Montel Williams At Capitol For Medical Marijuana

[sws4420]

Today, standing side by side with Montel Williams were both republicans and democrats. And right now, sponsors of medical marijuana legislation say they're confident it can pass.

Montel Williams says the biggest hurdle to legalizing marijuana for medical use is people seeing it as an illegal drug and not for what it would actually be, a medication.

“If we were sitting here talking about a substance that I call MD-644, nobody would even question it,” says Williams. “You don't question where perquisites come from.”

Williams goes on to say, “You wouldn't question where MD-644 came from. But the fact that I said marijuana, everybody goes crazy.”

Many standing with Williams today say they thought this in the past. But after years of evidence of marijuana's powerful pain relieving effects, they now support it. And they say with strict controls like those already in place for drugs like morphine, it shouldn’t be abused.

“We know from experience that these drugs which have medical benefit but which also can be highly addicting can be properly managed, properly prepared, properly produced, properly meet the needs of patients,” says John Eadie of the New York State Health Department.

Also announcing today they're on board with the idea was the New York State Nurses Association, the Association of Medical Schools in New York, and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.

Bruno says though there are some legal hurdles given ongoing questions of whether federal law allows or doesn't allow medical marijuana.

“Some of this is still going through the supreme court,” says Bruno. “But and that's what's being looked at are the federal laws and how do you live within those and at the same time be very specific as to the application to provide the relief that you're trying to relieve.”

Williams says even marijuana doesn't take all the pain away, but without it he says he would barely be able to live a normal life.

“Some days, I can literally walk around and on a scale of one to ten, it's a two. And I almost forget it's there,” says Williams. “But then when I forget it's there, it slaps me upside the head that it makes you remember it's there. So, some days are tough but today's one of the good days.”

Currently, medical marijuana legislation is heading for health committees in both the assembly and senate. Bruno says a bill could even come to a vote in the senate this session.


http://www.fox23news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=B12B567A-D873-4FDE-94D7-E99D2CF233A3

[trojanmiro]

pot helps out with many things besides cancer. also helps aids patients restore their appetite as well with chemo patients. its also none to help with extreme pain. i saw a special on 60 minutes or some crap about montel. he has some nerve disease where he can barely feel his feet unless its pain. its like when a part of your body falls asleep to the point that it hurts. it also affects his balance and cordination. he says that pot eases the pain and enables him to perform daily activities easier then without it. sno-boarding is also his latest hobby, because of the straps that come up the boot above the feet actually enable him to feel his feet.

[trojanmiro]

i forgot to mention that it helps old people with glaucoma also.

[sws4420]

I agree that it helps people. But there needs to be a way to extract whatever chemical it is that helps these people before it can be used in medicine. We can't have people just floating around smoking weed because doc said to.

[trojanmiro]

i do believe that they already have it available in pill form. i could be wrong though, ill look it up later.

[sws4420]

If they do, why is Montel pissing and moaning?

[trojanmiro]

MYTH: Medical marijuana users just have a legal excuse to party.

FACT: Most medical marijuana users are in great pain. For People with AIDS who suffer from Peripheral Neuropathy (PN) medical cannabis has been a godsend. In the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Report on Medical Marijuana they state that their only scientific finding (excluding anecdotal reports) was that marijuana was most effective for nerve pain. Around every nerve ending are a number of receptors of one kind or another. At every nerve ending in the human body there are fewer opiate receptors than cannabinoid receptors, which means that marijuana is far more effective for stopping nerve pain than opiate drugs, (which do not work for nerve pain very well at all).

MYTH: The pharmaceutical version of marijuana, known as Marinol ™ is just as effective as the organic plant form.

FACT: Marinol ™ is an incredibly poor substitute for the organic form. This refined pill form contains only one of the over thirty cannabinoids found in the plant form and the psychoactive side-effects of Marinol ™ are much harder to control. In addition, the drug form may not take effect for up to three or four hours. Ask an AIDS patient who needs to eat and take toxic drugs at specific times how that works for them. There have also been many reports of anxiety attacks among people taking the pill form.

MYTH: With all the anti-inflammatory drugs, the stomach drugs and the new, powerful opiate pain killers patients do not need organic marijuana.

FACT: As mentioned above, opiates will not work for nerve pain. Only marijuana works for brutal nerve pain. And since the overdose ratio of marijuana is so high that nobody could ever reach it, marijuana is much safer than opiate-based drugs. Medical marijuana is safer than aspirin. There are hundreds of patients who suffer from chronic arthritis and/or joint pain who have found relief through medical marijuana. Many patients with arthritis have been able to quit their opiate-based painkillers completely. Stomach medications can be used as complimentary drugs in addition to marijuana but there is no better stomach remedy on the planet than organic marijuana.

MYTH: Marijuana needs to be held in the lungs as long as possible to work.

FACT: The lungs are the most effective means of absorption. When any gas or smoke is taken into the lungs it is absorbed in under five seconds. Holding marijuana (or any other type of smoke) in the lungs causes unnecessary buildup of tar.

MYTH: Medical marijuana opens the door for recreational use.

FACT: There is absolutely no hard data to validate this assertion.

MYTH: Medical marijuana hampers the ‘War on Drugs’.

FACT: Medical marijuana does not hamper anti-drug efforts but it does show the absurdity of the ‘War on Drugs’. America’s anti-drug policies have imprisoned over two million Americans and caused untold suffering throughout the world. Prohibition has never worked and it never will. The ‘War on Drugs’ is more detrimental than drug use itself. And while education can help keep young people from using recreational drugs propaganda while only make those same youngsters leery of all anti-drug messages. We have gone from a recreational drug society to a pharmaceutical drug society and there are far more people using and abusing prescription drugs than street drugs.

