Timothy Garon who was a 56 year old musician, was denied a organ transplant because of his medical marijuana use to treat the symptoms of advanced hepatitis C, nausea, abdominal pain and to stimulate his appetite. Garon died Thursday, one week after he got the news from his doctor that a University of Washington Medical Center committee had again denied him a spot on the liver-transplant list.

“He said I’m going to die, with such conviction,” Garon said then. “I’m not angry, I’m not mad, I’m just confused.”

Should pot use with a doctor’s authorization be held against a dying patient who needs an organ transplant? Read More

Finally, what we were all waiting for! Barney Frank finally introduced the Medical Marijuana Patient protection act bill to congress on the 17th. Basically It will reclassify marijuana from its current position of Schedule I to Schedule II. Which means, Medical marijuana patients will be protected, and no federal involvement in state or local medical marijuana programs!

There is a summery of the article taken from Safeaccessnow.org

Washington, D.C. – Congressional Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced the “Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act,” HR 5842, yesterday, a bill co-sponsored by Representatives Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Sam Farr (D-CA), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and Ron Paul (R-TX). The act would change federal policy on medical marijuana in a number of ways. Specifically, HR 5842 would reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug, which cannot be prescribed, to a Schedule II drug, which would recognize the medical value of marijuana and create a regulatory framework for the FDA to begin a drug approval process for marijuana. The act would also prevent interference by the federal government in any local or state run medical marijuana program. Read Here

 In South Australia, The government has thought of a way to stop the cannabis smokers and all other drug users. This method that was accepted and made law to ban all bongs will actually do more harm then good. The Rann Government’s ban on bongs will not stop drug use and could have dangerous flow-on effects on the health of pot smokers, according to users and experts.  It’s just sad to see more restrictions on the Marijuana community. 

 In the United States it was brought up to ban the sale of bongs as well. Hopfully this law doesn’t influence the federal government to Ban bongs over here as well. It will be hard as some people really do need it as a way to take their medication.

One local drug expert, pharmacology associate professor Rodney Irvine, said users will seek other ways to inhale smoke and that could be more dangerous.

“When you close one loophole (more…)

With the initiative known as the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, being sponsored by the Michigan Coalition for compassionate Care (MCCC), the act was passed to legislature, if the legislature does not act upon it, it will go to the voters in November. With more then a 2 to 1 ratio in which the people voted YES for medical use of marijuana, the act will surely pass in November. Michigan will be the first mid-west state to approve of medical marijuana, and the second largest state with 10 million residents. The act will:

-Allow Seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana with their Doctors approval.
-Protect those seriously ill patients from being arrested for their medicine.
-Allow Patients, and caregivers to cultivate marijuana for medical use with a limit on how much can grow.
-Create medical marijuana cards, so that patients can easily be identified by law enforcement.
-Allow those who are arrested for marijuana to discuss their medical use for it.
-Continuing certain prohibitions for medical use of marijuana as, public use of marijuana and driving under the influence of marijuana.

Even though this act will only allow those with serious illness’s to have medical marijuana for medicine, I still agree that this bill is a big step not only for the marijuana community, but also for the future economic status of the US. Having many uses and applications, if marijuana is legalized, it can then be taxed, even though the progress might be very small, it is still progress towards a debt free America.