Saturday, February 20, 2010

Marijuana laws loosen gradually around the globe
















Worldfocus: "During a recent rise in drug violence along the Mexican border, many critics of the drug war have called for a change in U.S. policy toward marijuana use.

Worldfocus compares current marijuana policy throughout the U.S. to policy in Europe and the rest of the world.

The American decriminalization of marijuana has been a gradual process, with New Jersey becoming the 14th state to allow marijuana for medical use in January.

This map shows 15 states that allow medical marijuana, including Maryland — a state not often included because the law there only reduces penalties for medical marijuana use.


Following New Jersey’s change, Emily S. Rueb wrote in the New York Times‘ City Room about the potential for medical marijuana in New York:

But though 14 states have now legalized medical marijuana, New York, which has relatively liberal possession laws and actually passed a medical-marijuana law in 1980 but never put it to use, remains forbidden ground for those who seek to relieve their symptoms with cannabis. This year, however, supporters of medical marijuana in Albany and elsewhere hope to harness what they see as growing momentum.

In an October 2009 Gallup poll, 54 percent of Americans said they were opposed to legalizing marijuana, while 44 percent — a historical high — said they were in favor of legalization.

Across the Atlantic, countries such as the Netherlands are famous for allowing the personal use and sale of marijuana, while many other European nations have decriminalized the drug to varying levels.

The Czech Republic legalized the cultivation of up to five marijuana plants for personal use on January 1. Here’s a map showing the range of European marijuana restrictions:
















The status of marijuana laws in Europe. (Iceland not to scale). Map: Wikimedia Commons

Europeans’ attitudes towards marijuana decriminalization are not as simple as some might assume. In his blog Travel as a Political Act, travel writer Rick Steves discusses the real Dutch view of marijuana policy:

The Dutch are not necessarily “pro-marijuana.” In fact, most have never tried it or even set foot in a coffeeshop. They just don’t think the state has any business preventing the people who want it from getting it in a sensible way. To appease Dutch people who aren’t comfortable with marijuana, an integral component of the coffeeshop system is discretion. It’s bad form to smoke marijuana openly while walking down the street. Dutch people who don’t like pot don’t have to encounter or even smell it. And towns that don’t want coffeeshops don’t have them. Occasionally a coffeeshop license will not be renewed in a particular neighborhood, as the city wants to keep a broad smattering of shops (away from schools) rather than a big concentration in any one area.

In Latin America too, drug laws have begun to loosen up, after decades of zero-tolerance policies. Mexico recently decriminalized the possession of up to 5 grams (0.18 oz.) of marijuana for personal use.

Global Voices blogger Issa Villarreal writes about the popular response to Mexico’s shift:

Reactions are mixed, but certainly two things always came up in discussions: the situation of violence and murder in several Mexican cities related to the narco and drug trafficking, and also the haste approval. It can be said that an important part of the distribution of the story was “hand to hand” through social networks and re-publishing in independent media, but not properly from newspapers, which also carries some critique. Among the discussions, the difference between legalization and decriminalization was a frequent one, considering that the latter holds specific limits of use.

Also from Global Voices, Juliana Rincón Parra writes about citizen groups around the world pushing for legalization:

There are groups of people advocating for the legalization of drugs, but what would that actually mean? From Hungary to Colombia, from youth to teachers, from cops and clergy, individuals and groups are taking to citizen media to put forth their arguments regarding this potentially controversial subject."

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Doctor to open pot clinic in Kalamazoo, MI to help patients

February 14, 2010, 7:00AM
mlive.com
0224778_4.jpgDr. David Crocker, 44, stands outside Michigan Holistic Health, a medical marijuana clinic he is opening on Monday. It will be the first full-time medical marijuana clinic in Southwest Michigan.
KALAMAZOO — Dr. David Crocker has never given a recommendation for a patient to use medical marijuana to treat a debilitating condition.

But that will change Monday when Crocker is set to open Michigan Holistic Health — the first full-time medical marijuana clinic in Southwest Michigan — at 500 W. Crosstown Parkway, near the corner of South Westnedge Avenue, in Kalamazoo.

“I think we’re going to be very busy, very fast,” said Crocker, 44. “This is a service that is really lacking in this area.”

A graduate of the University of South Florida’s medical school, Crocker’s most recent job was at the Veterans Administration’s Sierra Nevada Health Care System in Reno, Nevada, where he served as an interventional radiologist.

A strong belief in the healing and treatment properties of marijuana brought him to Michigan six months ago to become a medical-marijuana patient caregiver and practice medicine on the side, he said.

