People United for Medical Marijuana - Florida
What is marijuana?
The common name for the plant cannabis. There are hundreds of different strains, all having a different medicinal qualities. This allows the plant to treat a multitude of conditions. Some have no mind altering side effects and others have many. Different diseases need different treatment.
Why is it needed?
It works like no other drug. No pharmaceutical compound can imitate it’s healing properties. The most recent study indicates that marijuana can stop certain cancers from spreading. It has properties that protect the brain. In Parkinson's patients, it stops tremors and prevents further deterioration.
Will this lead to full legalization of marijuana?
There are 13 states who have made medical marijuana legal and have not passed legislation on full legalization. There is no evidence that this will happen.
For what is it prescribed?
Cancer, Parkinson’s, Huntington's Disease, Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, AIDs, chronic pain, glaucoma, hepatitis C, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV, epilepsy, Crohn's disease, anorexia, nail patella, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease), chronic nervous system disorders, cachexia or wasting syndrome, chronic or intractable pain, severe nausea, seizures, severe or persistent muscle spasms, diabetes mellitus, dystonia, fibromyalgia, gastrointestinal disorders, gliomas, hypertension, incontinence, MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus), osteoporosis, pruritus, sleep apnea, Tourette's syndrome, migraine headaches, depression, post traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit disorder, bipolar disorder, menstrual cramps and excessive bleeding, diarrhea, tuberculosis, elephantiasis, asthma, hemorrhoids, anemia, rabies, insomnia.
How is it administered?
It can be smoked, vaporized, or ingested. The required dosage is small enough to fit in a capsule. It can also be made into teas, tinctures, and edibles. Topical lotions can be used for treatment of headaches, muscle and joint pains.
Is it safe?
Yes. There has never been a known case of overdose. The lethal-to-effective ratio is 40,000 to 1. That of aspirin is 10 to 1. A recent study indicated there is no link between smoking marijuana with lung cancer. There are no adverse side effects such as stomach, liver, and kidney damage found in pharmaceutical drugs.
Why does marijuana work and pharmaceutical drugs don’t?
The truth is, nobody knows. There have been 63 compounds identified in marijuana. Many more unidentified. The pharmaceutical companies have been able to duplicate only three of them.
Isn’t Marinol the same as marijuana?
No. Marinol is a pharmaceutical drug that only replicates one compound found in marijuana. It has many side effects and has been reported to be more mind altering than marijuana. Marinol costs around $700 a month, compared to the pennies it costs to grow marijuana. Marinol also takes time to be digested, marijuana's healing properties can be achieved within six seconds through inhalation.
Is marijuana addictive?
Marijuana has no chemically addictive properties. It is less addictive than many pharmaceutical pain relievers. The addictiveness of marijuana is comparable to doing the crossword every morning or watching the news every night before you go to bed.
Is it a gateway drug?
There is no evidence supporting this claim. In fact, people start drinking caffeine, smoking cigarettes, and drinking alcohol years before they ever use marijuana.
What precluded it becoming illegal?
The cannabis plant was allowed as a prescription until it was removed from the US Pharmacopeia in 1942 because of political pressures following the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. During testimonies, one expert said "smoking marijuana turned me into a bat and I flew around the room." It was prescribed as pills, extracts, and whole plant tinctures. The US Dispensatory included cannabis as a medicine, and medical marijuana was legal until the Controlled Substance Act was created in 1970. Many medicines of the time included cannabis, including Bromidia, Dakata, Doctor Macalister’s Cough Mixture, Cannabis, U.S.P., Menovarian, Gano-dyne, and Mientholated Cough Balsam.
What do the Florida Courts say about Medical Marijuana?
Courts in Florida have decided in favor of Medical Marijuana. Three of the cases that determined that Medical Necessity is an allowable defense are: State vs Musikka, State vs Jenks, and State vs Sowell. In State vs Baranoff, a Medical Necessity Distribution defense was established allowing patients in need access to their medicine.
What is the position of the Federal Government on Medical Marijuana?
Marijuana is still classified as a Schedule 1 substance, defined as having "no medicinal qualities". However, for 30 years, the Federal government has been growing and distributing marijuana for medicinal purposes. Each member of the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program receives between 5 and 20 joints a day for their conditions. The Federal government, through the Department of Health and Human Services, holds the patent for cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants.
What does the President of the United States say about Medical Marijuana?
"The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind." – Said White House spokesman Nick Shapiro regarding DEA raids on Medical Marijuana patients around the country.
What organizations support medical marijuana?
Numerous health and medical organizations and other prominent associations have favorable medical marijuana positions, including: AIDS Action Council; AIDS Foundation of Chicago; AIDS Project Rhode rnIsland; American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM); American Anthropological Association; American rnAssociation for Social Psychiatry; American Bar Association; American College of Physicians; American Nurses rnAssociation; American Public Health Association; Americans for Democratic Action; Associated Medical rnSchools of New York; Being Alive: People With HIV/AIDS Action Committee (San Diego); California Democratic rnCouncil; California Legislative Council for Older Americans; California Nurses Association; California rnPharmacists Association; California Society of Addiction Medicine; California-Pacific Annual Conference of rnthe United Methodist Church; Colorado Nurses Association; Consumer Reports magazine; Episcopal Church; rnGray Panthers; Hawaii Nurses Association; Iowa Democratic Party; Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; Life rnExtension Foundation; Lymphoma Foundation of America; Medical Society of the State of New York; Medical rnStudent Section of the American Medical Association; National Association of People With AIDS; New Mexico rnNurses Association; New York County Medical Society; New York State AIDS Advisory Council; New York rnState Association of County Health Officials; New York State Hospice and Palliative Care Association; New York rnState Nurses Association; New York StateWide Senior Action Council; Inc.; Ninth District of the New York State rnMedical Society (Westchester; Rockland; Orange; Putnam; Dutchess; and Ulster counties); Presbyterian Church rn(USA); Progressive National Baptist Convention; Project Inform (national HIV/AIDS treatment education advocacy organization); Rhode Island Medical Society; Rhode Island State Nurses Association; Society for the rnStudy of Social Problems; Test Positive Aware Network (Illinois); Texas Democratic Party; Union of Reform rnJudaism (formerly Union of American Hebrew Congregations); Unitarian Universalist Association; United rnChurch of Christ; United Methodist Church; United Nurses and Allied Professionals (Rhode Island); Wisconsin rnNurses Association; Wisconsin Public Health Association; and numerous other health and medical groups.