MYTH: Marijuana smoke does more harm than good.

FACT: There are no studies that back this up. A recent study at U.C.S.F. showed that AIDS patients who smoke marijuana do not have a greater CD4 cell decline than those who don’t. Both Canada and Great Britain are working on an inhaler that utilizes all the cannabinoids without smoke, much like an asthma inhaler, but the Office of Drug Policy in Washington has been working to keep this form of medication from the American people.

[sws4420]

MYTH: Marijuana smoke does more harm than good.

FACT: There are no studies that back this up. A recent study at U.C.S.F. showed that AIDS patients who smoke marijuana do not have a greater CD4 cell decline than those who don’t. Both Canada and Great Britain are working on an inhaler that utilizes all the cannabinoids without smoke, much like an asthma inhaler, but the Office of Drug Policy in Washington has been working to keep this form of medication from the American people.
I've heard that a joint has the same amount of tar in it as 10 cigarettes, so I think this claim is dancing around the question a little bit. I agree with the use of the marijuana if the user doesn't become the stoned burnout that everyone reading this thread knows someone can and will become if they smoke weed on a regular basis. Its side effects would affect society by legally allowing these people to walk around stoned, opening the doors for all sorts of shit for employers, insurers, and the court system. It'd be only a matter of time before the discrimination suits started claiming that the stoners were being discriminated against because of their medical condition, when in reality all jobs cannot be done while under the influence of narcotics.


MYTH: The pharmaceutical version of marijuana, known as Marinol ™ is just as effective as the organic plant form.

FACT: Marinol ™ is an incredibly poor substitute for the organic form. This refined pill form contains only one of the over thirty cannabinoids found in the plant form and the psychoactive side-effects of Marinol ™ are much harder to control. In addition, the drug form may not take effect for up to three or four hours. Ask an AIDS patient who needs to eat and take toxic drugs at specific times how that works for them. There have also been many reports of anxiety attacks among people taking the pill form.
Then it cannot be called a "substitute". I think the medicinal marijuana people should be pushing these companies to develop a more effective drug that mimics marijuana's effects instead of asking the government to back off their anti-drug stance. Granted, it'd be easier for the government to just lay back and let anyone light up, but socially, it's irresponsible. In all honesty, it's not the government's problem if you're in pain. Your pain creates a market for pain relief. When that demand gets high enough, competitive free-markets will prevail and find a way to satisfy that demand by creating a supply. The company that comes up with a better drug will make the money off their drug, just like in every other aspect of a free market economy.

[trojanmiro]

I've heard that a joint has the same amount of tar in it as 10 cigarettes, so I think this claim is dancing around the question a little bit. I agree with the use of the marijuana if the user doesn't become the stoned burnout that everyone reading this thread knows someone can and will become if they smoke weed on a regular basis. Its side effects would affect society by legally allowing these people to walk around stoned, opening the doors for all sorts of shit for employers, insurers, and the court system. It'd be only a matter of time before the discrimination suits started claiming that the stoners were being discriminated against because of their medical condition, when in reality all jobs cannot be done while under the influence of narcotics.

Then it cannot be called a "substitute". I think the medicinal marijuana people should be pushing these companies to develop a more effective drug that mimics marijuana's effects instead of asking the government to back off their anti-drug stance. Granted, it'd be easier for the government to just lay back and let anyone light up, but socially, it's irresponsible. In all honesty, it's not the government's problem if you're in pain. Your pain creates a market for pain relief. When that demand gets high enough, competitive free-markets will prevail and find a way to satisfy that demand by creating a supply. The company that comes up with a better drug will make the money off their drug, just like in every other aspect of a free market economy.

ive also heard something like that about the tar crap, though i think i heard a joint has as much tar as a entire pack of smokes. i heard it from a high school teacher though an unsure if its fact or myth.

agree with you on the second opion also. not all people though who smoke are "burnouts". there are pain meds on the market now that also impaire your ability to operate machinery and drive a motor vehicle, those effects are listed on the side of the bottle. i am for medical marijuana in certain circumstances with strict regulations. there should be a process to go about getting the prescription. if you do get the prescription, your employer and dmv should both be made aware as to no create a dangerous environment around you.

[trashmonster]

I agree that it helps people. But there needs to be a way to extract whatever chemical it is that helps these people before it can be used in medicine. We can't have people just floating around smoking weed because doc said to.

they have that its called maranol...doesnt work worth shit. but if ya pop it open and sprinkle it on weed it works great. lol

[trashmonster]

MYTH: The pharmaceutical version of marijuana, known as Marinol ™ is just as effective as the organic plant form.

FACT: Marinol ™ is an incredibly poor substitute for the organic form. This refined pill form contains only one of the over thirty cannabinoids found in the plant form and the psychoactive side-effects of Marinol ™ are much harder to control. In addition, the drug form may not take effect for up to three or four hours. Ask an AIDS patient who needs to eat and take toxic drugs at specific times how that works for them. There have also been many reports of anxiety attacks among people taking the pill form.

it sucks major ass

[trashmonster]

MYTH: Medical marijuana hampers the ‘War on Drugs’.

FACT: Medical marijuana does not hamper anti-drug efforts but it does show the absurdity of the ‘War on Drugs’. America’s anti-drug policies have imprisoned over two million Americans and caused untold suffering throughout the world. Prohibition has never worked and it never will. The ‘War on Drugs’ is more detrimental than drug use itself. And while education can help keep young people from using recreational drugs propaganda while only make those same youngsters leery of all anti-drug messages. We have gone from a recreational drug society to a pharmaceutical drug society and there are far more people using and abusing prescription drugs than street drugs

the war on drugs was put into place for coke...not weed. but they probably figured that someone on weed is alot easier to bust lol