronic pain and illness," Knight said.

Morgan nearly scoffed at the idea that the FDA should be the purveyor of what is safe and effective for patients, given the number of lawsuits his firm has filed against drug makers over the years.

"Sixteen thousand people die every year in American from Oxycotin — approved by the FDA," Morgan said, listing other medications that the agency once approved that are no longer available.

Morgan also sought to counter Knight's comparison of Florida to Colorado and California.

He said Florida's amendment is for medical purposes and conditions, not recreational use as in Colorado. Morgan said it would not allow for home growers of marijuana as California does.

"What our focus groups told me before I put the language together was, loud and clear: 'We don't want to be California,'" Morgan said, adding that he is following the lessons from other states as to what not to do.

He said even if Florida passes the amendment, the state Legislature will have the final say on how marijuana is dispensed and who can do it. The governor has to sign it into law and local governments would permit the places that dispense it.

He told the Tiger Bay audience to be wary of people who say marijuana will be pervasive.

"It's a scare tactic by well-meaning people to say we are going to have these things on every corner," Morgan said.

Knight said the issue is not a moral or even a medical one. He said he is not unsympathetic to people dealing with pain, but worries about the effect on law enforcement, crime and the community at large.

If the amendment passes, Knight said, Florida will be "getting more than we bargained for and it will affect our quality of life."


 

 Jeremy Wallace can be reached at 361-4966 or jeremy.wallace @heraldtribune.com

 http://politics.heraldtribune.com/2014/02/12/medical-marijuana-debate-at-tiger-bay/

Will The Pothead Image Ruin The Chances Of Medical Cannabis

Today's post from cbc.ca (see link below) highlights one of the new problems associated with medical cannabis for nerve pain (amongst other conditions) and that is the stigma associated with die-hard cannabis smokers. Conservative thinkers see them as lazy and ineffectual; practically a danger to society! However, as this article suggests: as more and more areas legalise the drug for medical purposes, it may be up to the medical cannabis producers and retail outlets to change the image (however inaccurate) in order to promote the undoubted qualities cannabis can have. There will always be opposition of course; from those who have never tried it and those who fortunately for them, don't need it. It may be a long road ahead but the progress so far is nothing less than astonishing!

Stigma of the lazy pot-smoker hurts medical marijuana users 
By Peter Thurley, for CBC News Posted: Nov 24, 2016 
 
For many users, the high they get is an unwanted side-effect

Medical marijuana is used for, among other things, relieving pain, stimulating appetite, relieving nausea and relaxing patients suffering from PTSD or psychological other trauma. (Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press)

About The Author

Peter Thurley is a Kitchener, Ont. based writing and communications consultant, helping non-profits, small businesses and political action groups effectively engage with stakeholders. A relatively new medical cannabis user, he has written further reflections on the politics of cannabis at peterthurley.ca.

When people hear that someone uses cannabis, they often give a nudge nudge​ wink wink and say, "Lucky you, getting high on weed, eh?"

I usually chuckle and reply that the official scientific name of the plant is "cannabis," and that it is medicine. For me, it's used to dull chronic nerve pain left after an invasive surgery to repair burst bowels and remove a 25-pound desmoid tumour.

It can also be used as an appetite stimulant, it quickly kills nausea and it relaxes anyone who needs to deal with frightening flashbacks of their time in hospital.



Different strains of marijuana are on the menu at a dispensary in Ottawa. (Stu Mills/CBC)

Yet the image of the lazy pot-smoker remains one of the most prevailing stigmas about medical cannabis users, and it was on full display recently during a CBC News interview with former NDP MP Peter Stoffer about cannabis use among veterans.

Veterans allowed too much pot, says former NDP MP Peter Stoffer

​Once the NDP's critic for veterans affairs, Stoffer, who is now the public spokesperson for Nova Scotia-based Trauma Healing Centers, quipped that the 10 grams a day of cannabis allowed under Veterans Affairs Canada rules is "an awful lot of marijuana to give one person." Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr seems to agree, and announced this week that the limit will be scaled back to three grams.

In his interview, Stoffer added that veterans should be subject to a full lifestyle examination before being granted access to cannabis, suggesting that some might be using it simply to get high.

