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Tag: medical marijuana

  • "Weed The People" Doc Follows Kids Treating Cancer With Marijuana

    "Weed The People" Doc Follows Kids Treating Cancer With Marijuana

    More than half of Americans now support legalizing marijuana. But for some kids, it’s a life-changing treatment.

    While the federal government sits on the fence regarding marijuana, more than half of Americans support legalizing it. But for the families featured in Weed the People, marijuana is medicine for their children.

    The documentary follows five kids whose parents have chosen to treat their child’s cancer with cannabis oil, either as a supplement alongside other treatments or as an entirely new avenue of treatment after others have failed.

    Despite their non-recreational use of marijuana, the families have to overcome legal and regulatory obstacles to get the medicine they believe their children need.

    Weed the People is produced by former talk show host Ricki Lake, who was introduced to cannabidiol (CBD) when her late ex-husband was seeking relief for his chronic pain and ADHD. CBD does not induce the high associated with THC, but does deliver the therapeutic and medicinal effects of cannabis.

    “I want to get people seeing it as medicine, seeing what it was able to do for these children, and fight for this medicine to be available to everyone who needs it,” Lake said. “It’s a human rights issue.”

    Some of the families in the documentary saw their children’s tumors shrink, or even disappear, when using CBD—even if they were using CBD in place of other treatments, such as chemotherapy, entirely.

    “You can’t say the ‘cure’ word, but how else do you explain it?” questioned Lake.

    However, some professionals warn against treating cancers with CBD alone and expecting miraculous results. “Relying on marijuana alone as treatment while avoiding or delaying conventional medical care for cancer may have serious health consequences,” cautioned the American Cancer Society (ACS).

    So far, the ACS says, CBD and other such compounds in marijuana have been found to slow the growth of or destroy tumor cells in test animals or tissue samples in dishes, but not humans.

    However, some pediatric cancer treatment providers do advocate for allowing the use of marijuana compounds in treatment, especially in the case of pain relief or end-of-life care.

    Despite growing support for legalization coming from both health experts and everyday Americans, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, which is defined as having “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”

    However, one CBD-based drug, Epidolex, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—which is a substantial, if narrow, first step towards legalization.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Are Courts Now Ruling In Favor Of Legal Weed-Using Employees?

    Are Courts Now Ruling In Favor Of Legal Weed-Using Employees?

    A recent case may change the legal precedent for employees who use marijuana.

    Courts around the country are beginning to rule against employers who terminate people for using cannabis in states where medical or recreational use is legal, reversing years of courts siding with employers on the issue. 

    Last month a federal judge ruled in favor of Katelin Noffsinger, who sued a Connecticut nursing home that rescinded her job offer when she tested positive for THC. Noffsinger had told the nursing home that she used medical cannabis pills at night to control her PTSD.

    Still, when she tested positive for cannabis the nursing home said that she could not work for them, saying it could jeopardize federal funding that the home received. 

    This is the first time that a federal judge has ruled in favor of someone using medical marijuana, according to TIME. In previous cases judges have ruled that employers can terminate or not hire a person who uses cannabis because the drug remains illegal under federal law.

    “This decision reflects the rapidly changing cultural and legal status of cannabis, and affirms that employers should not be able to discriminate against those who use marijuana responsibly while off the job, in compliance with the laws of their state,” Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, a pro-marijuana group, told TIME. 

    Previously, case law indicated that judges were likely to side with employers, but the Noffsinger case could change the precedent. 

    “This is a very significant case that throws the issue in doubt for many of these federal contractors,” said Fiona Ong, an employment attorney with the Baltimore firm of Shawe Rosenthal. “It’s certainly interesting and may be indicative of where the courts are going with this.”

    Thirty-one states have medical marijuana programs. However, only nine states—including Connecticut—have made it illegal to discriminate against someone based on their use of medical marijuana.

    Still, cannabis use is a grey area in employment. Some states prohibit employers from discriminating against someone for using outside work hours, but this gets complicated in states where cannabis use is legal, while it remains prohibited on the federal level. 

