Devilock
Member
On Feb 24th, at their annual state convention, the Michigan Democratic Party endorsed by unanimous acclimation a resolution stipulating,
"that licensed medical doctors should not be criminally punished for recommending the medical use of marijuana to seriously ill people, and seriously ill people should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana if the patient’s physician has told the patient that such use is likely to be beneficial."
Considering the fact that the Democratic Party controls both the State House of Representatives and the Governor's Office, this exciting development signals a major sea change in the political climate in Michigan and gives much reason to be optimistic that common sense marijuana reform will soon follow in Lansing.
The full text of the resolution may be viewed here:
Resolution Opposing Criminal Penalties For Doctors
Who Prescribe And Patients Who Use Prescribed Medical Marijuana
WHEREAS, four Michigan cities (Detroit, Ann Arbor, Ferndale, Traverse City) have now overwhelmingly passed initiatives in support of medical marijuana; and
WHEREAS, public polls of Michigan residents have shown 70-80% in favor of medical marijuana; and
WHEREAS, the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine concluded, after reviewing relevant scientific literature including dozens of works documenting therapeutic value of marijuana, that “there are some circumstances in which smoking marijuana is a legitimate medical treatment”; and
WHEREAS, a scientific survey conducted in 1990 by Harvard University researchers found that 54% of oncologists with an opinion favored the controlled medical availability of marijuana, and 44% had already suggested at least one that a patient obtain marijuana illegally; and
WHEREAS, tens of thousands of patients nationwide, people with AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, chronic pain, and multiple sclerosis have found marijuana in its natural form to be therapeutically beneficial and are already using it with their doctors’ approval; and
WHEREAS, numerous organizations have endorsed medical access to marijuana, including the AIDS Action Council, AIDS Project Rhode Island, Alaska Nurses Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM), American Anthropological Association, American Bar Association, American Nurses Association, American Preventive Medicinal Association, American Public Health Association, Americans for Democratic Action, Associated Medical Schools of New York, Being Alive: People With HIV/AIDS Action Committee (San Diego), California Democratic Council, California Legislative Council for Older Americans, California Nurses Association, California Pharmacists Association, California Society of Addiction Medicine, California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Colorado Nurses Association, Connecticut Nurses Association, Consumer Reports magazine, Episcopal Church, Gray Panthers, Hawaii Nurses Association, Illinois Nurses Association, Iowa Democratic Party, Life Extension Foundation, Lymphoma Foundation of America, Medical Society of the State of New York, Minnesota AIDS Project, Minnesota Nurses Association, Minnesota Public Health Association, Minnesota Senior Federation, Mississippi Nurses Association, National Association of People With Aids, New Mexico Medical Society, New Mexico Nurses Association, New York County Medical Society, New York State AIDS Advisory Council, New York State Association of County Health Officials, New York State Hospice and Palliative Care Association, New York State Nurses Association, New York Statewide Senior Action Council, Inc., Ninth District Of the New York State Medical Society (Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, and Ulster counties), Oregon Democratic Party, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Project Inform (national HIV/AIDS treatment education advocacy organization), Rhode Island Medical Society, Rhode Island Nurses Association, Test Positive Aware Network (Illinois), Texas Democratic Party, Texas League of Women Voters, Texas Nurses Association, Union of Reform Judaism (formerly Union of American Hebrew Congregations), Unitarian Universlist Association, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, United Nurses and Allied Professionals (Rhode Island), Wisconsin Nurses Association, and Wisconsin Public Health Association; and
WHEREAS, a national CNN/Time magazine poll published November 4, 2002, found that 80% of U. S. adults “think adults should be able to use marijuana legally for medical purposes”; and
WHEREAS, a national Gallup poll released in November, 2005 found that 78% of Americans support “making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering”; and
WHEREAS, numerous other national public opinion polls have found substantial support for medical marijuana, including surveys conducted by ABC News, CBS News, the Family Research Council, and the Gallup Organization between 1997 and 2006; and
