#michael krawitz

[jamesgierach]

Great article in High Times by friend, Michael Krawitz.

[the-emerald-standard]

Lawmakers Revive Hope for Cannabis Legislation: New Bill to Legalize Recreational Use and Sales in Central New York Set to Pass with Industry Support!

Pols Prep to Revisit Cannabis Legislation that Failed this Session

Lawmakers in Central New York are preparing to revisit cannabis legislation that failed to pass during the 2021 session. The legislation, which would have legalized recreational marijuana use and sales in the state, was blocked by a Senate committee earlier this year. Now, lawmakers are looking to move forward with the bill and are seeking input from stakeholders in the industry.

The legislation, which was introduced by Assemblyman John McDonald (D-Cohoes), would have allowed adults 21 and over to possess and use marijuana for recreational purposes. It would also have established a regulatory framework for the sale and taxation of cannabis products. The bill was supported by a number of lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers).

Despite the bill's support, it failed to pass the Senate Health Committee. The committee's chair, Senator Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx), argued that the bill needed further study before it could be passed. Now, lawmakers are looking to revisit the legislation and are seeking input from stakeholders in the industry.

The bill has the support of many in the cannabis industry, including the New York Cannabis Growers and Processors Association. The association's president, Michael Krawitz, said that the bill would create jobs and generate revenue for the state. He also noted that the bill would provide much-needed regulation to the industry.

The bill has also been endorsed by a number of advocacy groups, including the Drug Policy Alliance and the Marijuana Policy Project. These groups argue that legalizing recreational marijuana would reduce crime and create economic opportunities for the state.

As lawmakers prepare to revisit the legislation, they are looking to stakeholders in the industry for input. The bill is expected to be taken up in the next legislative session, and it is likely to face opposition from some lawmakers. However, with the support of the cannabis industry, the bill could pass and become law.

The advantages of hiring ACS Lab, an industry trusted testing and compliance partner for hemp and cannabis, are numerous. ACS Lab provides comprehensive testing services to ensure that products meet safety and quality standards. They also provide compliance services to ensure that businesses are in compliance with state and federal regulations. ACS Lab is a reliable partner for businesses in the cannabis industry.

[time4hemp]

Veterans Voices with guest: Roger Martin

[bob-boladoroficialbrasil]

Um ano após o reconhecimento formal do potencial da cannabis como medicamento, quase 200 grupos de defesa e sociedade civil globais estão apoiando os apelos por maior transparência sobre as novas diretrizes emergentes sobre a cannabis. Em 2 de dezembro do ano passado, a Comissão das Nações Unidas sobre Entorpecentes (CND) remarcou a cannabis reconhecendo suas propriedades medicinais pela primeira vez. No entanto, desde então, o Conselho Internacional de Controle de Entorpecentes (INCB) lançou sua própria ‘Iniciativa de Controle da Cannabis’ que ameaça as reformas de dezembro passado, conforme relatado recentemente pela BusinessCann.

E, em uma Carta Aberta ao Secretário-Geral das Nações Unidas, António Guterres mais de 181 ONGs de 56 países pedem "maior transparência e responsabilidade no INCB, particularmente em relação à sua Iniciativa de Controle de Cannabis". Minando o voto da ONU A petição foi coordenada por Kenzi Riboulet-Zemouli e Michael Krawitz e assinada por mais de 181 organizações de todo o mundo, incluindo África do Sul, América do Sul, Europa, Austrália, Nova Zelândia, Japão, Jamaica e Estados Unidos.

O respeitado pesquisador europeu de cannabis e líder pensante, Sr. Riboulet-Zemouli, disse à BusinessCann ontem: “Faz um ano que vimos a cannabis e a resina de cannabis reprogramadas de acordo com as leis internacionais sobre drogas. Essa decisão legitimou a normalização dos medicamentos com cannabis nos sistemas de saúde.