He eventually became a caregiver, allowing him to help up to five patients grow their marijuana and take the drug.

But while talking to John Targowski, a Kalamazoo attorney, he was urged by the lawyer to open a medical-marijuana clinic. To operate such a clinic, a person must either be a medical doctor or a doctor of osteopathy, according to state law.

 “I’ve wanted to do this for as long as I can remember,”  said Crocker, whose wife’s family lives in the area. “You could say that everything has just fallen into place.”

Few clinics
There are a handful of medical-marijuana clinics in the state.

One is in Jackson, another in Farmington Hills, a suburb of Detroit. Another clinic is the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation Clinic in Southfield, also near Detroit. It is one of several clinics the foundation operates in 11 states that have medical-marijuana laws.

Ricky G, who manages the Southfield clinic — which opened on Dec. 4, 2008, the day the medical-marijuana law took effect — said between 30 and 45 patients come into his clinic each day. About 60 percent are seeking a medical-marijuana recommendation to treat chronic pain, he said.

Two contracted physicians work for the clinic, seeing patients at the Southfield office as many as three days a week and crisscrossing the state on other days. The physicians will set up a mobile clinic in Kalamazoo on Feb. 25 to consult with those seeking to use medical marijuana.

Many doctors who are open to recommending marijuana to treat pain travel around the state, setting-up makeshift clinics in hotels to examine and consult with patients.

“It’s a traveling road show, if you will,” he said.

If the foot traffic at the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation Clinic in Southfield is any indication of the demand for medical marijuana, the Kalamazoo clinic is going to have plenty of business, he said.

“Demand is high and it’s growing. There are a lot of people to see,” he said. “Most of them are poor. They don’t have a lot of money, but we’re here to help them.

“I wish I had more physicians,” he said.

How it works
People who come to Crocker’s clinic in Kalamazoo will be asked to do the following:

  • Provide their medical records.— If they don’t have any medical records, a record of their condition or conditions would be started. For example, the person could keep a log of what hurts and the severity and frequency for a week or two.
  • Fill out a medical-history questionnaire.
  • Receive an examination. Crocker will answer any questions.
When the paperwork and examination are completed, Crocker will determine if the person qualifies to use medical marijuana. If they do, the clinic collects a $200 fee and helps the patient with paperwork that must be submitted to the Michigan Department of Community Health, which authorizes the required identification card indicating the person is a registered medical-marijuana user.

The clinic does not help a patient acquire their marijuana. If a patient doesn’t qualify, there is no charge for the visit.

To obtain a recommendation, the state lists conditions that qualify a person to receive medical marijuana. They include chronic pain, glaucoma, cancer, AIDS/HIV, chronic muscle spasms, multiple sclerosis, seizures and migraine headaches, among other conditions.

The Michigan Department of Community Health is inundated with applications, receiving 79 per day on average, officials said. Currently, applications filed in November are under review.
As of Feb. 5, 16,028 applications for medical marijuana had been received and 8,395 were approved, along with 3,487 caregiver registrations. Some 2,663 applications have been denied, mostly because of paperwork errors.

The medical-marijuana law states that a copy of the application can be used as a temporary ID card if the applicant hasn’t received their ID card or a rejection letter within 20 days of submitting their application. The state charges a $100 fee, reduced to $25 for low-income applicants, for the identification card.

Police: Avoid abuses
Capt. Joseph Taylor, commander of the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team, which targets illegal drug use in Kalamazoo County, said he has no problem with Crocker’s clinic as long as it’s run “ethically and legally.”

“I don’t see it as being a problem for us,” Taylor said. “I don’t see it being an area of difficulty as long as it isn’t run as a business that rubber-stamps (the recommendations) for people who might abuse it.”

Michigan’s medical-marijuana law was passed by voters in November 2008 and went into effect a month later. It allows registered patients to grow up to 12 marijuana plants and possess up to 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana.

Crocker said he knows that even though medical marijuana is legal to possess and use in the state by those with approval, pot is still a sensitive issue — especially for law enforcement.
“I’m going to do this tastefully,” he said. “I’m not here to slap local law enforcement or the more conservative members of this community in the face.

“I’m not here to create tension or trouble. I’m here to help patients.”


Michigan Holistic Health
What: Full-time medical marijuana clinic.
Where: 500 W. Crosstown Parkway, Kalamazoo.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.
On the Web: www.michiganholistichealth.com.
Practitioner: Dr. David Crocker.
Charge: $200 pays for a consultation and examination with Crocker, and the submission of paperwork to receive an identification card authorizing the use of medical marijuana. If a patient doesn’t qualify for medical marijuana, there is no charge.