Here is the whole video that played on CNN, which is 6 times longer than what CNN posted to their website.

CNN's Joe Johns reports on one man's efforts over a quarter of a century to legalize marijuana use.

CNN covers me. Pinch me and wake me up. Not ideal, but good over all. I can't complain, or shouldn't anyway.

Willie nelson takes Ganja to Baby Jesus

Rolling To Victory

Portland grower sweeps the Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards with “Lemon Pledge,” “Train Wreck” and “Dynamite.”

A very mellow gathering of 100 medical-marijuana users got some
delicious news at the seventh annual Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards on
Saturday night.

“Apparently, the weed keeps getting better and better,”
announced Russ Belville, associate director of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws’ Oregon branch.

Belville based his statement on the scores this year’s 27
entries received from a lucky pool of 28 judges who are medical
marijuana patients. Each judge got a gram of each type to sample over
six weeks, and rate on appearance, taste, aroma, potency, smoothness
and medicinal effect.

This year’s top entry received an 80 percent score. Last year’s winner, 78.8 percent.

The crowd—many of whom made trips throughout the night to a courtyard
set up outside the Ambridge Events Center in Northeast Portland for
medical-marijuana cardholders to smoke and vaporize their stash—erupted
in applause.

Paul Stanford, head of a Portland-based national chain of medical-marijuana clinics called THC Foundation (see “King Bong,” WW,
Dec. 12, 2007), dominated this year’s awards. Stanford collected first,
second and third prize for his Lemon Pledge, Train Wreck and Dynamite
strains.

Stanford, who in past cannabis contests has never broken
into the top three, chalked the victory up to better tilling in his
outer East Portland garden. “We did a lot better job mixing our dirt
this year,” he told WW after collecting his glass trophies and ribbons.

David Verstoppen, the legendary Eastern Oregon grower who’s won the
past three years and fell victim to a violent attempted weed heist (see
“High-Jacked,” WW, Nov. 12, 2008), had to settle for an honorable mention in the “best aroma” category for his Medicine Woman strain.

“This man is living proof that you can’t keep a good man down,”
Belville told the crowd as Verstoppen took his ribbon after making the
five-hour drive from Long Creek.

The highlights of the evening were the cake table
(chocolate, custard or organic carrot) and the keynote address by Allen
St. Pierre, head of NORML’s national office in Washington, D.C. He
called for legalization as a matter of “cognitive liberty.”

“Of course we want to get high. This is self-evident. But
we can get plenty high under prohibition,” St. Pierre said. “There’s no
moral reason why you shouldn’t have access to this incredible plant.”

St. Pierre bemoaned what he called the “Balkanization” of
the marijuana movement, with hemp advocates, medical patients, pot
decriminalizers and hard-drug legalizers all staking out territory.

He noted a new phenomenon where retiring baby boomers are
returning to their youthful pastimes, including marijuana use, and
contributing more money to NORML. But he also said the organization
needs new ways of reaching out.

“What if we had marijuana dating services?” he asked. “How
many of us are with our spouse or partner because of the commonality of
cannabis?”

Michiganders go to clinic seeking pot to dull pain Southfield


Doctors there to give OK




BY TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Getting high was
the furthest thing from their minds as some of Michigan's first legal
medical marijuana users lined a Southfield waiting room Thursday.

But they all shared one thing: pain.

"I
pray it helps the pain like they say," said diabetic cancer patient
Renee Collinsworth, 48, of Croswell. She is hoping to dull the pain
from a 1986 motorcycle accident in Ferndale. "It's not all about
smoking it, either."

Michigan
became the 13th state to allow the use of medical marijuana to treat
debilitating illnesses after voters approved it in November. A licensed
physician must grant approval before patients can use the otherwise
illegal drug.

The
patients waiting in the Southfield office either wouldn't or couldn't
get approval from their regular doctor. So they were at the opening of
the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation Medical Clinics' new location in
Southfield. THCF Medical Clinics, a nonprofit headquartered in Oregon,
employs seven doctors in eight states solely to sign off on medical
marijuana use.

"If
a patient's personal care physician is unwilling to sign off on their
registration application packet, we have one that will," Brian
Schreckinger, a spokesman for the group, said Thursday. Schreckinger,
28, said he became involved in the cause after excruciating pain from
breaking his ankle skateboarding kept him up at night.

"Sometimes I'd be complaining I'd just want my foot chopped off," he said.

John
Smith, 33, of Monroe was trying to find relief from back pain stemming
from a 1998 car accident. And he doesn't want to use painkillers
anymore.

"I've seen so many people dying on pills," he said. "And that's all the doctors push on you is the pills.

"Sometimes I think it's in my head, and they're just keeping me doped up on pills."

Charles
Synder III, 31, of Flint suffers from Nail Patella Syndrome, a
hereditary condition that causes kidney issues and painful bone defects.

"When
I use cannabis, it doesn't take it 100% away," said Snyder, who
collected signatures to help put a measure legalizing medical use of
marijuana on the November ballot. "It doesn't put me in a zombie-like
state like OxyContin."