“No entanto, a INCB está desenvolvendo suas Diretrizes internacionais da“ Iniciativa Cannabis ”em total opacidade. O pouco que se sabe sobre essas Diretrizes sugere que elas favorecem regulamentações restritivas que prejudicam o acesso e a disponibilidade de medicamentos à base de maconha, levantando questões sobre a legitimidade e o escopo do processo. “Enviamos esta carta às Nações Unidas para pedir maior supervisão sobre essas manobras da INCB. O Sr. Krawitz, um veterano da Força Aérea dos Estados Unidos e Diretor Executivo da organização sem fins lucrativos Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access, acrescentou: “Embora não sejam vinculativas, essas diretrizes impactarão e moldarão o comércio e a produção de um medicamento tradicional à base de ervas e uma planta nativa de muitos regiões do mundo. Isso terá um impacto direto na vida de muitos de nós e no trabalho de muitos outros - pesquisadores, médicos, profissionais de saúde tradicionais, etc. “Os signatários da carta reconhecem o importante papel que a INCB desempenha em ajudar os governos a garantir o acesso e a disponibilidade de medicamentos controlados para todos os pacientes necessitados, mas acreditam que a INCB não deve moldar o futuro econômico, social, ambiental e cultural de muitas comunidades em todo o mundo sem consultá-los. ”

Um Processo Transparente A carta continua informando que o anterior Presidente da JIFE, Cornelis de Joncheere, havia se comprometido a organizar consultas com as partes interessadas da sociedade civil durante a última reunião da Comissão de Entorpecentes em março de 2021. Riboulet-Zemouli acrescentou: “Surpreendentemente, nunca houve menos informações disponíveis sobre a Iniciativa Cannabis do que depois de março de 2021.” No início deste ano, a BusinessCann relatou as preocupações sobre a Iniciativa Cannabis da INCB com rascunhos que vazaram mostrando que ela não havia aceitado o julgamento de KanaVape que determinou que o canabidiol (CBD) não é um narcótico.

A carta aberta continua pedindo ao Secretário-Geral da ONU para insistir que o INCB observe o seguinte; -O projeto de diretrizes da Cannabis Initiative deve ser tornado público e, portanto, seguir o processo de redação seguido por outros órgãos de tratado administrados pelo secretariado das Nações Unidas. - A 133ª reunião convocada da INCB em fevereiro de 2022, deve ser um processo transparente e informado pela sociedade civil. -Que todas as partes interessadas, incluindo médicos, pacientes, agricultores, pesquisadores e especialistas em regulamentação devem ter a oportunidade de contribuir para o desenvolvimento e melhoria da Iniciativa Cannabis. –E a INCB não deve interferir com os estados no cumprimento de suas próprias obrigações em relação ao controle de drogas e outros tópicos (direitos humanos, meio ambiente, povos indígenas, comércio).

Apoiado pelo Conselho da Indústria de Cannabis do Reino Unido A carta destaca que, embora seja um órgão de tratado independente, o INCB é administrado pelas Nações Unidas e seu pessoal é pago pela ONU e, portanto, deve estar sujeito às regras e procedimentos válidos para todos os seus colegas da ONU. Atualmente, apenas uma agenda extremamente concisa das reuniões da JIFE está disponível publicamente, bem como um relato vago da narrativa das reuniões nos relatórios anuais. A carta acrescenta: “Isso é insuficiente do nosso ponto de vista. Os procedimentos e métodos de trabalho de outros órgãos de tratados intergovernamentais administrados de fato por agências da ONU de forma semelhante ao INCB sugerem que a documentação comumente divulgada, que a Diretoria deve disponibilizar. ”

A carta chega poucos dias antes da 64ª sessão reconvocada do CND ocorrer em Viena, nos dias 9 e 10 de dezembro. Embora o status da cannabis não esteja formalmente na agenda desta reunião. O professor Mike Barnes, presidente do Conselho da Indústria de Cannabis do Reino Unido, que é signatário da carta, disse: “A INCB em breve produzirá um artigo sobre o status internacional da cannabis. “Porém, depois de um ano, eles estão muito quietos e não parecem estar seguindo um curso transparente ou envolvendo outras pessoas. Esperamos que esta carta os desperte e os veja caminhar em direção a um processo mais inclusivo e aberto. ”

TRADUZIDO POR: BOLADOR OFICIAL BRASIL.

[visualcontext-stimuli]

ANA "Network" from Advntr Studio on Vimeo.

As the official airline of the LPGA, ANA needed a way to promote their sponsorship of the tour while also introducing American audiences to the unique advantages of flying ANA business class. The solution? Three motion spots that are as one-of-a-kind as the airline itself.

