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The420Guy
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[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]EDITED BY ADMINISTRATOR ON Apr-05-01 AT 06:33 PM (EST)[/font][br&]St. Paul, MN: Members of NORML's board of directors and state
affiliate will participate Friday in a state-sponsored forum
to discuss the therapeutic use of marijuana. Governor Jesse
Ventura (I), who Wednesday announced that he "fully supports"
marijuana's medical use, will also attend the meeting, which is
being jointly sponsored by the Department of Health and the
Department of Public Safety.
NORML board-member Dr. John P. Morgan, a physician and
professor of Pharmacology at City University of New York
Medical School, will speak at the forum in favor of marijuana's
therapeutic value. "Marijuana's therapeutic uses are well
documented in the modern scientific literature," says Morgan,
who recently co-authored the book Marijuana Myths, Marijuana
Facts. "Politics, not medical science, has stood in the way of
marijuana's approval as a legal medication." Minnesota NORML
Chairman Aaron Neuman, who helped organize the forum, will also
be in attendance.
Several bills pertaining to the use and study of medical
marijuana are now pending before the Minnesota legislature.
Two of these, S.F. 1967 and H.F. 2164, seek to exempt patients
who use marijuana under a doctor's supervision from state
criminal penalties. House File 1364, sponsored by Rep. Scott
Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis), would establish an affirmative defense
of medical necessity for patients charged with violating state
marijuana laws. In addition, both houses are considering bills
that would appropriate $100,000 to conduct research trials on
the drug's therapeutic utility.
Organizers of tomorrow's event hope that it will encourage
lawmakers to move forward with several of these proposals.
"Our hopes for Minnesota is that by encouraging research we can
advance the acceptance of marijuana as an important medical
tool and ultimately address the legal constraints at a national
level," wrote Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm in a March 23
invitation letter. Malcolm noted that under a 1981 state law,
"the THC Therapeutic Research Act," Minnesota doctors are
permitted to conduct medical research on marijuana's
constituents.
Additional backing for medical marijuana reform came from
Gov. Ventura earlier this week. Speaking Wednesday at a
student question-and-answer forum, Ventura stated: "Medical
marijuana? I fully support it, absolutely. Who is the
government to tell someone, if they have AIDS or cancer,
what they should be taking?" Ventura speculated that his
mother, who suffered from respiratory disease and relied on
large amounts of narcotics to relieve her suffering, may have
benefited from the drug, and said that legalizing it for
medical use would not encourage the recreational use of
marijuana or other illicit substances.
Tomorrow's forum will take place from 8 a.m. to noon at
the Snelling Office Park's Mississippi Room, 1645 Energy
Park Dr., St. Paul.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre or
Paul Armentano of The NORML Foundation, at (202) 483-8751,
or Aaron Neuman of Minnesota NORML at (651) 334-8780.
affiliate will participate Friday in a state-sponsored forum
to discuss the therapeutic use of marijuana. Governor Jesse
Ventura (I), who Wednesday announced that he "fully supports"
marijuana's medical use, will also attend the meeting, which is
being jointly sponsored by the Department of Health and the
Department of Public Safety.
NORML board-member Dr. John P. Morgan, a physician and
professor of Pharmacology at City University of New York
Medical School, will speak at the forum in favor of marijuana's
therapeutic value. "Marijuana's therapeutic uses are well
documented in the modern scientific literature," says Morgan,
who recently co-authored the book Marijuana Myths, Marijuana
Facts. "Politics, not medical science, has stood in the way of
marijuana's approval as a legal medication." Minnesota NORML
Chairman Aaron Neuman, who helped organize the forum, will also
be in attendance.
Several bills pertaining to the use and study of medical
marijuana are now pending before the Minnesota legislature.
Two of these, S.F. 1967 and H.F. 2164, seek to exempt patients
who use marijuana under a doctor's supervision from state
criminal penalties. House File 1364, sponsored by Rep. Scott
Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis), would establish an affirmative defense
of medical necessity for patients charged with violating state
marijuana laws. In addition, both houses are considering bills
that would appropriate $100,000 to conduct research trials on
the drug's therapeutic utility.
Organizers of tomorrow's event hope that it will encourage
lawmakers to move forward with several of these proposals.
"Our hopes for Minnesota is that by encouraging research we can
advance the acceptance of marijuana as an important medical
tool and ultimately address the legal constraints at a national
level," wrote Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm in a March 23
invitation letter. Malcolm noted that under a 1981 state law,
"the THC Therapeutic Research Act," Minnesota doctors are
permitted to conduct medical research on marijuana's
constituents.
Additional backing for medical marijuana reform came from
Gov. Ventura earlier this week. Speaking Wednesday at a
student question-and-answer forum, Ventura stated: "Medical
marijuana? I fully support it, absolutely. Who is the
government to tell someone, if they have AIDS or cancer,
what they should be taking?" Ventura speculated that his
mother, who suffered from respiratory disease and relied on
large amounts of narcotics to relieve her suffering, may have
benefited from the drug, and said that legalizing it for
medical use would not encourage the recreational use of
marijuana or other illicit substances.
Tomorrow's forum will take place from 8 a.m. to noon at
the Snelling Office Park's Mississippi Room, 1645 Energy
Park Dr., St. Paul.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre or
Paul Armentano of The NORML Foundation, at (202) 483-8751,
or Aaron Neuman of Minnesota NORML at (651) 334-8780.