    “What is cannabis if it’s lawful on the state but not the federal level?” William Bogot, co-chair of the cannabis law practice at Fox Rothschild, told CityLab in 2016.

    U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Meyer, who ruled in the Noffsinger case, pointed out that the federal Drug Free Workplace Act, which dictates drug-testing policies, does not require drug testing and does not prohibit federal contractors from employing people who use legal medical marijuana outside of work. Some employers have stopped testing for THC. 

    Recently, state judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts also ruled in favor of people who were denied employment because of their cannabis use, prompting the American Bar Association to call the cases “an emerging trend in employment litigation.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Senatorial Candidate Gary Johnson Reveals Cannabis Industry Connections

    Senatorial Candidate Gary Johnson Reveals Cannabis Industry Connections

    The former New Mexico governor disclosed his ties to the cannabis industry amid his run for U.S. Senate.

    Two-time Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson has revealed his personal financial ties to the marijuana industry, which have some observers concerned about a possible conflict of interest in regard to his bid for New Mexico’s Senate seat.

    Disclosing one’s financial investments is part of the campaign process, and in recent Senate filings, Johnson stated that he owns more than $250,000 in stock from the Las Vegas, Nevada-based cannabis company Kush, as well as profit shares from a cannabis industry funding group, and capital gains from stock from another cannabis company, for which he served as CEO.

    Johnson, who previously served two terms as governor of New Mexico, has dismissed concerns about the potential conflict, stating that his political interests outweigh his connections to the industry.

    Between bids for the White House on the Libertarian ticket in 2012 and 2016, Johnson earned at least $100,000 in capital gains from stock earned during his tenure as CEO of Cannabis Sativa, and participates in a profit-sharing arrangement with the investment fund CB1 Capital, which provides funding exclusively for cannabis industry entities. Johnson serves as one of the fund’s key advisers. 

    As the Albuquerque Journal noted, issues of conflict over Johnson’s connections to the cannabis industry arose in regard to his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, which he announced in August 2018. Johnson is running on the Libertarian ticket against Democratic incumbent Martin Heinrich.

    Both Johnson and Heinrich are in favor of legalizing marijuana at the federal level, while Republican candidate Mick Rich is opposed to such efforts.

    But Johnson has waved off such worries by noting that he has been in support of legalized marijuana since the 1990s, which he described as a “career-ending move” two decades ago. “The last thing that I ever dreamed of happening is that somehow I would make money off this,” he said.

    Currently, medical marijuana is legal in the state of New Mexico, but marijuana for recreational use is not. New Mexico residents consume a considerable amount of marijuana from both the legal and black markets; approximately 27,000 individuals are registered medical marijuana patients, while more than 135,000 claimed that they consume recreational marijuana on a regular basis.

    As High Times noted, if the state made marijuana legal, industry investors could stand to make a sizable profit from sales. Researchers have estimated that more than 57 metric tons would be used in the state annually, which could yield a profit of approximately $412 million, with the possibility of growing to as much as $677 million.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Medical Marijuana Patients Forced To Choose Between Housing Or Pain Relief

    Medical Marijuana Patients Forced To Choose Between Housing Or Pain Relief

    The government’s stance on medical marijuana is leaving some low-income patients in a major bind. 

    Some medical marijuana patients across the country are having to choose between having a place to live or effective pain relief.

    People who apply for, or already receive, federal housing assistance may face discrimination if they use cannabis—even if it is for medical use, even if it is legal in their state.

    That’s because the federal government’s stance has not changed along with the policies of individual states, the majority of whom have legalized cannabis in some form. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says federal housing policy will continue to prohibit cannabis use until the federal government officially changes its stance on it.

    Currently cannabis is classified as a Schedule I drug, in the same category as heroin and LSD. Drugs in this category are defined as having no medical value and a high potential for abuse.