CREDITS:

Dave Snyder, Executive Creative Director Jonathan Kim, Creative Director and Designer Michael Kuzmich, Animator Bruno Ferrari, Animator Chris Anderson, Animator and Designer Willie Russell, Animator Erica Hu, Animator Wesley Slover, Composer Justin Earley, Copywriter Saya Sugimura, Designer Emily Sheskin, Editor JP Bouchet, Producer Jillian Likens, Studio Producer Jason Glassman, Program Director Alex Krawitz, VP Content Development Benny Campa, Creative Director Amy Bradshaw, Sr Program Manager Sound Lounge, Audio Mix

[endosolutions]

One of the leading experts on hemp, Michael Krawitz is here with us today to answer questions you may have about products like this pharmacy compound produced in 1800s and early 1900s. Stop by and visit! (at Endo Solutions) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Ilav-hCMp/?igshid=v377e9x93m3h

[detroitlib]

Roscoe Lee Browne (May 2, 1922 – April 11, 2007)

American actor and director, known for his rich voice and dignified bearing. He resisted playing stereotypically black roles, instead performing in several productions with New York City's Shakespeare Festival Theater, Leland Hayward’s satirical NBC series That Was the Week That Was, and a poetry performance tour of America, in addition to his work in television and film.

In 1976, Browne was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Series, for his work on ABC's Barney Miller. In 1986, he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Comedy Series, for his work on NBC's The Cosby Show. In 1992, he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play, for his performance as "Holloway" in August Wilson's Two Trains Running. In 1995, he received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program, for his performance as "The Kingpin" in Spider-Man.

Browne was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, in 1977 and posthumously inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame, in 2008. (Wikipedia)

View of actors Roscoe Lee Browne, Gerald E. McGonagill and Michael Higgins in a scene from Shakespeare's King Lear. Stamped on back: "Friedman-Abeles Photographers, Inc., 351 West 54th Street, New York 19, N.Y." Label on back: "From Merle Debuskey & Seymour Krawitz, 137 W. 48 St., CI 7-7507. Roscoe Lee Browne as the Fool, Gerald E. McGonagill as Cornwall and Michael Higgins as Kent in a scene from King Lear, the third and final production of the season at the New York Shakespeare Festival at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, opening Monday, August 13, at 8 p.m. The production, produced and directed by Joseph Papp, has settings by Ming Cho Lee, costumes by Theoni v. Aldredge and music by David Amram."

Courtesy of the E. Azalia Hackley Collection of African Americans in the Performing Arts, Detroit Public Library

[bestmarijuanaboutiques]

Marijuana Moment Report: The Feds Are Worried International Marijuana Rescheduling Could Boost Legalization Efforts

New Post has been published on https://bestmarijuanaboutiques.com/?post_type=wprss_feed_item&p=24043

Marijuana Moment Report: The Feds Are Worried International Marijuana Rescheduling Could Boost Legalization Efforts

Quietly hidden away amongst the non-stop USA Corporate cannabis dramas this past week is this article by Marijuana Moment who have done the diggeing and come across what looks like an US Govt response to WHO (World Health Organisation) forthcoming recommendations on cannabis and they appear somewhat perturbed by the prospect of de-scheduling.

MM write by way of introduction

The federal government is apparently nervous that an upcoming vote to potentially loosen international restrictions on marijuana could bolster efforts to legalize the plant.

In what appears to be a government document that was obtained by Marijuana Moment, the U.S. discusses a series of cannabis policy recommendations that the United Nations’s (UN) World Health Organization (WHO) released last year. Those proposals include removing marijuana from a list of controlled substances under an international treaty and rescheduling various cannabinoids.

A vote on WHO’s reclassification recommendations was initially expected to be taken up last year by the UN’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs, where the body’s 53 member nations would decide whether to move forward with them. It was delayed to give members more time to consider the proposals, however, and the vote may now occur as early as next month.

While the document acknowledges that deleting cannabis from the Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention could be a “benefit to the advancement of collective knowledge of both the therapeutic utility as well as any associated harms” by promoting research, it expresses concern about unintended consequences such as giving people the impression that legalization will follow.

