Why We Should Demand That Congress Reschedule Marijuana

http://www.attn.com/stories/10683/how-congress-should-reschedule-marijuana-unlike-dea

Like most Americans who follow the debate over marijuana legalization in this country, I was disappointed that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration this week once again determined that marijuana has no medical use and left it in Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Disappointed, but not surprised.

Stocksy/Cameron Zegers – stocksy.com

NORML — the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which I founded in 1970 — first petitioned the DEA to reschedule marijuana to a lower schedule back in 1973, and NORML has been involved in two subsequent attempts to accomplish the same result, without success. The DEA is a law enforcement agency. So they will continue to oppose any steps to loosen controls over marijuana until Congress forces them to change.

A Brief History of Rescheduling Attempts.

Flickr/Katheirne Hitt – flic.kr

The initial petition NORML filed to reschedule marijuana in 1973 ended up being an endurance test. The agency refused to even acknowledge our petition or respond to it until we went to the court of appeals and forced them to respond. And this strategy of ignore and delay continued at every step, dragging the process out for 15 years until 1988, when DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Francis Young, following days of testimony, finally ruled in our favor.

The ruling concluded that “Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care.”

Judge Young continued: “It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence in this record.”

However, the DEA Administrator simply ignored the decision of his own hearing examiner and rejected our petition, claiming the hearing examiner had relied on anecdotal evidence. NORML again appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals, but the court allowed the Administrator’s decision to stand, saying he had acted within his discretion.

And twice in the intervening decades NORML has been a party to subsequent attempts to require the DEA to reschedule marijuana; and both times, as they did in this most recent case, the DEA continued to insist that marijuana has no medical usefulness and should remain on Schedule I, along with heroin.

So I hope readers will understand when I say, “Enough is enough! Time to ignore the DEA altogether and focus our efforts on Congress.”

How Marijuana Ended Up on Schedule I in the First Place.

Flickr/orangetaki, Flickr/photomemoriesflopes – flic.kr

When the federal Controlled Substances Act was being considered by Congress in 1970 — after the prior federal anti-marijuana act had been held unconstitutional — various members of Congress debated the question of where to place marijuana under the new act. A separate provision of that new law established The National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse (aka the Marijuana Commission), which was charged with the responsibility of determining the appropriate policy regarding marijuana and reporting back to Congress. A compromise was reached to temporarily place marijuana in Schedule I until the commission came back with their report.

When the commission came back with its marijuana report in 1972, they recommended that minor marijuana offenses be decriminalized, which would have made it available (again) as a medicine. (Marijuana was on the U.S. Pharmacopeia from the mid-1850s until 1937, and it was available by prescription and widely prescribed for several conditions.)

However, those recommendations were not accepted by then-Presdient Nixon or Congress, and marijuana was left in Schedule I, where it remains today.

In fact, what Congress should really do, and what NORML has been arguing for some time, is to totally de-schedule marijuana by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act and treat it as we do alcohol and tobacco, thus providing states the power to establish their own marijuana regulatory policies free from federal interference.

Bills Pending In Congress.

Wikimedia – wikimedia.org

There are currently several bills pending in Congress that, if adopted, would resolve this matter. HR 1774, the Compassionate Access Act, introduced by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) and Rep. Dana Rorhabacher (R-Calif.), would require that marijuana be rescheduled and would prohibit federal officials from interfering in state-compliant activities specific to the physician-authorized use or distribution of medical cannabis.

And Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) recently introduced S.2237, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2015, that would de-schedule cannabis from the CSA and treat it like alcohol and tobacco.

Of course, neither of these bills have been scheduled for a hearing or given a vote — even in committee. But those conditions may change following the upcoming election in November, and we may well have the opportunity to move a rescheduling proposal forward in the next Congress.

So instead of trying to convince the DEA that they should act responsibly and compassionately and lower marijuana to a more appropriate schedule under federal law, or remove it entirely, it is now time to put our efforts behind a push to convince the next Congress to solve this problem directly.

Keith Stroup is a Washington, D.C. public-interest attorney who founded NORML in 1970.