Novelty wears off

The novelty of being a cannabis consumer wears off quickly. For many medical cannabis users, the potential high is an unwanted side-effect.

So it was disappointing to read Stoffer repeat long-debunked myths about medical cannabis users looking for a buzz rather than relief in his thinly veiled comments about "lifestyle monitoring." That's simply not true.

And while the federal government does play a role in how veteran health care dollars are spent, it does not have the right to come between a patient and their doctor — nor should Veterans Affairs Canada be asking questions about a patient's lifestyle, financial status or eating habits, as suggested by Stoffer. They don't do it now, nor should they start. If they don't do it for other prescription medications, why should they do it for cannabis?

Lessons learned about legalized marijuana from Colorado's chief medical officer

As Canada moves towards full legalization, it will be incumbent on the burgeoning cannabis industry to take steps to explain the various ways of consuming cannabis. Extractions, for instance, take much more plant matter to produce than other methods such as smoking or vaporizing.

Indeed, according to Maxim Zavet, CEO at Emblem Cannabis, it may be that veterans are relying increasingly on oils instead of smoking the dried flower — something that requires more plant material and may not contain psychoactive ingredients like THC. Stoffer acknowledged that fact in a follow-up call I had with him, but he held fast to his position, saying, "Everyone knows that 10 grams is a lot."



Cannabis can be consumed in several different ways, like adding cannabis oil to a smoothie, as chef Cody Lindsay does here. (CBC)

Like me, Michael Blais, of Canadian Veterans Advocacy, respects Stoffer and applauds the work he did in the House of Commons. But he also agreed that these long-standing stigmas about medical cannabis must fall, especially for Canada's veterans, who have already given so much for the sake of our nation. "There aren't many of us who have sustained a battle injury," he reminded me.

Cooking with cannabis and what could be on Canada's menu

In 2017, Canada will become the first G7 nation to fully legalize cannabis use, both medically and recreationally. It would be a shame if Stoffer's cannabis myths — relics left over from the failed war on drugs — were to further disadvantage our veterans, right when they need our help the most.


This column is an opinion - for more information about our commentary section please read this editor's blog and our FAQ.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/medical-marijuana-stigma-1.3861027

ORGANIC ELECTRONICS COULD LEAD TO CHEAP WEARABLE MEDICAL SENSORS

Future fitness trackers could soon add blood-oxygen levels to the list of vital signs measured with new technology developed by engineers at UC Berkeley.

"There are various pulse oximeters already on the market that measure pulse rate and blood-oxygen saturation levels, but those devices use rigid conventional electronics, and they are usually fixed to the fingers or earlobe," said Ana Arias, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences and head of the UC Berkeley team that is developing a new organic optoelectronic sensor.

By switching from silicon to an organic, or carbon-based, design, the researchers were able to create a device that could ultimately be thin, cheap and flexible enough to be slapped on like a Band-Aid during that jog around the track or hike up the hill.

The engineers put the new prototype up against a conventional pulse oximeter and found that the pulse and oxygen readings were just as accurate.

The research team reported its findings in the journal Nature Communications.

Giving silicon a run for its money

A conventional pulse oximeter typically uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to send red and infrared light through a fingertip or earlobe. Sensors detect how much light makes it through to the other side. Bright, oxygen-rich blood absorbs more infrared light, while the darker hues of oxygen-poor blood absorb more red light. The ratio of the two wavelengths reveals how much oxygen is in the blood.

For the organic sensors, Arias and her team of graduate students -- Claire Lochner, Yasser Khan and Adrien Pierre -- used red and green light, which yield comparable differences to red and infrared when it comes to distinguishing high and low levels of oxygen in the blood.

Using a solution-based processing system, the researchers deposited the green and red organic LEDs and the translucent light detectors onto a flexible piece of plastic. By detecting the pattern of fresh arterial blood flow, the device can calculate a pulse.

"We showed that if you take measurements with different wavelengths, it works, and if you use unconventional semiconductors, it works," said Arias. "Because organic electronics are flexible, they can easily conform to the body."

Arias added that because the components of conventional oximeters are relatively expensive, healthcare providers will choose to disinfect them if they become contaminated. In contrast, "organic electronics are cheap enough that they are disposable like a Band-Aid after use," she said.