    Lily Fisher, 55, is a medical cannabis patient under Montana’s medical cannabis program. Fisher, who has a prosthetic foot as a result of developing blood clots while being treated for breast cancer, relies on cannabis for pain relief.

    Fisher previously tried both hydromorphone and oxycodone for her pain, but ultimately preferred cannabis over taking opioids because it gave her fewer side effects.

    While applying for federal housing assistance, Fisher learned that her status as a medical marijuana patient would disqualify her from the process.

    In August, she was notified that she had been removed from the Section 8 waiting list because the state “recently received information from our field office that [she had] engaged in illegal use of a drug.” She would have to reapply.

    “It never even crossed my mind in a million years that that would be an issue,” she said, according to the Billings Gazette. “I started getting shook up and nervous because I’m about to be homeless.”

    Another woman, 66-year-old Mary Cease of Pennsylvania, was also denied access to a Section 8 housing voucher. Cease is a disabled veteran who also prefers cannabis over opioids. “It’s a crazy thing to do to an old woman who has no criminal background, and who owes nobody anything, and is living in a place where you cannot expand your mind,” she said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

    In June, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, a representative from Washington, D.C., introduced a bill that would allow the use of cannabis in federally subsidized housing in states where it is legal. “Individuals who live in states where medical and/or recreational marijuana is legal, but live in federally-assisted housing, should have the same access to treatment as their neighbors,” Norton said.

    If such legislation should pass, it would represent a huge victory for medical marijuana patients who fear discrimination in not just public housing, but in the workplace too.

    “No one should have to choose between staying off opioids and a roof over their head,” said Mary Cease’s lawyer, Judith Cassel.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • CBD Oil Quickly Becoming Popular Opioid Alternative

    CBD Oil Quickly Becoming Popular Opioid Alternative

    One expert says CBD oil sales are growing nationally, particularly in states that allow medical marijuana but not recreational.

    When it comes to pain management, there may be a safer alternative to prescription pain medication: CBD oil, also known as cannabidiol.

    In Georgia, according to WSB-TV Atlanta, the hemp-derived CBD product is legal because it only contains trace amounts of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

    CBD oil is sold at Little Five Points Pharmacy in northeast Atlanta, and pharmacist Ira Katz tells WSB-TV that it has been effective for some of his patients. 

    “We know that this can reduce pain,” he said. “I have several patients that we’ve been putting this on, recommending this to them, and it’s great. It helps. It makes a big difference.”

    The oil does not give users a high. “People are turning to cannabidiol as an alternative when they can’t get low THC oil,” Anthony LaBorde, store operator for Discount Nutrition in Midtown Atlanta and Acworth, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We get people coming in here who say, ‘Oh my gosh, this is marijuana, I can’t believe you sell this.’ There’s complete confusion.”

    Studies have found that CBD oil is effective for treating neuropathic pain, arthritis pain, anxiety, sleep disorders and depression.

    “I’ve had some patients that have been able to get off some of those pain medications, which they hated taking,” Katz told WSB-TV. “It has no addictive properties and far less side effects than do a lot of the prescription pain medications.”

    According to Bethany Gomez, research director for the Chicago-based Brightfield Group, sales of CBD are growing across the nation, particularly in states like Georgia that have some form of a medical marijuana program, but do not allow cannabis for adult use. In 2016, the market for the product was $174 million, compared to $590 million this year. 

    “CBD is very widely used by people who would not come anywhere near cannabis, who don’t want anything to do with the mind-altering effects of marijuana but want treatment for chronic pain, anxiety and women’s health conditions,” Gomez told the Journal-Constitution.

    Despite the apparent benefits, CBD oil still concerns some local law enforcement officials. Wesley Nunn, president of the Georgia Narcotics Officers Association and commander of the Ocmulgee Drug Task Force, fears shops may be disguising THC oil as CBD oil, the difference lying in the potency of the product. 

