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Tag: medical marijuana

  • 80-Year-Old Grandmother Arrested For Expired Medical Marijuana Card

    80-Year-Old Grandmother Arrested For Expired Medical Marijuana Card

    The Michigan-based grandmother was forced to spend a night in jail for letting her medical marijuana card lapse. 

    A Michigan grandmother who spent a night in jail for a small amount of cannabis has had her charges dismissed, and now she’s coming forward with her story to advocate for legal cannabis, which voters in Michigan will have a chance to vote on in November.

    Delores Saltzman, 80, of Clare County, Michigan, has been a medical cannabis patient for about four years, but ran into trouble when she let her registration expire. Saltzman uses cannabis to manage pain in lieu of opioid medication, which she said “caused stomach pains and vomiting.”

    “After I smoke I go down to a one, pain-wise,” Saltzman said, according to ABC 6. “Before I smoke, I would say I’m an 8 right now.”

    Saltzman was arrested on June 13, when Clare County Sheriff’s Deputy Ashley Gruno came to her home looking for her great-granddaughter, who had lost her phone and ID.

    When Gruno smelled cannabis in the home, Saltzman said it was hers. But because her state-issued medical cannabis card had expired, Gruno arrested and charged the grandmother with cannabis possession, a misdemeanor in the state of Michigan. Gruno seized less than an eighth of an ounce of cannabis from the home and Saltzman spent the night in jail.

    The charges were dismissed last week, Marijuana Moment reported, and Saltzman has renewed her registration.

    “Ms. Saltzman was encouraged to obtain her medical marijuana card and if she did so, the case would be dismissed,” said Clare County prosecutor Michelle Ambrozaitis. “She did obtain her medical marijuana card and the case was dismissed.”

    Now Saltzman is sharing her story ahead of November, when Michigan voters will decide if they want to legalize cannabis for adult use. Michigan would be the 10th U.S. state to do so.

    “I’m hoping that we all learn a lesson from this and that we make amends, and people will get out and vote for it,” Saltzman told WXMI. “We’re the ones that have to stand up we are the people, and we just got to fight for our rights.”

    Medical cannabis has been legal in Michigan since 2008, with the vote of more than 60% of Michigan voters.

    According to the Lansing State Journal, there are more than 218,000 registered medical cannabis patients and more than 38,000 caregivers in Michigan.

    Patients may possess up to 12 cannabis plants and up to 2.5 ounces the plant. Qualifying conditions range from cancer and HIV/AIDS to, more recently, autism, arthritis, and Tourette’s syndrome.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • New York Moves To Replace Opioids With Medical Marijuana

    New York Moves To Replace Opioids With Medical Marijuana

    Opioid use disorder has been added to the list of qualifying conditions that medical cannabis can be used to treat in the state.

    Officials in New York have changed medical marijuana policy in order to make it easier for patients to access medical cannabis in lieu of opioids, and have added opioid use disorder to the list of qualifying conditions that medical cannabis can be used to treat. 

    The New York Department of Health announced the expansion on July 12. Under the emergency regulations, any condition that could be prescribed an opioid is now a qualifying condition for medical marijuana. 

    “Effective immediately, registered practitioners may certify patients to use medical marijuana as a replacement for opioids, provided that the precise underlying condition for which an opioid would otherwise be prescribed is stated on the patient’s certification,” the state’s press release said. “This allows patients with severe pain that doesn’t meet the definition of chronic pain to use medical marijuana as a replacement for opioids.”

    The expansion also allows people who are being treated for opioid use disorder in a qualified treatment setting to be issued a medical marijuana license to use cannabis as a replacement for opioids. 

    Only 12 other medical conditions are currently listed as qualifying conditions for medical cannabis, so the expansion could have a significant effect on New York’s medical marijuana system. At the time of the announcement, just over 62,000 New Yorkers had a medical marijuana license, according to the health department.  

    Lawmakers hope that by expanding access to medical marijuana, they can reduce the number of opioids prescribed in the state. 