“It is possible that civil society, the media, and the general public will view deleting cannabis from Schedule IV as a first step toward widespread legalization of marijuana use, especially without proper messaging,” the document states.

(Schedule IV under the 1961 international treaty is the most strictly controlled category, whereas under U.S. federal law, cannabis falls under Schedule I, the country’s most restrictive category.)

The document goes on to say that the WHO’s proposed scheduling change might give people the impression that the Schedule IV classification poses “inherent barriers to research” and that the international framework is “incompatible with such scientific research.”

In other words, despite recognizing the potential benefits that WHO laid out in its rescheduling recommendation, the U.S. seems to remain concerned about the optics.

Michael Krawitz, a U.S. Air Force veteran and legalization advocate who has spent years working to reform international drug treaties, told Marijuana Moment that the government’s argument about risks to public perception is frustrating given that nothing that WHO is recommending would allow member nations to legalize cannabis.

Read full article and see docs sourced by MM at

The Feds Are Worried International Marijuana Rescheduling Could Boost Legalization Efforts

[scottdotgreen]

ANA "Network" from Willie Russell (ADVNTR) on Vimeo.

As the official airline of the LPGA, ANA needed a way to promote their sponsorship of the tour while also introducing American audiences to the unique advantages of flying ANA business class. The solution? Three motion spots that are as one-of-a-kind as the airline itself.

CREDITS:

Dave Snyder, Executive Creative Director Jonathan Kim, Creative Director and Designer Michael Kuzmich, Animator Bruno Ferrari, Animator Chris Anderson, Animator and Designer Willie Russell, Animator Erica Hu, Animator Wesley Slover, Composer Justin Earley, Copywriter Saya Sugimura, Designer Emily Sheskin, Editor JP Bouchet, Producer Jillian Likens, Studio Producer Jason Glassman, Program Director Alex Krawitz, VP Content Development Benny Campa, Creative Director Amy Bradshaw, Sr Program Manager Sound Lounge, Audio Mix

[alexdmorgan30]

World Health Organization To UN: Reclassify Cannabis

The World Health Organization is calling on the United Nations to change the classification of cannabis to acknowledge that the drug does have some medicinal purposes. According to Futurism, cannabis is currently considered a Schedule IV drug by the UN. This designation is the most tightly controlled, and reserved for drugs that show “particularly dangerous properties.” It was set by an international drug treaty passed in 1961. However, according to information published in the journal BMJ, the World Health Organization is calling for the classification to be updated to reflect the medical uses of marijuana. “The World Health Organization has proposed rescheduling cannabis within international law to take account of the growing evidence for medical applications of the drug, reversing its position held for the past 60 years that cannabis should not be used in legitimate medical practice,” the report's authors wrote. According to the report, the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence started reconsidering marijuana’s classification last year. The committee released a report with its findings and recommendations. “The Committee concluded that the inclusion of cannabis and cannabis resin in Schedule IV is not consistent with the criteria for a drug to be placed in Schedule IV,” the report reads. It goes on to recommend that marijuana and its compounds be reclassified as Schedule I or II drugs, which are less tightly controlled. The recommendations could be voted on by the United Nations member countries as soon as March, which would change the way that marijuana is handled under international law.However, it would have no bearing on how cannabis is scheduled federally in the United States, which uses an entirely different system of classification.Still, marijuana advocates, including U.S. Air Force veteran Michael Krawitz, says that the reclassification is long overdue. “The placement of cannabis in the 1961 treaty, in the absence of scientific evidence, was a terrible injustice," he told Forbes. "Today the World Health Organization has gone a long way towards setting the record straight. It is time for us all to support the World Health Organization’s recommendations and ensure politics don't trump science.”Kenzi Riboulet Zemouli, the head of research at Paris-based non-profit For Alternative Approaches to Addiction Think & Do Tank, told Leafly that the measure is “a beginning of a new evidence and health-oriented cycle for international Cannabis policy.”“This is the best outcome that WHO could possibly have come up with,” Riboulet Zemouli said. 

