420
Founder
Irvin Rosenfeld, a 52-year-old stockbroker, says he reeks of the marijuana he has smoked for many years to treat rare bone tumors. He gets his pot for free from an unlikely source: the U.S. government.
Every month, Rosenfeld and six other Americans receive about 300 cigarettes each to alleviate health problems under an old but little-known U.S. program paid for by taxpayers.
These seven have the federal government's written permission to use, even though the Supreme Court ruled Monday that the U.S. government might prosecute sick people who use marijuana.
"I handle millions of dollars, and my clients know I smoke 10 to 12 joints a day, without euphoric effect," says Rosenfeld, who works for Newbridge Securities in Fort Lauderdale.
In 1982, Rosenfeld became the second person eligible for the "compassionate use" program, which began four years earlier as a result of a lawsuit.
Glaucoma sufferer Robert Randall had sued the U.S. government after he was arrested for using marijuana. A judge ruled Randall needed it for medical reasons. The government agreed to set up the program, run by the Food and Drug Administration.
The first President Bush discontinued the program in 1992 after Randall tried to help scores of AIDS patients become eligible, but he grandfathered in the 13 patients who were already enrolled. Several, including Randall, have since died.
"The government has done everything to hide the program since 1992," says Keith Stroup, founder and legal counsel of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Tom Riley, spokesman for the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, says the federal government is spending millions of dollars on research into marijuana's medicinal uses.
Riley says the government would be receptive to a non-addictive marijuana derivative with medical benefits, but it would be subject to FDA approval.
Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jun 2005
Source: Indianapolis Star (IN)
Contact: https://www.indystar.com/help/contact/letters.html
Copyright: 2005 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc.
Website: https://www.starnews.com/
Every month, Rosenfeld and six other Americans receive about 300 cigarettes each to alleviate health problems under an old but little-known U.S. program paid for by taxpayers.
These seven have the federal government's written permission to use, even though the Supreme Court ruled Monday that the U.S. government might prosecute sick people who use marijuana.
"I handle millions of dollars, and my clients know I smoke 10 to 12 joints a day, without euphoric effect," says Rosenfeld, who works for Newbridge Securities in Fort Lauderdale.
In 1982, Rosenfeld became the second person eligible for the "compassionate use" program, which began four years earlier as a result of a lawsuit.
Glaucoma sufferer Robert Randall had sued the U.S. government after he was arrested for using marijuana. A judge ruled Randall needed it for medical reasons. The government agreed to set up the program, run by the Food and Drug Administration.
The first President Bush discontinued the program in 1992 after Randall tried to help scores of AIDS patients become eligible, but he grandfathered in the 13 patients who were already enrolled. Several, including Randall, have since died.
"The government has done everything to hide the program since 1992," says Keith Stroup, founder and legal counsel of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Tom Riley, spokesman for the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, says the federal government is spending millions of dollars on research into marijuana's medicinal uses.
Riley says the government would be receptive to a non-addictive marijuana derivative with medical benefits, but it would be subject to FDA approval.
Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jun 2005
Source: Indianapolis Star (IN)
Contact: https://www.indystar.com/help/contact/letters.html
Copyright: 2005 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc.
Website: https://www.starnews.com/