    “Medical marijuana has been shown to be an effective treatment for pain that may also reduce the chance of opioid dependence,” said New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker. “Adding opioid replacement as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana offers providers another treatment option, which is a critical step in combatting the deadly opioid epidemic affecting people across the state.”

    Additional changes will make it easier for people to access medical cannabis after they are approved for the program. Lawmakers hope that this will help reduce overdose deaths from opioids. 

    “I have been strongly advocating to remove barriers and allow the use of medical marijuana as an alternative to opioids because it will help patients, reduce the number of highly addictive opioids in circulation, and ultimately, it will save lives,” state Senator George Amedore, co-chair of the Senate Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction said in a June press release.

    “We continue to be faced with an opioid epidemic that is devastating communities throughout our state. It’s important we continue to do everything possible to address this issue from all sides, so I’m glad the Department of Health is taking this measure that will help high risk patients, as well as those that are struggling with, or have overcome, addiction.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Scientists On Marijuana's Health Benefits: We Need More Evidence

    Scientists On Marijuana's Health Benefits: We Need More Evidence

    “We don’t have evidence about many things marijuana is marketed for and we need to communicate that to the public,” says one doctor.

    Many Americans increasingly believe that marijuana has health benefits, even though there is little to no evidence one way or the other, Newsweek reported.

    Over 9,000 U.S. adults participated in an online survey, with 81% responding that weed had at least one medical benefit. From treating diseases like epilepsy and multiple sclerosis to providing some measure of relief from anxiety, stress or depression, the majority of Americans feel the drug is medically valuable.

    Not so fast, scientists say.

    “The public seems to have a much more favorable view [of marijuana] than is warranted by the current evidence,” the University of California San Francisco’s Dr. Salomeh Keyhani said in a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

    Interestingly, because the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) categorizes weed as a Schedule I substance (alongside heroin and MDMA), researchers are limited in being able to research it at all.

    “[People] believe things that we have no data for,” Keyhani cautioned. “We need better data. We need any data.”

    In the absence of empirical data, she suggests, Americans are coming to their own conclusions about the drug.  

    “Cannabis is useful for neuropathic pain; it might be useful for nausea and vomiting for cancer and HIV, anorexia, and it might have use in refractory epilepsy in children, but those are very narrow indications,” Keyhani told MedPage Today. “We don’t have evidence about many things marijuana is marketed for and we need to communicate that to the public.”

    A 2017 Gallup survey reported that 45% of U.S. adults have tried marijuana once, while other surveys indicated that 22% of Americans regularly use it. With weed now legal in over half of the U.S. for medicinal purposes, marketing is becoming a huge factor in public perception, Keyhani observed.

    “It’s a multi-billion dollar industry, not regulated to the extent of tobacco or alcohol,” she said. “It seems every state is developing a regulatory structure itself. The conflict between federal law and state law has left an open space commercial entities can exploit.”

    Despite widespread support for marijuana, the survey revealed that 91% of Americans believe it carries risks. (Only 9% believed the drug has no risks.) The survey yielded some surprises, too:

    • 37% of Americans thought edible marijuana could prevent health problems. 
    • 50.1% agreed that marijuana was “somewhat addictive.”  
    • 25.9% said it was “very addictive.” 

    The average age of participants was 48 (“64% were white, 12% were black, 16% were Hispanic, and 8% were of other races”).

    Mount Sinai’s Yasmin Hurd said the results aren’t surprising so much as they highlight “the fact that scientists and clinicians don’t publish their studies in newspapers, so the general public isn’t really aware of the scientific evidence that might run counter to their beliefs.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Vets Turn To Medical Pot, Despite The VA's Policy

    Vets Turn To Medical Pot, Despite The VA's Policy

    The VA remains focused on studying the drug’s “problems of use” instead of its “therapeutic potential.”

    Once a month, the veterans’ hall in Santa Cruz, California, is home to an unlikely meeting, where dozens of former service members line up to receive a voucher for free cannabis products from local distributors. 