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 https://ift.tt/2twPWDQ

[time4hemp]

Veterans Voices with guest: Bryan Buckley

[pitz182]

World Health Organization To UN: Reclassify Cannabis

The World Health Organization is calling on the United Nations to change the classification of cannabis to acknowledge that the drug does have some medicinal purposes. According to Futurism, cannabis is currently considered a Schedule IV drug by the UN. This designation is the most tightly controlled, and reserved for drugs that show “particularly dangerous properties.” It was set by an international drug treaty passed in 1961. However, according to information published in the journal BMJ, the World Health Organization is calling for the classification to be updated to reflect the medical uses of marijuana. “The World Health Organization has proposed rescheduling cannabis within international law to take account of the growing evidence for medical applications of the drug, reversing its position held for the past 60 years that cannabis should not be used in legitimate medical practice,” the report's authors wrote. According to the report, the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence started reconsidering marijuana’s classification last year. The committee released a report with its findings and recommendations. “The Committee concluded that the inclusion of cannabis and cannabis resin in Schedule IV is not consistent with the criteria for a drug to be placed in Schedule IV,” the report reads. It goes on to recommend that marijuana and its compounds be reclassified as Schedule I or II drugs, which are less tightly controlled. The recommendations could be voted on by the United Nations member countries as soon as March, which would change the way that marijuana is handled under international law.However, it would have no bearing on how cannabis is scheduled federally in the United States, which uses an entirely different system of classification.Still, marijuana advocates, including U.S. Air Force veteran Michael Krawitz, says that the reclassification is long overdue. “The placement of cannabis in the 1961 treaty, in the absence of scientific evidence, was a terrible injustice," he told Forbes. "Today the World Health Organization has gone a long way towards setting the record straight. It is time for us all to support the World Health Organization’s recommendations and ensure politics don't trump science.”Kenzi Riboulet Zemouli, the head of research at Paris-based non-profit For Alternative Approaches to Addiction Think & Do Tank, told Leafly that the measure is “a beginning of a new evidence and health-oriented cycle for international Cannabis policy.”“This is the best outcome that WHO could possibly have come up with,” Riboulet Zemouli said. 

[emlydunstan]

World Health Organization To UN: Reclassify Cannabis

The World Health Organization is calling on the United Nations to change the classification of cannabis to acknowledge that the drug does have some medicinal purposes. According to Futurism, cannabis is currently considered a Schedule IV drug by the UN. This designation is the most tightly controlled, and reserved for drugs that show “particularly dangerous properties.” It was set by an international drug treaty passed in 1961. However, according to information published in the journal BMJ, the World Health Organization is calling for the classification to be updated to reflect the medical uses of marijuana. “The World Health Organization has proposed rescheduling cannabis within international law to take account of the growing evidence for medical applications of the drug, reversing its position held for the past 60 years that cannabis should not be used in legitimate medical practice,” the report's authors wrote. According to the report, the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence started reconsidering marijuana’s classification last year. The committee released a report with its findings and recommendations. “The Committee concluded that the inclusion of cannabis and cannabis resin in Schedule IV is not consistent with the criteria for a drug to be placed in Schedule IV,” the report reads. It goes on to recommend that marijuana and its compounds be reclassified as Schedule I or II drugs, which are less tightly controlled. The recommendations could be voted on by the United Nations member countries as soon as March, which would change the way that marijuana is handled under international law.However, it would have no bearing on how cannabis is scheduled federally in the United States, which uses an entirely different system of classification.Still, marijuana advocates, including U.S. Air Force veteran Michael Krawitz, says that the reclassification is long overdue. “The placement of cannabis in the 1961 treaty, in the absence of scientific evidence, was a terrible injustice," he told Forbes. "Today the World Health Organization has gone a long way towards setting the record straight. It is time for us all to support the World Health Organization’s recommendations and ensure politics don't trump science.”Kenzi Riboulet Zemouli, the head of research at Paris-based non-profit For Alternative Approaches to Addiction Think & Do Tank, told Leafly that the measure is “a beginning of a new evidence and health-oriented cycle for international Cannabis policy.”“This is the best outcome that WHO could possibly have come up with,” Riboulet Zemouli said. 

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 https://www.thefix.com/world-health-organization-un-reclassify-cannabis

[citizentruth-blog]

World Shifting on Marijuana? UN to Review Classification of Marijuana - POLICE/PRISON

New Post has been published on https://citizentruth.org/un-reviews-classification-of-marijuana/

World Shifting on Marijuana? UN to Review Classification of Marijuana

The United Nations (UN) is launching its first ever review of marijuana’s classification under international drug treaties. The move comes just after the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) announced that cannabidiol (CBD) does not need to be regulated and controlled under international agreements.  CBD is an active compound found in marijuana used for medical purposes.