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https://youtu.be/5_c2wgTxazk

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The DEA Says Marijuana As Dangerous As Heroin

www.greenrushdaily.com/2016/08/15/dea-says-marijuana-dangerous-heroin

This really demonstrates what a bunch of idiots within the DEA is … The UK still uses pharmaceutical grade Heroin for pain management… because it is diacetylmorphine and is metabolized into Morphine in the body and on a mg to mg basis it is 2-3 more potent than Morphine.  Morphine is a C-II scheduled controlled medication.  So according to the DEA’s own scheduling process… Heroin should be a C-II – because it is metabolized into Morphine in the body.. so if MJ is as dangerous as Heroin… then logic would suggest that MJ should be a C-II. Of course, since the DEA has kept MJ as a C-I .. that means that little/no clinical/medical research has been done on the estimated 400 different components in MJ.  I guess that it is a good thing that the DEA has not had oversight of the entire healthcare industry because we would still be doing “blood letting” and using leaches as cures.

Refusing to Back Down

Advocates of cannabis legalization have been working for years to change how the federal government classifies marijuana. Currently, the government considers marijuana to be a “Schedule I” narcotic substance. In layman’s terms, this means that it considers cannabis to be without any medical value and with a high potential for abuse.

That position, according to a policy brief issued today by the Drug Enforcement Administration, is unlikely to change in the near future.

The agency has refused to reclassify cannabis, and will keep it classified as a “Schedule 1” drug. However, the DEA will allow an increase in the supply of marijuana available for medical research.

Out of Both Sides of Their Mouth

It seems contradictory to give the green light to researching medical cannabis on one hand, while refusing to grant marijuana any medical value on the other. Cannabis current classification flies in the face of current research which suggests immense medical and therapeutic potential for cannabis.

Of course, it’s well known that marijuana is significantly less addictive and dangerous than alcohol and many prescription drugs. But the DEA is so far refusing to back down. 

Hordes of prominent state and national organizations have recognized through reports, studies, and publications the medical benefits of cannabis, including National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, the American Public Health Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Nurses Association, to name just a few.

Safer Than Alcohol

As far back as 1999, the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine issued a report commissioned by none less than the White House which found that in terms of addiction and abuse, marijuana was far less of a health risk.

The report acknowledged that some cannabis users do in fact develop dependencies, they are far less severe and less likely to do so than people who use nicotine and alcohol.

Keeping up the Fight

The DEA’s latest ruling isn’t stopping cannabis advocates from speaking out against the agency’s refusal to reclassify cannabis.

AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Marijuana Policy Project spokesperson and Director of Communications Mason Tvert issued a statement today which blasted the DEA’s stance on cannabis. “The DEA’s refusal to remove marijuana from Schedule I is, quite frankly, mind-boggling. It is intellectually dishonest and completely indefensible.”

The Silver Lining

One of the positives to come out of the DEA’s announcement, however, has to do with the freeing up of a larger supply of medical-grade cannabis for research purposes.

Until now, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has had a virtual monopoly over the cultivation of cannabis for research uses. For many years, this has put up barriers to other groups interested in exploring the medical benefits of marijuana. And since the DEA and NIDA work closely together, their control of the research has potentially led to diluted findings that don’t contradict the exaggerated claims made by the DEA about marijuana’s harmfulness.

“Removing barriers to research is a step forward,” admitted Tvert, “but the decision does not go nearly far enough.”

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Tom Cotton: Social Security disability causes drug addiction

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/sen-tom-cotton-social-security-benefits-cause-people-to-spiral-downward-into-heroin-addiction/

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) suggested on Monday that population decline and drug abuse in poor areas could be the result of too many people on Social Security disability.

Speaking to the conservative Heritage Foundation on Monday, Cotton warned that communities with high a percentage of residents on Social Security disability had reached a tipping point that was linked to population decline. But he said that communities which used fewer benefits were enjoying a population increase.

“It’s hard to say what came first or caused the other, population decline or increased disability usage,” Cotton opined. “Or maybe economic stagnation caused both. Regardless, there seems to be at least at the county and regional level something like a disability tipping point.”

“When a county hits a certain level of disability usage, disability becomes a norm,” he continued. “It becomes an acceptable way of life and alternative source of income to a good paying full-time job as opposed to a last resort safety net program to deal with catastrophic injury and illness.”

And according to Cotton, workers compensation law needs a reform and that this was just the beginning of the bad news for communities with above average disability claims.

“At a certain point when disability keeps climbing and become endemic, employers will struggle to find employees or begin or continue to move out of the area,” he said. “The population continues to fall and a downward spiral kicks in, driving once thriving communities into further decline.”