    “I never touched the stuff in Vietnam,” William Horne, 76, a retired firefighter, told The New York Times. “It was only a few years ago I realized how useful it could be.” 

    The VA medical system does not allow providers to discuss or prescribe medical marijuana, since the drug remained banned under federal law, which governs the VA.

    However, up to a million veterans who get healthcare through the system have taken matters into their own hands, using marijuana to relieve symptoms of PTSD, pain and other medical condition associated with combat. 

    “We have a disconnect in care,” said Marcel Bonn-Miller, a psychologist who worked for years at the veterans hospital in Palo Alto, California, and now teaches at the University of Pennsylvania medical school. “The VA has funded lots of marijuana studies, but not of therapeutic potential. All the work has been related to problems of use.” 

    This means that veterans like those in Santa Cruz can end up self-medicating with cannabis without any medical oversight. 

    A bill proposed this spring would mandate that the VA study cannabis for treating PTSD and chronic pain. 

    “I talk to so many vets who claim they get benefits, but we need research,” said Representative Tim Walz, a Democrat from Minnesota, who introduced the bill along with Phil Roe, a doctor and Republican from Tennessee. “You may be a big advocate of medical marijuana, you may feel it has no value. Either way, you should want the evidence to prove it, and there is no better system to do that research than the VA.” 

    Still, VA spokesperson Curt Cashour said the bill is not enough to change the department’s policies. 

    “The opportunities for VA to conduct marijuana research are limited because of the restrictions imposed by federal law,” he said. “If Congress wants to facilitate more federal research into Schedule 1 controlled substances such as marijuana, it can always choose to eliminate these restrictions.” 

    Former Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs David J. Shulkin said that it’s time the system looked into the potential benefits of cannabis. 

    “We have an opioid crisis, a mental health crisis, and we have limited options with how to address them, so we should be looking at everything possible,” he said. Although two small studies are currently being done at the VA, Shulkin would like to see more. 

    “In a system as big as ours, that’s not much, certainly not enough,” he said.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Oklahoma Public Schools Increase Drug Testing For Students

    Oklahoma Public Schools Increase Drug Testing For Students

    The decision comes on the heels of the state’s voters passing a measure to legalize medical marijuana.

    A public school district in Oklahoma will double the number of students that will be required to undergo random drug testing in the coming school year.

    The move comes on the heels of a recent decision by state voters to pass a measure that allows for legal use of medical marijuana without a qualifying condition, but Bret Towne, superintendent for Edmond Public Schools, said that the increase was “coincidental” with the bill’s passage.

    According to coverage by High Times, more than 700 of the 3,000 students in the district who participate in extracurricular activities will be randomly tested for drugs this year.

    Random drug testing for students in Edmond Public Schools, which has been conducted largely among students in extracurricular activities for the past six years, was reduced two years ago after funding for the district was subjected to cuts. But at a meeting on July 2, the Edmond school board voted to return to previous testing levels, which is the number of students they are legally allowed to test.

    According to Towne, the board’s decision was not directly influenced by the passage of SQ 788, which allows patients to use marijuana for medical purposes after obtaining a recommendation from a qualified physician.

    Unlike most medical marijuana measures, SQ 788 requires no pre-existing health conditions to qualify for the medical marijuana program, and according to Towne, that element was cause for alarm among some parents. 

    “My concern is how it’s going to affect students on campus and the availability [of medical marijuana],” he told Oklahoma’s KFOR News. “We always worry about students having easier access to it.”

    But while the decision to increase the number of tests was a simple matter of voting, deciding how the school district will handle the issue on a broad scale will require more debate.

    As High Times noted, SQ 788 allows anyone 18 years or older to use the drug with a doctor’s recommendation, and grants permission to minors aged 16 to 17 to use medical cannabis as long as they have recommendations from two doctors.

    According to Towne, he’ll wait to see how the Oklahoma Department of Health will rule in regard to medical marijuana use on campuses, and then meet with state school board officials to consider revisions to their current policy. Currently, prescription medication are held and distributed to students by a school secretary. 