    “You don’t know what’s in it. That’s the problem,” Nunn told the Journal-Constitution. “If it’s helping with seizures, appetite disorders and PTSD, let’s get it regulated… There’s so much money being pushed behind the marijuana trade, and people are trying to get on board.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Marijuana's Pain-Relieving Properties To Be Studied By UCLA Researchers

    Marijuana's Pain-Relieving Properties To Be Studied By UCLA Researchers

    “The public consumption of cannabis has already far outpaced our scientific understanding. We really desperately need to catch up.”

    Thirty states and Washington D.C. have medical marijuana programs, but there has been little scientific research into the pain relieving properties of pot.

    Now, however, researchers at the University of California Los Angeles are trying to change that, by conducting research into marijuana as a pain reliever. 

    “We’re not trying to do pro-cannabis research or anti-cannabis research,” Dr. Jeffrey Chen, director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative told NBC News. “We’re just trying to do good science.”

    The initiative’s first goal will be to conduct a high-quality clinical research trial into pain relief. It will look at which types of cannabis products provide the most pain relief and whether cannabis may be able to replace opioid pain relievers for some patients.

    Edythe London, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the UCLA school of medicine, designed the study to test different combinations of THC, the principal psychoactive component of marijuana, and cannabidiol, an anti-inflammatory component that does not give a high. She wants to measure which “produces the most good,” she said, in terms of reducing pain and opioid use.

    Studies have shown that states with medical marijuana programs have fewer opioid overdose deaths. However, there haven’t been studies that show whether pain patients are switching from opioids to medical marijuana, or studies to see how effective medical marijuana is at treating pain in individuals.

    Because of this, the proposed UCLA study is “much-needed research,” according to Yuyan Shi, a health policy analyst at the University of California, San Diego, who studies the health consequences of marijuana and opioid use. 

    The study still needs to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and more funding is needed.

    However, Chen said that more organizations and individuals are realizing the importance of studying cannabis. Because of this, the research already has funds from the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, federal and state sources, and private donors, he said. 

    “The public consumption of cannabis has already far outpaced our scientific understanding,” Chen said. “We really desperately need to catch up.”

    Chen hopes that the pain relief study will just be the first step for the research initiative. 

    “While our priority is to study the therapeutic potential and health risks of cannabis on the body, brain, and mind, our mission is the interdisciplinary study of the wide-ranging health, legal, economic, and social impacts of cannabis,” he wrote in a message on the organization’s website. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Wells Fargo Closes Political Candidate’s Bank Account Over Marijuana

    Wells Fargo Closes Political Candidate’s Bank Account Over Marijuana

    The bank reportedly decided to terminate the account after being told the candidate’s campaign would accept donations from MMJ-related entities.

    Florida political candidate Nikki Fried claims that Wells Fargo Bank recently terminated her bank account because of her stance on marijuana. 

    On Monday (August 20), Fried’s campaign shared the details of what transpired.

    According to the Washington Post, Wells Fargo asked if Fried, who is running for Florida agriculture commissioner, would accept donations from the medical marijuana industry.

    When the campaign replied that it would accept donations “from lobbyists for the medical marijuana industry, as well as from executives, employees and corporations in the medical marijuana industry,” the bank decided to terminate Fried’s account, citing its “responsibility to oversee and manage banking risks.”

    According to the campaign, the decision had to do with the candidate’s “relationship to the medical marijuana industry.”

    Wells Fargo’s decision once again sheds light on the complicated relationship between the legal marijuana industry and financial institutions.

    A rep for Wells Fargo stated that it is the bank’s policy “not to knowingly bank or provide services to marijuana businesses or for activities related to those businesses, based on federal laws under which the sale and use of marijuana is illegal even if state laws differ.”

    Businesses operating in states where marijuana is legal in some form must contend with the fact that marijuana remains illegal under federal law. In fact, by the federal government’s definition, cannabis is as dangerous as heroin—defined as “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”

    As Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated, the disparity between state and federal marijuana laws “puts federally chartered banks in a very difficult situation.”