Eric
Eisenbud, a licensed ophthalmologist, examined each of the patients
Thursday. He interviewed them, reviewed their medical records, checked
their blood pressure and listened to their heart before handing out
authorizations.

Eisenbud
said he joined the practice looking for more fulfillment than he was
finding in practicing ophthalmology. At the clinic, "I see those
patients every day that make me feel that I'm doing a worthwhile
endeavor," Eisenbud said.

By Jennie Miller

C & G Staff Writer

SOUTHFIELD
— The first medical marijuana clinic in the state of Michigan opened
Dec. 4 in Southfield, following the controversial proposal voters
approved last month making the drug legal in the state for medical
purposes.

Run by The Hemp and Cannabis
Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Portland, Ore.,
the clinic currently has two licensed physicians on staff.

The
Southfield clinic joins 17 others in the country run by THCF: four in
Oregon, four in Washington state, three in Colorado, three in Hawaii,
one in Nevada, one in California and one in Montana. Thirteen states in
the U.S. have legalized marijuana for medical purposes.

“We’ve
helped over 45,000 patients in eight states now, including Michigan
since we opened up there last Thursday,” said Paul Stanford, president,
founder and CEO of THCF. “We plan on expanding to other cities in
Michigan.”

Prospective patients are advised to contact the clinic by phone and have their primary care physician provide medical records.

“We
require they have medical records from another doctor and be under
another doctor’s treatment,” Stanford explained. “All of our patients
have to have another current relationship with either an M.D. or a D.O.
to meet their medical needs.”

After the medical
records have been reviewed, the patient meets with a nurse or doctor at
the clinic for a non-invasive physical examination.

If
it is determined that the patient meets the criteria and could benefit
from the use of medical marijuana, a prescription will be provided, as
well as an identification card that registers the patient in the
program and the appropriate documentation needed to submit to the state.

Twenty-five
patients were seen by a physician on the first day of the clinic’s
operation in the Southfield Town Center. Two additional patient days
will be held in December, and another two are scheduled in January.

“As those days fill up, we’ll add more days,” Stanford said.

But marijuana is not provided by the clinic.

“We
explicitly do not distribute marijuana itself,” Stanford said. “We
don’t have anything to do with the procurement. We cannot assist in the
procurement in any way.”

According to the new
law, a patient who has been prescribed medical marijuana by a licensed
physician can purchase, possess and/or cultivate up to 2 1/2 ounces of
marijuana or 12 plants.

“For a patient who is
authorized to have medical marijuana, they can purchase it on the black
market,” Sanford said. “The people who are selling it are breaking the
law. It can be dangerous. But there are a number of organizations out
there that are currently being set up to help patients. We cannot
directly provide them or help them obtain cannabis, but there are a
number of resources in the community that they can pursue.”

Sixty
percent of THCF’s patients across the country suffer from some sort of
chronic pain, said Stanford, adding that in 30-40 percent of the
chronic pain cases, the patients also have severe muscle spasms,
seizures, cancer, AIDS, glaucoma or severe nausea.

“Cannabis
is a very safe and effective medicine for a variety of ailments,”
Sanford said. “What we find overwhelming is that our chronic pain
patients are able to get off of large quantities of debilitating
narcotics that they’re on and improve their quality of life through the
use of cannabis. And they don’t have to be subjected to the high
associated with marijuana to get the relief, through the use of the
leaf instead of the flower.”

But not everyone feels so positive about the passage of the proposal in Michigan.

“I
am not happy the (proposal) passed,” said Southfield City Councilman
Myron Frasier. “But the vote passed and that’s the law now and I expect
that they will follow the law. … That’s the one thing about voting: The
majority wins and the losers have to understand that they did their
best but they came out the losers. But I’m also not happy that we
happen to be the first place in the state they opened up one of these
clinics.”

City Council President Don Fracassi had a lot of questions with regard to the operation of the clinic and others like it.

“I
opposed the issue to begin with,” Fracassi said. “But it was approved,
and I don’t know how they’re going to regulate it. I don’t know how
they’re going to tell who’s got pain and who doesn’t. Is it people who
have no hope and are just suffering from pain? Or is it people who are
hurt and are doing this instead of taking an aspirin? Is it the medical
profession seeking other ways to make more money? I don’t know. I’m
just against the whole thing. There is enough medication out there to
serve the purpose. I think it’s going to be misused. I don’t see
there’s enough controls.”

The city is going to conduct research to learn how to handle the operation of the clinic.

“We
can go to other states that have passed the marijuana law and find out
how they deal with it so we aren’t trying to invent the wheel all over
again,” Frasier said. “We’ll take advantage of what’s already out there
and find out the good things they’ve done to help control it and that
will get us years ahead rather than try to find out on our own.”

Fracassi has every confidence that the Southfield Police Department has the situation covered.

“I
expect the Police Department to follow all the regulations, rules and
laws, and they will do that to the utmost,” Fracassi said. “Any
violations to the law the Police Department will take care of it.”