    But as Towne said, applying that policy to medical marijuana is “a little bit different situation [sic].”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • "No Evidence" That Medical Marijuana Works For Chronic Pain, Study Finds

    "No Evidence" That Medical Marijuana Works For Chronic Pain, Study Finds

    The study also found “no evidence” that marijuana use reduced prescription opioid use. 

    For those experiencing non-cancer chronic pain, medical marijuana may not be as effective as initially thought, according to a new study.

    According to Medical Xpress, researchers at UNSW Sydney, who led one of the longest community studies of its kind, discovered no obvious role when it comes to cannabis for the treatment of non-cancer chronic pain.

    The Pain and Opioids In Treatment (POINT) study, which took place over four years, discovered that participants who used marijuana for chronic pain reported they were “experiencing greater pain and anxiety, were coping less well with their pain, and reported that pain was interfering more in their life,” when compared to those not using medical marijuana. 

    “At four-year follow-up, compared with people with no cannabis use, we found that participants who used cannabis had a greater pain severity score, for less frequent cannabis use, greater pain interference score, lower pain self-efficacy scores and greater generalized anxiety disorder severity scores,” authors wrote. “We found no evidence of a temporal relationship between cannabis use and pain severity or pain interference, and no evidence that cannabis use reduced prescribed opioid use or increased rates of opioid discontinuation.”

    Researchers did not find any clear evidence that medical marijuana reduced severity of pain or had participants decrease opioid use or dosage. When it comes to medical marijuana, chronic non-cancer pain is the most common reason for use. 

    The length of this study sets it apart from others, Medical Xpress points out. The POINT study recruited participants through community pharmacies, then completed an overall assessment of their level of pain, physical and mental health, and medication and marijuana use each year. 

    Of the 1,514 participants, about 80% completed all the assessments, Medical Xpress states. The median number of years of chronic pain was about 10 and the number of years having taken opioids for the pain was about four. Rates of physical and mental health issues among participants were high, Medical Xpress says.

    The results of the study were published in Lancet Public Health and imply there may not be as many benefits to medical marijuana as previously thought.

    “Chronic non-cancer pain is a complex problem,” said lead author Dr. Gabrielle Campbell. “For most people, there is unlikely to be a single effective treatment… In our study of people living with chronic non-cancer pain who were prescribed pharmaceutical opioids, despite reporting perceived benefits from cannabis use, we found no strong evidence that cannabis use reduced participants’ pain or opioid use over time.”

    This study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and led by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW Sydney.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Oklahoma Votes To Legalize Medical Marijuana

    Oklahoma Votes To Legalize Medical Marijuana

    SQ 788 is unique in that it does not establish a list of conditions that would qualify a person to use medical cannabis.

    On Tuesday, Oklahoma became the 30th state to allow cannabis for medical use. The ballot measure, State Question 788, passed with 56% of voters supporting the measure and 43% opposing it.

    SQ 788 will allow Oklahomans to grow, sell and use cannabis, establishing a system of dispensaries, growers and processors under the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

    A person 18 and older will be able to possess up to 8 ounces at home, six mature plants and six seedlings, according to the measure. A board-certified physician’s signature is required to obtain a medical cannabis license.

    As Vox notes, Oklahoma’s SQ 788 is unique in that it does not establish a list of conditions that would qualify a person to use medical cannabis. Common qualifying conditions in other medical cannabis states include epilepsy, cancer, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.

    Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has said that she will hold a special session to discuss the regulatory framework of the state’s new medical cannabis program. The state legislature can make a final draft of the legislation before it is enacted, but Oklahoma House Majority Leader Jon Echols said he doesn’t expect that it will see many changes.

    “The citizens of the state have decided that they are in support of this law, so there aren’t necessarily any changes that need to be made,” said Echols, according to CBS News. “We’re not looking at changing any of the fundamentals.”

    The state health department will then have 30 days to post the medical cannabis license application online for residents to access.