“Not only that, but once this spiral begins, communities could begin to suffer other social plagues as well, such as heroin or meth addiction and associated crime.”

Cotton revealed that he planned to introduce legislation that would single out non-permanent disability recipients and set a timeline for them to return to work.

Disabled people who are not ready to return to work would be forced to reapply for disability benefits, Cotton said.

“These reforms won’t solve all the problems of Social Security disability but they will address one of the most urgent crises in the program,” he concluded. “And the one, perhaps, most corrosive to effected communities.”

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Man claims wrong medication from Kroger accelerated kidney failure

http://www.fox19.com/story/32756952/man-claims-wrong-medication-from-kroger-accelerated-kidney-failure

A few years ago the OH BOP revoked a Pharmacist license when a tech mis-filled a IV for a 3 y/o and the Pharmacist was charged/convicted of manslaughter and spent 6 months in prison.

CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) –

A Cincinnati man is fighting two battles right now. One for his life and the other against grocery store giant Kroger.

Without a kidney transplant Randy Crews will die. The other battle awaits in a court room currently scheduled for Sept. 6 in Hamilton County.

Crews is being represented by Chris Macke, who is the husband of FOX19 NOW Anchor Tricia Macke. 

This battle stems from receiving the wrong medication from a Kroger pharmacy located on Kenard Avenue.

FOX19 NOW contacted Kroger and their lawyer for an official statement and interview, but did not receive a response from either party.

In court documents filed with the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas by their lawyer, it reads, “[Kroger] has admitted to mis-filling [Mr. Crews] prescription.”

The online records go on to read, “The only relevant issues to this case are what damages, if any, were directly caused by ingesting of the mis-filled prescriptions three months after it was filled.”

The grocery store giant contends that Crews was already sick before there error ever came into the picture.

Crews and his attorneys don’t see it that way.

For five days Crews thought he was taking his prescription called Labetalol for his high blood pressure. Instead, he was taking Lamotrigine which is for seizures.

He picked up the medication in December of 2013, but didn’t take start using it until April of 2014. In the short time he took it, Crews said his blood pressure became elevated. “He was severely disoriented, dizzy and vomiting, to the point of dehydration, and feeling as if he was dying,” the lawsuit reads.

His wife felt something was wrong and felt his symptoms were brought on after he started using what he thought was high blood pressure medication.

The suit reads Crews’ wife brought the medicine to a competing pharmacy where she was informed by them that her husband was taking seizure medication and not high blood pressure pills.

FOX19 NOW obtained a picture of both medications. The pills look similar but the Lamotrigine, the seizure medication, is slightly larger than Labetalol, the high blood pressure medication. The other difference between the pills are the labels. Lamotrigine is labeled, “ZC 82” while Labetalol is stamped with “NT & 042.”

According to the lawsuit, the pharmacy tech was placing the pills in a vile when he was alerted by a computer system that there was an error, and the tech overrode the computer system. It further said that another tech simply looked at the pills, which looked similar, but never properly inspected them making sure they were the right pills put in the bottle. None of the documents give clear indication as to why the pharmacist overrode the system causing the wrong medication to be given out.

Crews went to the hospital for five days and was diagnosed with Acute Renal Failure, resulting from dehydration and elevated blood pressure, according to the lawsuit. After being released, Crews said he was diagnosed with stage 5 kidney disease and chronic renal failure.

Before he started taking the mis-labeled medication, he contends he was at a stage 3 level, and after his prognosis became downgraded.

According to the lawsuit, Crews now has two options; A kidney transplant or daily dialysis, which he contends prior to taking the medication that neither option was needed.

Online records show the manager of the pharmacy said she has never reported errors made to any governmental agency or pharmaceutical board. She explained she does not know what Kroger does with the information.

Kroger lawyer, Christopher L. Moore argued that, “they have no obligation” and they don’t have too.

FOX19 NOW obtained documents from the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy in 2012 showing the dangers of wrong prescriptions. Although the board could not say how many times patients in Ohio have been given the wrong prescriptions, we did obtain documents showing some of the cases in years past in which it’s happened.

Among the most startling cases:

A West Chester pharmacist received a prescription in June 2010 for the sleep aid Ambien, but gave the patient Glimepiride instead, according to a settlement agreement FOX19 NOW obtained. Glimepiride is a diabetes drug. Three months after getting the wrong prescription, the patient died.