For more information about the clinic, visit www.thc-foundation.com/michigan

Marijuana medicine: Dozens of patients jam into monthly Spokane clinic seeking way to relieve their pain

Heather Lalley
Staff writer
March 8, 2007

They started filing into a Spokane hotel meeting room not long after 8 a.m. Wednesday, clutching folders stuffed with paperwork.

A young woman in a pink "on the naughty list" T-shirt. An older man with gray stubble. Another man helping a child with a coloring book. Some limped in, others walked with canes and others appeared healthy.

But they all shared a goal: To qualify for doctor authorization to possess medical marijuana.

More than 50 people had appointments scheduled Wednesday at Spokane's monthly medical marijuana clinic at the Quality Inn. No walk-ins allowed.

"We've got a shortage of chairs and tables," said Henrik Rode, a Portland man working the check-in table. "A lot of times I feel more like a bouncer than a welcomer."

For the past year and a half, The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation in Portland has held monthly clinics in Spokane, in addition to several Oregon cities, Denver, and Honolulu and Hilo, Hawaii. The clinics have been so popular in Spokane that organizers are considering adding a second day each month.

Most of the patients suffer from chronic pain, but the Spokane clinic also draws a significant number of people with multiple sclerosis, given the high rate of the disease in the area, said Paul Stanford, THCF's founder.

Since 2001, the group has seen some 17,000 patients, about half of whom were seeking new prescriptions; the others wanted to renew their authorizations, Stanford said.

No marijuana is dispensed at the clinics. Approved patients simply get a doctor's OK to use and possess the drug. Once they're given the go-ahead, it's up to them to grow or get the cannabis.

Washington is one of 12 states with laws permitting qualified patients to use and possess marijuana for medicinal purposes. Idaho does not have such a law.

Under Washington code, which was approved by voters in 1998, a patient must have a terminal or debilitating illness that a doctor believes would be aided by marijuana. Qualifying conditions include chronic pain, cancer, HIV, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and glaucoma.

Once approved, patients are allowed to possess a 60-day supply, however much that may be, for their own use.

As long as patients follow the law and have proper authorization, they will not be penalized for possessing marijuana, according to the state code.

"It's written to be an affirmative defense," Stanford said of Washington's law. "It's something you raise upon prosecution."

At the clinic, patients must present medical records showing they suffer from a qualifying condition.

"We don't set appointments for someone if we're not 99 percent (sure) that the doctor will approve them," Stanford said.

Each new patient then fills out a seven-page medical questionnaire and watches a 20-minute video detailing the medical marijuana law, as well as proper growing techniques (use a 400-watt metal halide lamp, along with an oscillating fan and an exhaust fan; spray Neem oil on the leaves to combat pests). The video also recommends inhaling marijuana vapors through a special volcano-shaped device rather than smoking the drug.

"Vaporization is a lot healthier," Stanford says in the video.

Patients pay $200 a year for their authorization from the group's doctor, 74-year-old Yakima heart surgeon Thomas Orvald said. A sliding fee is available for those with financial difficulties, Stanford said.

The nonprofit THC Foundation had revenue of about $342,000 in 2004, the latest year for which records are available.

Orvald has been doing humanitarian cardiovascular surgery around the world for the past seven years. He heard of Stanford's program about 36 months ago.

"I've always been sensitive to patients in pain," he said, wearing his white coat and sitting at a desk in a hotel room.

And, he said, few things can relieve chronic pain better than cannabis.

"I would stake my reputation on it," he said.

That's the hope of a 33-year-old Spokane mother who injured her back on the job in 2005.

The nurse's assistant, who asked that her name not be used, has seen doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists to ease the pain caused when a patient fell on her. "They shot steroids into my back," she told Orvald.

She has tried narcotics, but still the pain shoots down her leg, she said.

"Every day. All day. And it's sad," she said. "It broke me down."

She has smoked marijuana and found that it eased her symptoms and relaxed her back.

Orvald granted her a permit.

Spokane resident Darren McCrea founded the group Spocannabis in 2003. A medical marijuana user himself, he now helps other patients fill their prescriptions.

McCrea's group meets 1 p.m. every Saturday at Emmanuel Lutheran Church. They talk about the best ways to take the drug and also about how patients can get it.

At first, he was sending Spocannabis members to the medical marijuana clinic in Bellevue. Then he persuaded Stanford to bring his crew to Spokane.

McCrea uses a vaporizer to inhale marijuana to treat his rheumatoid arthritis and seizure disorder.

He also dries the plant and puts it in edible capsules.

"It helps in all these different areas and there are no side effects," he said.

Added McCrea, "It's morally unacceptable to force our sick and dying into our streets to scrounge for medicine."

To find out more

For more information on medical marijuana clinics in Spokane, contact The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation at (800) 723-0188 or www.thc-foundation.org.

photo caption:

Dr. Thomas Orvald, a Yakima heart surgeon with The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation talks with a client about lower back pain from a work related injury Wednesday. The foundation has been holding meetings in Spokane for the past 18 months to help people obtain marijuana legally for medical reasons. (Christopher Anderson The Spokesman-Review)