WHEREAS, since 1996, medical marijuana initiatives received a majority of votes in every state in which they appeared on the ballot: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington State; and
WHEREAS, since 2000, state legislatures in Hawaii, Vermont, and Rhode Island have enacted effective medical marijuana laws; and
WHEREAS, the May 14, 2001, and the June 6, 2005, United States Supreme Court rulings on medical marijuana dealt exclusively with federal law and do not affect the ability of individual states to allow patients to grow, possess, and use medical marijuana under state law; and
WHEREAS, the Ninth U. S. District Court of Appeals, in the case of Walters v. Conant, upheld the right of physicians to recommend medical marijuana to patients without federal government interference, and the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the federal government’s appeal of this ruling; and
WHEREAS, on September 6, 1998, after reviewing all available medical data, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s chief administrative law judge, Francis L. Young, declared that marijuana is “one of the safest therapeutically active substances known” and recommended making marijuana available by prescription; and
WHEREAS, the federal penalty for possessing one marijuana cigarette, even for medical use, is up to one year in prison, and the penalty for growing one plant is up to five years; and,
WHEREAS, the penalties are similar in most states, where medical marijuana users must live in fear of being arrested; and
WHEREAS, the present federal classification of marijuana and the resulting bureaucratic controls impede additional scientific research into marijuana’s therapeutic potential, thereby making it nearly impossible for the Food and Drug Administration to evaluate and approve marijuana through standard procedural channels; and
WHEREAS, seriously ill people should not be punished for acting in accordance with the opinion of their physicians in a bona fide attempt to relieve suffering;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that licensed medical doctors should not be criminally punished for recommending the medical use of marijuana to seriously ill people, and seriously ill people should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana if the patient’s physician has told the patient that such use is likely to be beneficial.
Passed by unanimous acclimation, Feb 24, 2007, Michigan Democratic Party Annual State Convention, Detroit, MI
Copyright © 2005-2007 Michigan NORML
Peace and *bong* :friends:
"that licensed medical doctors should not be criminally punished for recommending the medical use of marijuana to seriously ill people, and seriously ill people should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana if the patient’s physician has told the patient that such use is likely to be beneficial."
Considering the fact that the Democratic Party controls both the State House of Representatives and the Governor's Office, this exciting development signals a major sea change in the political climate in Michigan and gives much reason to be optimistic that common sense marijuana reform will soon follow in Lansing.
The full text of the resolution may be viewed here:
Resolution Opposing Criminal Penalties For Doctors
Who Prescribe And Patients Who Use Prescribed Medical Marijuana
WHEREAS, four Michigan cities (Detroit, Ann Arbor, Ferndale, Traverse City) have now overwhelmingly passed initiatives in support of medical marijuana; and
WHEREAS, public polls of Michigan residents have shown 70-80% in favor of medical marijuana; and
WHEREAS, the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine concluded, after reviewing relevant scientific literature including dozens of works documenting therapeutic value of marijuana, that “there are some circumstances in which smoking marijuana is a legitimate medical treatment”; and
WHEREAS, a scientific survey conducted in 1990 by Harvard University researchers found that 54% of oncologists with an opinion favored the controlled medical availability of marijuana, and 44% had already suggested at least one that a patient obtain marijuana illegally; and
WHEREAS, tens of thousands of patients nationwide, people with AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, chronic pain, and multiple sclerosis have found marijuana in its natural form to be therapeutically beneficial and are already using it with their doctors’ approval; and