    As a result of many banks’ reluctance to deal with legal marijuana businesses, many must operate as cash-only, making them a target for robberies.

    However, new data shows that the tide might be turning. In June, Forbes reported that the number of banks and credit unions that are willing to work with marijuana businesses has been “steadily climbing.”

    The data came from a report from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

    Fried criticized Wells Fargo’s decision to terminate her campaign’s account. “Wells Fargo’s actions against my campaign are emblematic of what is wrong with our government and politics today,” she said in a Monday press conference.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Does Medical Marijuana Make Workplaces Safer?

    Does Medical Marijuana Make Workplaces Safer?

    A new study examined workplace fatality statistics in states with medical marijuana programs.

    As legalized medical and/or recreational marijuana becomes a reality in the United States and abroad with each passing month, the question of safety in the workplace has become a topic of discussion among businesses and the legal community.

    A new study has directly addressed this issue by examining workplace fatality statistics in states with medical marijuana programs. What researchers found was that among certain demographic groups in states with such programs, there was a decline in the number of such incidents—a number that continued to decrease over a period of five years.

    The study, conducted by researchers from Montana State University, the University of Colorado Denver and American University, and published in the October 2018 edition of International Journal of Drug Policy culled workplace fatality data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia from the years 1992 to 2015.

    The data was obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and adjusted for state demographics, unemployment rate and other factors. For the purposes of the study, the researchers looked at workers in two demographics—individuals between the ages of 16 and 24 and those between 25 and 44.

    As High Times noted, the study found evidence that in states with a legal medical marijuana program, incidents of workplace fatalities in the second age group (25-44) dropped by 19.5%.

    Workers between the ages of 16-24 in those states also saw a reduction, though as the researchers noted, this number was “not statistically significant at conventional levels.” 

    Additionally, the study authors found that states that had an active medical marijuana program for a period of five years saw a 33.7% reduction in the number of expected workplace fatalities.

    And those states that included pain as a qualifying condition to participate in their program were associated with a higher reduction in workplace fatalities among workers 25-44 than those states that did not have a program for a similar length of time.

    High Times pointed to two areas where further studies would benefit the argument for medical marijuana abetting workplace safety. The study does not mention any use of cannabidiol (CBD), which does not produce the euphoric, psychoactive effects of THC.

    Patients who use medical cannabis with cannabidiol have technically used a medical marijuana product but are not “high at work,” as the Times noted; as such, there is no means of measuring their impact on workplace fatalities.

    The study authors also cite the need for further research into studies which have suggested that states with medical marijuana programs have seen decreased use in alcohol, opioids and other substances that can cause physical or cognitive impairment which, in turn, can increase instances of workplace fatalities. But for advocates of legalized marijuana use, the study can be seen as adding to the argument for its safety in workplace scenarios.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Does Having A Marijuana Dispensary Nearby Increase Teen Drug Use?

    Does Having A Marijuana Dispensary Nearby Increase Teen Drug Use?

    A new study explored how factors like proximity, price and product variety might influence adolescents to use marijuana.

    Despite the increased availability of marijuana dispensaries, teens aren’t any more likely to smoke weed, a new study revealed. According to High Times, researchers from the University of California San Diego Department of Family Medicine and Public Health examined how factors like proximity, price and product variety might influence adolescents to use marijuana.

    “There was no evidence supporting the associations of medical marijuana availability, price, or product variety around school with adolescents’ marijuana use and susceptibility to use,” the study’s authors wrote.

    The number of dispensaries in any given neighborhood, nor a dispensary’s proximity to a school appeared to be contributing factors to teen marijuana use, the report indicated.

    “Neither the product price nor the product variety in the dispensary nearest to school was associated with marijuana use or susceptibility to use,” the report added. “The results were robust to different specifications of medical marijuana measures.”

    Little to no research has been conducted on the possible connection between marijuana dispensaries and cannabis use, the researchers said, which makes their study as necessary as it is unique.