Another West Chester pharmacist, Ohio State Board of Pharmacy Records show, received a prescription for 120 tablets of morphine sulfate in April 2010, but gave the patient 360 tablets of methadone, the drug used to wean people off of heroin. The settlement agreement with the pharmacist shows the “patient was subsequently harmed,” but it doesn’t say how badly the person was injured.

These settlement agreements with the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy also revealed the punishments the pharmacists received.

The pharmacist in the case of the patient who died was fined $300 and ordered to complete ten hours of continuing pharmacy education.

In the other West Chester case where the patient was injured, the pharmacist was fined $250 and ordered to complete five hours of continuing education.

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This first story is sad on many fronts… apparently this pt was going to a independent “Good Neighbor Pharmacy” which is a franchise and the Pharmacist/owner died and his non-pharmacist wife hired a Pharmacist that may have come from one of those chains who don’t care if C-II are filled or not.. I suspect that this is a “young” Pharmacist because this particular pt’s religion is very important to him and dresses accordingly… so whether this was part of the decision to deny or not… This Pharmacist may have bitten off more than he can chew..  This pt has promised to “keep me in the loop” as this progresses.. more to follow…

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Hospital fires doctor for having cancer

www.idealmedicalcare.org/blog/hospital-fires-doctor-for-having-cancer/?inf_contact_key=baa9eb052e17a041f8e740a04afe113a6e7ff40f82d66d94fd2fb9bbb51675d0

Dear Pamela,

You’ll never guess what happened to me today. Hours after the National Day of Solidarity to Prevent Physician Suicide volunteer webpage went live, I received an email stating that I am officially terminated from my psychiatry residency program. On this webpage, I spoke about the fact that I had become interested in this event during my struggle to get the medical care I needed throughout my residency for my cancer diagnosis. I heard that people from my department were reading it today. Some stated I was very brave, others, well, others do not appreciate such outspokenness. I was even told by some not to participate in the Solidarity event. What are they afraid of? I speak out because I dream of a future where medical students and residents can live without fear of bullying, harassment, and retaliation. I want doctors to be able to care for themselves as well as others. I documented the obstacles I faced in residency so that I could propose solutions to incorporate into a physician wellness program. I hope that chronically ill residents, as well as residents who need routine care such as therapy, could use this program in the future. In describing the difficulties I faced, I quoted the words spoken to me by my attending physician on the day I was diagnosed with cancer, “you need to choose whether you are a doctor or a patient.”

My program had been punishing me and accusing me of being “unprofessional” for attending appointments despite my informing them in advance and providing doctor’s notes. On the webpage launched today, I stated it was also very difficult for us to get mental health treatment. During my research into why this was the case, I found many examples of other residents who have experienced negative consequences after revealing their need for mental health services. It upset me that stigma is so prevalent in this field. Everyone needs help sometimes and doctors can get sick too. I am not sure how many people are aware of the obstacles physicians face when striving to care for themselves physically and mentally. Once the issue is recognized, we can do something to stop it.

Standing up to this is going to be extremely tough. When I began standing up for my basic human right to lifesaving medical care, I was repeatedly retaliated against. This retaliation occurred even after I pointed out the fact that my doctor stated had I not received the treatment they punished me for, I would not likely be alive today.  That fact did not appear to register with my superiors. I then went to the dean’s office, then to the ombudsman, then to the institution’s president. It was a game of hot potato. It was a problem passed around the institution so fast that no one held on long enough to burn their hands. It was as if they thought that, if they ignored me, I would simply go away. I decided to go outside of the institution. That surely got their attention as not even a month after going to the government I received an email from my institution stating there was a vote for my termination. At least they stopped ignoring me.

I had documentation of what I had been through since my diagnosis and proof that my performance was at or above average. Despite major surgery, tubes, drains, fainting, constant vomiting, and panic attacks I was still able to be a good doctor. I always put the safety of my patients first and I don’t think there is anyone in this world who can contest that, not even those who voted for my termination. I was BOTH a doctor and a patient and despite pressure from above I received excellent evaluations from my attendings. So how on earth did they have justification to fire me?  I had hoped that the dean’s office would look at the facts. Apparently, they didn’t. They chose to officially terminate my employment right after the National Day of Solidarity to Prevent Physician Suicide volunteer webpage went live. I am not sure what to do at this point. Next week I am scheduled to have an MRI and I do not know if I will have a paycheck or even health insurance to cover it. I know you have helped so many other physicians and you are truly an inspiration to me. I can’t wait to meet you on August 20^th. I hope all that I have been through will jumpstart a change in the current medical culture. I want future physicians to not be forced to choose between being a doctor or a patient. 