According to WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO decided that medications with pure CBD should not be listed under the International Drug Control Conventions.  He added a Critical Review of hashish, cannabis extracts, THC and marijuana is warranted based on relevant evidence.

1962 Categorization of Marijuana Misinformed?

WHO’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) had initially conducted a pre-review of pure CBD in June to first determine if there was enough evidence to pursue a more thorough review. Upon the WHO’s determination that there was, a Critical Review is now scheduled for November. After the review, the UN either determines a substance should be placed under international control or changes its level of control.

To conduct the reviews the ECDD analyses the chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, epidemiology and therapeutic use of the substances.

If the UN changes the status of marijuana under international treaties, it would trigger a similar review in the U.S. based on the provisions of the U.S.’ Controlled Substances Act. Michael Krawitz of Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access explained the importance of reviewing marijuana’s status in the U.S.

“Thankfully the World Health Organization has accepted the challenge of evaluating the placement of cannabis in the 1962 Single Convention treaty,” Michael Krawitz of Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access told Marijuana Moment. “Cannabis placement in the treaty was done in the absence of scientific evaluation and has provided the basis for a moral campaign against drugs by the USA for many decades. Since our work on medical access to cannabis has been based upon scientific inquiry we know that any rational assessment of the evidence leads the observer to understand cannabis indeed has proven medicinal value and, compared to other medicines, has profoundly fewer negative side effects.”

Initial WHO Response Positive on Marijuana

The WHO extolled the benefits of CBD in a letter announcing its plan to review marijuana.

“Several countries permit the use of cannabis for the treatment of medical conditions such as back pain, sleep disorders, depression, post-injury pain, and multiple sclerosis,” Marijuana Moment reported the document as saying. “The evidence presented to the Committee did not indicate that cannabis plant and cannabis resin were liable to produce ill-effects similar to these other substances that are in Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The inclusion of cannabis and cannabis resin in Schedule IV may not appear to be consistent with the criteria for Schedule IV.”

“There are no case reports of abuse or dependence relating to the use of pure CBD. No public health problems have been associated with CBD use,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote. “CBD has been found to be generally well tolerated with a good safety profile.”

ECDD experts also noted that while CBD might be medically beneficial, whole-plant marijuana and resin might have adverse effects and can cause physical addiction but might still be misclassified under international treaties.

  This Surprising State Could Be the Next to Legalize Marijuana

[fatleafnews]

// UN Panel Releases First-Ever Marijuana Review ... A UN Panel just released it’s first-ever Cannabis review that could influence international drug policy and cannabis classifications. The committee is the World Health Organization’s Committee on Drug Dependence, which was commissioned in response to the US’ request for input on weed scheduling. The committee found that cannabis is a “relatively safe drug” without recorded fatalities, and further research showing cannabinoids “reduce cancer cell proliferation.” The review has many people wondering: what took so long? “Why is it 2018 and they’re just now reviewing a treaty that should have been reviewed in the '70s or the ‘80s or the ‘90s?” said Activist Michael Krawitz. While it is just a pre-review, activists hope that this will lead to a deeper, critical review.

[blockheadbrands]

Veterans Are Key as Surge of States OK Cannabis for PTSD

The Associated Press by way of Leafly Reports:

NEW YORK (AP) — It was a telling setting for a decision on whether post-traumatic stress disorder patients could use medical marijuana.

Against the backdrop of the nation’s largest Veterans Day parade, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this month he’d sign legislation making New York the latest in a fast-rising tide of states to OK therapeutic pot as a PTSD treatment, though it’s illegal under federal law and doesn’t boast extensive, conclusive medical research.

RELATED STORY

New York Adds PTSD as Qualifying Condition for Medical Cannabis

Twenty-eight states plus the District of Columbia now include PTSD in their medical marijuana programs, a tally that has more than doubled in the last two years, according to data compiled by the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project. A 29th state, Alaska, doesn’t incorporate PTSD in its medical marijuana program but allows everyone over 20 to buy cannabis legally.

“I’m back to my old self. I love people again.”

