NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE REFORM OF
MARIJUANA LAWS
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... a weekly service for the media on news items related to Marijuana Prohibition.
October 24, 1996
American Nurses Association Reviews Medical Marijuana
October 24, 1996, Washington, D.C.:
The Congress of Nursing Practice recently approved two motions
regarding the use of marijuana as a medicine. The Congress
agreed to: A) "Support education for RNs regarding current
evidence based therapeutic uses of cannabis," and B) "Support
investigation of therapeutic efficacy of cannabis in controlled
trials." These recommendations will be included in a
report from the Congress to the American Nurses Association (ANA)
Board of Directors at their next scheduled meeting.
The Congress took up the issue of medical marijuana following a
presentation at the Centennial Conference of the American Nurses
Association by two of the eight legal marijuana patients in support
of the drug's therapeutic value. The Congress also reviewed
a position paper submitted by the Virginia Nurses Association
entitled "Therapeutic Uses of Cannabis," but failed to
issue a position statement on that issue.
Nevertheless, Mary Lynn Mathre, RN, of Patients Out Of Time said
that the Congress' twofold motion "is a de facto statement
by the ANA that marijuana has medical value; a way of showing support
for similar resolutions passed by other U.S. health care
organizations; and should be recognized by the U.S. government as
a polite way of calling for the denial of marijuana as medicine
for the sick and dying as illogical." Mathre notes
that state nursing associations of Virginia, Mississippi,
Colorado, New York, and California have endorsed the use of
marijuana as a medicine.
Patients Out of Time is a non-profit organization comprised of
five of the eight legal marijuana patients in the United States
and various health care professionals.
For more information, please contact Mary Lynn Mathre of
Patients Out of Time @ (804) 263-4484 or write to: 1472 Fish Pond
Rd., Howardsville, VA 24562.
Iowa Man Faces Prison Term For Using Marijuana To Ease Pain
October 24, 1996, Waterloo, IA: An
Iowa man is facing prison for using marijuana to relieve the
symptoms of chronic pain syndrome and fibromyalgia, a painful
muscle disorder. On Monday, October 28, the Black Hawk
County District Court will decide whether to revoke his probation for
refusing to stop smoking marijuana.
Allen Helmers sustained a broken back in a 1983 car accident and
was injured again in 1994 after being struck by a drunken
driver. Six months before the second accident, police
seized three ounces of marijuana from Helmers' home. He was
placed on probation for 2 to 5 years under intensive supervision
and fined $1,800.
Helmers says that the pain he suffers daily makes it necessary
that he use marijuana. Helmers' doctor, W. H. Verdyne,
agrees. "Chronic neurological pain responds well to
the medicinal use of marijuana ... causing much less side effects
than the standard pain medications," Verdyne said. He notes
that routine medications have been unsuccessful in managing
Helmers' pain.
"The state of Iowa gave Allen a criminal conviction for
possession of marijuana, and now they want to revoke his
probation because he refuses to stop smoking it," said Carl
Olsen of Iowans for Medical Marijuana, who organized a protest on
Helmers' behalf earlier this month. "The state of Iowa
has the law on its side. We have love and compassion.
The law must change."
For more information, please contact Allen Helmers @ (319)
233-1336 or Carl Olsen of Iowans for Medical Marijuana @ (515) 288-5798. Olsen may also be contacted via the Internet at: http://mojo.calyx.net/~olsen/MEDICAL/.
Clinton Proposes Drug Testing Teenage Applicants For Driver's Licenses
October 19, 1996, Washington, D.C.:
President Clinton proposed a new federal mandate on Saturday to
require teenagers to pass a drug test before receiving a driver's
license.
Stating that a driver's license is a "privilege that should
not be available to those who fail to demonstrate responsible
behavior," Clinton directed the Office of National Drug
Control Policy to come up with a strategy to implement nationwide
drug testing for all teen applicants. Clinton said that he
hoped the "90 percent [of adolescents] who are
drug-free" would participate in the program willingly.
"We're already saying to teens if you drink you aren't
allowed to drive. Now we should say that teens should pass
a drug test as a condition of getting a driver's license.
Our message should be simple: No drugs or no driver's
license."
Clinton's announcement drew harsh criticism from civil
libertarians.
"Once again we see civil liberties being pulverized by the
political posturing of the president," charged Libertarian
Presidential candidate Harry Browne. "Once again, we
see millions of Americans having to prove their innocence to
government bureaucrats. ... Once again, we see the 'War on
Drugs' being used as an excuse to give the federal government
more power."
Arthur Spitzer, the legal director of the American Civil
Liberties Union's (ACLU) District of Columbia branch, said the
move was an example of "this drug mania gone
crazy." He said the organization would consider
mounting a legal challenge.
It is not yet known whether Clinton's proposal, if implemented,
would be in violation of Constitutional guarantees against
unreasonable search and seizure. Most recently, the Supreme Court
ruled that high school athletes could be randomly drug tested
regardless of individualized suspicion.
"Mandatory drug testing is an affront to human dignity, and
it's making a mockery of the United States Constitution,"
said NORML Deputy Director Allen St. Pierre.
"Clinton's latest proposal is ill conceived and unjustly
labels an entire generation as suspected drug users."
For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre
or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202)
483-5500. The ACLU may be contacted @ (202) 544-1681.
California Man Fired From Job After Charged With Growing Marijuana
October 24, 1996, Santa Rosa, CA: An
epileptic charged with marijuana cultivation this past August was
suddenly dismissed from his two caregiver jobs. Alan
Martinez of Santa Rosa maintains that he grows and uses marijuana
as a medicine and plans to raise a medical necessity defense in
court. He notes that individuals like himself, if they
possess a physicians recommendation, would have an exemption
under the law if Proposition 215 passes this November.
Martinez worked for eight years as a well respected caregiver
until his arrest this summer. He believes that the media
attention that surrounded his plea of "not guilty" and
request for a trial to prove his medical necessity has caused his
employers to fire him without notice.
"I don't know what I'll do for money, but I know I will be
acquitted and my name will be cleared," said Martinez.
"I did not expect all the uproar, but I will not back
down. This is a matter of my life and my health. I
hope no other patients have to go through this."
A rally in support of Alan Martinez and his caregiver, Jason
Miller, is scheduled for 12 noon in front of the Santa Rosa Court
House on Tuesday, October 29.
For more information, please contact Lynnette Shaw of the
Marin-Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana @ (415) 256-9328 or NORML
Legal Committee member William Panzer, Esq. @ (510)
834-1892. Alan Martinez may be contacted @ (707) 526-9842.
ATTN: NORML Deputy Director Allen St. Pierre will debate a representative from Communities Against Drug Abuse (CADA) about Proposition 215 on C-Span's Wahington Journal this Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. Also on the program will appear San Francisco Examiner reporter Laura Krieger. Ms. Kreiger will have a feature-length cover story on Proposition 215 in the Sunday edition of the San Francisco Examiner.
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