    Gov. Fallin said before the vote that she had “clear concerns” about SQ 788, saying the measure “is written so open-ended that it basically allows recreational marijuana in the state of Oklahoma”—a concern shared by opponents of SQ 788.

    After voters approved the measure, she released a statement saying she respects the will of the voters.

    “It is our responsibility as state leaders to look out for the health and safety of Oklahoma citizens,” the governor said. “As I mentioned in previous public comments, I believe, as well as many Oklahomans, this new law is written so loosely that it opens the door for basically recreational marijuana. I will be discussing with legislative leaders and state agencies our options going forward on how best to proceed with adding a medical and proper regulatory framework to make sure marijuana use is truly for valid medical illnesses.”

    Later this year, Michigan and Utah will also vote on whether to allow cannabis for medical use.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • FDA Approves First Cannabis-Based Drug For Debilitating Seizures

    FDA Approves First Cannabis-Based Drug For Debilitating Seizures

    The DEA must re-classify cannabidiol (CBD) before the medication can be available to patients.

    On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Epidiolex, a cannabidiol (CBD) treatment for debilitating epilepsy beginning in children as young as 1 or even younger.

    Cannabidiol is a chemical compound (cannabinoid) of the cannabis plant known for its pain-relieving and anti-seizure properties, among others. However, it differs from THC, another cannabinoid, by not producing the “high” that marijuana is known for.

    Epidiolex was approved for the treatment of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, both characterized by frequent and debilitating seizures that severely delay or limit a child’s development.

    Lennox-Gastaut syndrome can appear in children as young as 3-5 years old, while Dravet syndrome appears during infancy.

    According to STAT News, Epidiolex was shown to reduce the number of seizures by about 40% in patients with either disorder.

    “The FDA is committed to this kind of careful scientific research and drug development,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement. “Controlled clinical trials testing the safety and efficacy of a drug, along with careful review through the FDA’s drug approval process, is the most appropriate way to bring marijuana-derived treatments to patients.”

    However, drug maker GW Pharmaceuticals will have to wait until the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) decides whether to re-classify cannabidiol before it can be available to patients.

    Currently CBD is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning that, by the federal government’s definition, it has no medical value and a high potential for abuse. STAT News reports that the DEA will make a decision in the next 90 days.

    Drugs that mimic the anti-nausea and appetite-inducing properties of THC have long been FDA-approved for treating chemotherapy patients and HIV/AIDS patients.

    Over a dozen U.S. states have passed legislation specifically to allow CBD for debilitating epilepsy, many of them to help children.

    The FDA’s decision gives hope to families living in non-medical marijuana states who have struggled to legally obtain and use CBD products for these conditions.

    Alexis Bortell is one patient who could have benefited from legal CBD in all 50 states.

    Bortell made headlines last year for being the 12-year-old girl who sued Attorney General Jeff Sessions for promoting the anti-marijuana policy that made it difficult for her to treat her intractable epilepsy that she’s suffered since she was 7 years old.

    Her family ultimately moved from Texas to Colorado—where cannabis is legal for both medical and adult use—so they could legally access CBD medication, which she says has allowed her to be seizure-free for about three years now.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Surgeon General Wary Of Marijuana As An Opioid Alternative

    Surgeon General Wary Of Marijuana As An Opioid Alternative

    Adams said that marijuana’s “potential negative consequences, including promoting cancer,” played a factor in his stance

    Jerome Adams, MD, the 20th Surgeon General of the United States, recently gave a far-ranging interview on opioids and his stance on marijuana as an alternative to their use.

    Adams, speaking at a forum on opioids hosted by the Washington Examiner, stated that concerns over the impact of marijuana on the developing brains of young people and its possible cancer-causing properties, were the impetus for him to reserve a recommendation for its use in pain management. “We know that exposing the developing brain to marijuana can prime the brain to addiction and have potential negative consequences including promoting cancer,” he said.

    But Adams added that he considered additional studies on the subject “important,” and voiced support for the use of the opioid reversal drug naloxone.