    By contrast, there exists a significant amount of research in regards to the link between drug and alcohol availability, and teenagers’ choices to smoke or drink.

    “Despite the strong relationship between retail outlets and alcohol and tobacco use documented by a number of studies, examination of the associations of medical marijuana dispensaries with marijuana use remains limited,” they wrote.

    The study’s authors examined the responses of more than 46,000 8th, 10th and 12th graders (across 117 schools) who participated in the 2015-16 California Student Tobacco Survey.

    “For now, there appears to be no basis for the argument that legalizing medical marijuana has increased teens’ use of the drug,” Deborah Hasin, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, concluded earlier this year.

    Hasin cited a report that examined teen marijuana use between 1991 and 2014, which compared teen pot use before and after medical marijuana was legalized in a given state.

    Still, not everyone is convinced, PBS reported: a chorus of counselors, parents, physicians, and public health experts continue to sound off about the threat that legal marijuana poses for teenagers.

    “Colorado and other states where marijuana is legal have crafted regulations holding dispensaries accountable for selling their products to minors, and sent out educational messages aimed at preventing kids from gaining access to marijuana,” PBS noted.

    Colorado pediatrician Christian Thurstone says that he’s observed a steadily growing marijuana addiction rate among teenagers ever since 2010, when private companies were given the green light to market and sell medical marijuana.

    In fact, even if the number of teenagers using pot remained flat year over year in Colorado, Thurstone said, the rate of teenagers seeking addiction treatment would climb no matter what.

    Unfortunately, not enough recovery resources exist for teenagers, PBS noted, claiming that only one in 10 people with an addiction ever seek treatment.

    “We just need more [treatment options],” Thurstone said. “We’re just scratching the surface, but we may be doing better than one in 10.”

    You can read more about the impact of medicinal cannabis and why “Big Pharma” is panicking because of it over at cbdoilroom.com in their article “Why Big Pharma Is Panicking Over CBD Oil’s Proliferation“.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Students Allowed To Use Medical Cannabis In School Under New Illinois Law

    Students Allowed To Use Medical Cannabis In School Under New Illinois Law

    Both students and parents must first meet specific requirements in order to administer the product on campus.

    A bill that will allow parents or guardians to give medical cannabis to children in school was signed into law by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner.

    HB 4870 was signed on August 1, 2018 after passing the Illinois House and Senate with near-unanimous support in May; the bill amends the state’s School Code to authorize parents or guardians to administer a “cannabis-infused product” to qualifying students on school property or a school bus.

    Both students and parents must first meet specific requirements, including double certification from registered physicians, in order to administer the product.

    The bill, sponsored by State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D- Chicago), is also known as Ashley’s Law, after Ashley Surin, who filed a federal lawsuit against the state and the Schaumberg School District 54 in 2018 for the right to use medical marijuana in school to treat debilitating seizures.

    As High Times noted, HB 4870 parents and child cannot use medical marijuana on school property without first meeting several requirements.

    Both parties must enroll in the state’s Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act and receive a registry identification card.

    Parents or guardians must also have a registration card identifying them as a designated caregiver, while students must be qualifying patients as established by the Act, meaning that they have been diagnosed with one of a number of “severe, debilitating or life-threatening” medical conditions, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, muscular dystrophy, PTSD and seizures, including those related to epilepsy.

    The medical marijuana used by parents and children also cannot disturb the school’s environment or other students, which means that smokeable cannabis or vaping is prohibited.

    Students can use orally-ingested cannabis oil or tinctures, transdermal patches or topical ointments. The law also states that a school nurse or other staff is not required to administer medical cannabis to students.

    “This will open the door potentially for kids like Ashley and other kids in Illinois to have medical marijuana on school grounds that can be administered in a situation where it’ll regulate these type of illnesses,” said Ashley Surin’s father, Jim Surin, in conversation with WCIS, the ABC affiliate serving Springfield and Decatur.

    View the original article at thefix.com