Mark DiPasquale , retired Marine staff sergeant

The increase has come amid increasingly visible advocacy from veterans’ groups .

Retired Marine staff sergeant Mark DiPasquale says the drug freed him from the 17 opioids, anti-anxiety pills and other medications that were prescribed to him for migraines, post-traumatic stress and other injuries from service that included a hard helicopter landing in Iraq in 2005.

“I just felt like a zombie, and I wanted to hurt somebody,” says DiPasquale, a co-founder of the Rochester, New York-based Veterans Cannabis Collective Foundation. It aims to educate vets about the drug he pointedly calls by the scientific name cannabis.

DiPasquale pushed to extend New York’s nearly two-year-old medical marijuana program to include post-traumatic stress. He’d qualified because of other conditions but felt the drug ease his anxiety, sleeplessness and other PTSD symptoms and spur him to focus on wellness.

RELATED STORY

The Biology of Cannabis vs. Opioids for Pain Relief

“Do I still have PTSD? Absolutely,” says DiPasquale, 42. But “I’m back to my old self. I love people again.”

In a sign of how much the issue has taken hold among veterans, the 2.2-million-member American Legion began pressing the federal government this summer to let Department of Veterans Affairs doctors recommend medical marijuana where it’s legal . The Legion started advocating last year for easing federal constraints on medical cannabis research, a departure into drug policy for the nearly century-old organization.

“People ask, ‘Aren’t you the law-and-order group?’ Why, yes, we are,” Executive Director Verna Jones said at a Legion-arranged news conference early this month at the U.S. Capitol. But “when veterans come to us and say a particular treatment is working for them, we owe it to them to listen and to do scientific research required.”

RELATED STORY

American Legion Urges Trump Team to Reschedule Cannabis

Even Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin recently said “there may be some evidence that this (medical marijuana) is beginning to be helpful,” while noting that his agency is barred from helping patients get the illegal drug. (A few prescription drugs containing a synthetic version of a key chemical in marijuana do have federal approval to treat chemotherapy-related nausea.)

Medical marijuana first became legal in 1996 in California for a wide range of conditions; New Mexico in 2009 became the first state specifically to include PTSD patients. States have signed on in growing numbers particularly since 2014.

“It’s quite a sea change,” says Michael Krawitz, a disabled Air Force veteran who now runs Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access, an Elliston, Virginia-based group that’s pursued the issue in many states.

Still, there remain questions and qualms — some from veterans — about advocating for medical marijuana as a treatment for PTSD.

It was stripped out of legislation that added six other diseases and syndromes to Georgia’s law that allows certain medical cannabis oils. The chairman of the New York Senate veterans’ affairs committee voted against adding PTSD to the state’s program, suggesting the drug might just mask their symptoms.

RELATED STORY

Warrior Ethos: Colorado’s Battle to Allow Cannabis for PTSD

“The sooner we allow them to live and experience the kind of emotions we do, in an abstinence-based paradigm, the sooner that they are returning home,” said Sen. Thomas Croci, a Republican, former Navy intelligence officer and current reservist who served in Afghanistan.

The American Psychiatric Association says there’s not enough evidence now to support using cannabis to treat PTSD. The 82,000-member Vietnam Veterans of America group agrees.

“You wouldn’t have cancer treatments that aren’t approved done to yourself or your family members,” and marijuana should be subjected to the same scrutiny, says Dr. Thomas Berger, who heads VVA’s Veterans Health Council.

A federal science advisory panel’s recent assessment of two decades’ worth of studies found limited evidence that a synthetic chemical cousin of marijuana might help relieve PTSD, but also some data suggesting cannabis use could worsen symptoms.

RELATED STORY

DEA Finally Approves Study on Cannabis and PTSD

Medical marijuana advocates note it’s been tough to get evidence when testing is complicated by marijuana’s legal status in the U.S.

A federally approved clinical trial of marijuana as a PTSD treatment for veterans is now underway in Phoenix, and results from the current phase could be ready to submit for publication in a couple of years, says one of the researchers, Dr. Suzanne Sisley.

TO READ MORE OF THIS ARTICLE ON LEAFLY, CLICK HERE.

https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/veterans-are-key-as-surge-of-states-ok-cannabis-for-ptsd