    Adams, an anesthesiologist and vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, said that his opposition to marijuana for medical purposes was hinged largely on studies that suggested use among young people “can prime the brain for addiction.”

    Adams did not cite specific studies that asserted this notion, but added that marijuana’s “potential negative consequences, including promoting cancer,” was also a factor in his stance. 

    “It would be incredibly disingenuous of me to say that you shouldn’t smoke a cigarette, but it is fine to go out and smoke a joint,” said Adams, who also noted that as Surgeon General, his name is featured in the boxed warning about the health hazards of smoking featured on all cigarette packaging.

    However, Adams did state that he considered it important to examine studies pertaining to marijuana as an alternative to opioids for pain treatment, but again, added, “it is important that we not jump on something that may have more potential consequences down the road.”

    When the interview touched on the subject of opioid abuse and dependency, Adams expressed opinions on a wide array of issues regarding treatment and intervention. He voiced solid support for naloxone, dismissing opponents of the drug as “folks out there who will suggest that naloxone and these interventions are enabling drug use. I say they are enabling recovery,” he stated.

    But he was steadfast in his opposition to legalize safe injection facilities (SIFs), which have gained traction with some city and state governments as a harm reduction-based attempt to reduce chances of overdose among drug users.

    “I think it’s important for everyone to know that I took an oath to uphold the law,” said Adams. “And currently, injection facilities are illegal across the U.S. So, I can not and do not endorse safe facilities.”

    Adams also suggested that a primary line of defense against the opioid crisis could be found in most Americans’ homes.

    “I want everyone to know there’s a killer in our medicine cabinets,” he said. “Leaving pills around or unattended is the same thing as leaving a loaded gun.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • New York Plans To Allow Medical Marijuana As Opioid Alternative

    New York Plans To Allow Medical Marijuana As Opioid Alternative

    “We looked at the pros, we looked at the cons, and when we were done, we realized that the pros outweighed the cons,” said one public health official.

    The New York Department of Health will now recommend that the state allow adults to legally use medical marijuana instead of an opioid prescription, or if they are struggling with opioid addiction.

    According to U.S. News, state commissioner Howard Zucker announced that the Department of Health will create regulations that allow patients who have been prescribed opioids or become addicted to the drug, to instead enroll in the medical marijuana program.

    Dr. Zucker proposed that allowing medical marijuana use in place of opioids is backed by research which shows that having access to marijuana reduces opioid use and eliminates the risk of overdose, as well as the risk of addiction for those not dependent on the drug.

    The New York Times pointed out that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo referred to marijuana as a “gateway drug” in the past and was not a supporter of its medicinal use.

    Howard Zucker noted this change, stating in the NYT, “We looked at the pros, we looked at the cons, and when we were done, we realized that the pros outweighed the cons,” adding, “we have new facts.”

    The NYT reported that the New York State Department will now be supporting the legalization of marijuana after the results of their state-sponsored study, backed by Governor Cuomo, were released.

    Dr. Zucker was quoted in NYT, noting that the researchers behind the study were “experts from all across the government.” He said that the researchers had surveyed a broad array of issues, including age, and production and distribution, and decided that the legalization of marijuana in New York was workable.

    News outlet WHEC noted that as of now, the New York medical marijuana program allows only 12 conditions (which must be certified by a physician) in those who use the program. These conditions included HIV/AIDS, and chronic pain conditions such as arthritis and cancer.

    So far the regulations around the program have been strict: no smokeable forms of marijuana are allowed.

    Elizabeth Brico wrote in a recent feature for The Fix that medical marijuana was an integral part of her abstinence from opioids.

    “The ability to soften the blow of that transition helps some users acclimate to life without opioids. Even if the marijuana use doesn’t remain transitional—if someone who was formerly addicted to heroin continues to use marijuana for the rest of his or her life instead—the risk of fatal overdose, hepatitis C or HIV transmission through drug use, and a host of other complications still go down to zero.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com