Thank you so much,

Stephanie 

Outraged that a hospital would fire a doctor for having cancer? Appalled that a hospital would fire a psychiatric resident for helping suicidal physicians? Show your support. Stand with Stephanie on August 20th.

Please support Stephanie by attending our Solidarity Vigils across America on Saturday, August 20, 2016. Find a Vigil near you on this map. Come meet Stephanie at the Washington DC Vigil or attend one of the other events in Philadelphia, Chicago, Austin, Cleveland, Kansas City, St. Louis,  Athens (OH), Dublin(OH), Harrogate (TN) on August 20th. Middletown (NY) Vigil will be on August 22. Dr. Wible will be speaking at the DC and NY Vigils. Thank you for caring about the people who care for you! 

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If everyone is doing their own thing… means that NOTHING HAPPENS

Is there any hope that the chronic pain community is going to have some sort of Epiphany that NO ONE at the Federal or State level actually gives a CRAP about your pain.

There is no bureaucracy for the bureaucrats to create to treat chronic pain and if they decide to get serious about treating substance abusers.. the “catch and release” Naloxone prgm is the first step but I doubt if they will go to the next step.. at least for the next several years.

Meanwhile, the bureaucracy is causing thousands and thousands…. maybe millions .. of chronic pain pts to have their necessary medications cut or discontinued.  We know that a certain per-cent will go to the streets to get some relief from their untreated/unrelenting pain… Just more “targets” for the DEA and job security for them.

With Medicare disability fund soon going into a 20% cash flow short fall and all but a couple of states are in deep financial trouble.. just how many tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars could be saved by each chronic painer that takes the “final action” to resolve their chronic pain ? While their Naloxone “catch and release” prgm keeps the number of  substance abuser “on the street” stable or increasing. 

How many has called or sent a letter to a Fed/State legislator.. only to get a letter back .. mostly talking about the opiate epidemic that we have in this country and the promise to keep your opinion in mind if a vote comes up.

How many hundreds or thousands of on-line petition has to be created when either none have reached the appropriate number and/or they do and there is no action toward the reason for the petition ?

How many hundreds or thousands of Face Book pages is there needed with some focus on chronic pain ?

I wrote a post that went to Twitter with the #AARP stating that they are suppose to look out for the interest of those over 50. Most major players scan the internet for their name popping up.. Did the AARP reach out to me… NOPE !

One week ago, I wrote a two page letter about the 183 page FIRST DO NO HARM created by the AG of Indiana and emailed it to the four major TV stations in Louisville, KY and all the major TV stations in Indiana.. Their individual/collective response – NOTHING !!

Are you getting the point that NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION…  NO ONE CARES… they are very comfortable where they are at… if the 435 Fed Representatives and 34 Senators get reelected… their world is not going to change and chances are your world is not going to get any better… most likely going to get worse.

What is even worse is that last night I watched a show that looked at the VP candidates… the person that is a heart beat away from the Presidency and has the President’s ear.. BOTH are STRONGLY AGAINST MJ.

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IMO, it should not be  US VS THEM (chronic painers vs substance abuser ) when it comes to chronic pain pts and those who are suffering from addictive personality disorder.

Both groups are SUFFERING from chronic health issues. We are doing more harm to the chronic pain community by agreeing with those who claim that those abusing some substances  are “bad people”.

I read this week that some people are going to pull out from some pain groups because someone was talking about substance abusers were being discussed as needing treatment.. Others that I have seen are going to pull out of specific groups because politics were being discussed.

I keep questioning.. WHAT THEY HELL ARE THEY THINKING ? Congress, in particular , has passed all the laws that have given – or the various Fed alphabet soup of Federal agencies have presumed that they have – the various powers to do what they do.

I just made this post of Pres Obama at the DNC.  where he PLAINLY STATED .. that healthcare is a RIGHT..

It would appear that those in Congress, FDA, DEA, CDC and others in the alphabetic soup of federal agencies are not listening to our President when it comes to chronic painers… or he says one thing to the public and has another agenda when he is behind closed doors ?

Of course, he is headed for the exit… Congress is basically “out to lunch” until after the election and maybe until the new Congress starts in Jan, 2017.

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