WHEREAS, numerous organizations have endorsed medical access to marijuana, including the AIDS Action Council, AIDS Project Rhode Island, Alaska Nurses Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM), American Anthropological Association, American Bar Association, American Nurses Association, American Preventive Medicinal Association, American Public Health Association, Americans for Democratic Action, Associated Medical Schools of New York, Being Alive: People With HIV/AIDS Action Committee (San Diego), California Democratic Council, California Legislative Council for Older Americans, California Nurses Association, California Pharmacists Association, California Society of Addiction Medicine, California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Colorado Nurses Association, Connecticut Nurses Association, Consumer Reports magazine, Episcopal Church, Gray Panthers, Hawaii Nurses Association, Illinois Nurses Association, Iowa Democratic Party, Life Extension Foundation, Lymphoma Foundation of America, Medical Society of the State of New York, Minnesota AIDS Project, Minnesota Nurses Association, Minnesota Public Health Association, Minnesota Senior Federation, Mississippi Nurses Association, National Association of People With Aids, New Mexico Medical Society, New Mexico Nurses Association, New York County Medical Society, New York State AIDS Advisory Council, New York State Association of County Health Officials, New York State Hospice and Palliative Care Association, New York State Nurses Association, New York Statewide Senior Action Council, Inc., Ninth District Of the New York State Medical Society (Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, and Ulster counties), Oregon Democratic Party, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Project Inform (national HIV/AIDS treatment education advocacy organization), Rhode Island Medical Society, Rhode Island Nurses Association, Test Positive Aware Network (Illinois), Texas Democratic Party, Texas League of Women Voters, Texas Nurses Association, Union of Reform Judaism (formerly Union of American Hebrew Congregations), Unitarian Universlist Association, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, United Nurses and Allied Professionals (Rhode Island), Wisconsin Nurses Association, and Wisconsin Public Health Association; and
WHEREAS, a national CNN/Time magazine poll published November 4, 2002, found that 80% of U. S. adults “think adults should be able to use marijuana legally for medical purposes”; and
WHEREAS, a national Gallup poll released in November, 2005 found that 78% of Americans support “making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering”; and
WHEREAS, numerous other national public opinion polls have found substantial support for medical marijuana, including surveys conducted by ABC News, CBS News, the Family Research Council, and the Gallup Organization between 1997 and 2006; and
WHEREAS, since 1996, medical marijuana initiatives received a majority of votes in every state in which they appeared on the ballot: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington State; and
WHEREAS, since 2000, state legislatures in Hawaii, Vermont, and Rhode Island have enacted effective medical marijuana laws; and
WHEREAS, the May 14, 2001, and the June 6, 2005, United States Supreme Court rulings on medical marijuana dealt exclusively with federal law and do not affect the ability of individual states to allow patients to grow, possess, and use medical marijuana under state law; and
WHEREAS, the Ninth U. S. District Court of Appeals, in the case of Walters v. Conant, upheld the right of physicians to recommend medical marijuana to patients without federal government interference, and the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the federal government’s appeal of this ruling; and
WHEREAS, on September 6, 1998, after reviewing all available medical data, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s chief administrative law judge, Francis L. Young, declared that marijuana is “one of the safest therapeutically active substances known” and recommended making marijuana available by prescription; and
WHEREAS, the federal penalty for possessing one marijuana cigarette, even for medical use, is up to one year in prison, and the penalty for growing one plant is up to five years; and,
WHEREAS, the penalties are similar in most states, where medical marijuana users must live in fear of being arrested; and
WHEREAS, the present federal classification of marijuana and the resulting bureaucratic controls impede additional scientific research into marijuana’s therapeutic potential, thereby making it nearly impossible for the Food and Drug Administration to evaluate and approve marijuana through standard procedural channels; and
WHEREAS, seriously ill people should not be punished for acting in accordance with the opinion of their physicians in a bona fide attempt to relieve suffering;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that licensed medical doctors should not be criminally punished for recommending the medical use of marijuana to seriously ill people, and seriously ill people should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana if the patient’s physician has told the patient that such use is likely to be beneficial.
Passed by unanimous acclimation, Feb 24, 2007, Michigan Democratic Party Annual State Convention, Detroit, MI
Copyright © 2005-2007 Michigan NORML
Peace and *bong* :friends:
