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- ~ Birth Rate's On the Decline ~
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No one wants to bring a new-born child into a dying atmosphere on planet Earth, where nations steeped in religion will continue to divide the world population - along with the threat of a nuclear bomb detonation from any number of pint-size plotting contenders. "Today" is a dead age. It's not Planned Parenthood, it's world apathy. - Reply to this comment
- Have you noticed how B. Obama has began developing a mouth-open cockiness profile lately?
It's the same look of superiority that O.J. Simpson exuded, standing with his wife in a stadium field, a month before his arrest for murder.
The Republicans should quit whining about where the country is headed. It's your fault dummies.
If you want to win in 2016 you'd better find more qualified people than a "Fear God" contender like Mark Rubio from Florida.
Americans don't need God in office. If they want God, they can find him on their own without a guide or a map.
Find a couple of thinker's with calm, low voices and a steadfast demeanor. No pulpit-pounders. Do you understand? Learn from Mitt. What did we win with him? Absolutely.... nothing! We LOST ground you nit-wits.
Kick God's butt out of politics. - Reply to this comment
- I am so finished with 60 minutes and CBS News. For that matter, all the so-called national news, CBS, NBC, ABC. What is with journalism in this country??? Americans aren't all liberal . . . or stupid. Steve Croft, you should be embarrassed.
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- 2:52 pm 54°
February 09, 2013 |
News
Veterans say marijuana eases PTSD
They're lobbying to expand Ariz. medical-marijuana law
Emanuel Herrera returned from war addicted to painkillers and barely able to tolerate his children's voices.
The former staff sergeant from Glendale had enlisted in the Arizona National Guard after 9/11, wanting to help his country. In 2006, while providing security for a convoy near Camp Anaconda in Iraq, his truck hit an improvised bomb. The blast turned the night into day, nearly destroyed his neck, damaged the discs in his back and left him with brain injuries and post-traumatic stress.
Last year, despite warnings from medical staff at the local veterans hospital, he began to smoke pot legally under the state's new medical-marijuana program to cope with the physical and mental pains of combat.
"My doctors shunned me and didn't approve of me doing it," said Herrera, a Purple Heart recipient. "One doctor said I could get some repercussions for doing it. But I did it legally. And I know for a fact -- I'm a walking testimonial -- that it works."
No one collects data on the number of veterans participating in medical-marijuana programs in Arizona or the other 16 states where it is legal. But veterans and program advocates say those who have served are turning to cannabis more and more to deal with the disabling symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries and chronic physical pain.
In Arizona, veterans are leading the push for health officials to add PTSD as a qualifying condition for the medical-marijuana program. Currently, only individuals with diagnoses such as chronic pain, cancer and other debilitating conditions qualify. Two other states include PTSD as a qualifying condition.
Dozens of veterans have written letters and testified at a public hearing at the Arizona Department of Health Services late last month about the benefits of cannabis, saying prescription pain drugs are inadequate.
But the federal government has sent mixed messages about its stance on the issue, with law enforcement opposing states' programs and VA medical staff allowing participation. Medical experts disagree on whether the drug helps or hurts veterans.
Veterans Affairs' policy
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in 2010 formally began to allow patients treated at its medical facilities to use medical marijuana in states where it is legal. But because the drug remains illegal under federal law, VA doctors themselves cannot recommend it today in 2013.
The directive "put to rest" concerns among some veterans and their families - that they could lose benefits if they tested positive for marijuana.
But distrust of the government still prevents some veterans from signing up with state medical-marijuana programs, instead opting to buy the drug -- and ingest it -- illegally.
As chief of staff at the Phoenix VA Health Care System, Dr. Darren Deering is in charge of 200 doctors who see 85,000 veterans a year, 9 percent of whom are diagnosed with PTSD. He said physicians are at the forefront of the trend and often grapple with balancing traditional therapy and medicine with marijuana.
"There's a lot of gray area here," Deering said. "I would like to think our physicians aren't making moral judgments, because that's not what our mandate is.
We can't deny patients care, and our physicians know that. But there might be times where we have to kind of "tailor their treatment plans" to take into account the marijuana use".
The VA asks patients to tell physicians if they are using marijuana because it almost always affects their care.
Typically, Deering said, physicians will alter patients' care until it is clear how the marijuana interacts with narcotics.
He said marijuana is shown to help with certain medical conditions, but there is "not a lot of scientific research" on how it interacts with prescription drugs yet.
Paula Pedene, a spokeswoman with the VA hospital, said medical staffers urge patients to first try intense therapy to treat PTSD instead of self-medicating with marijuana, herbal remedies and other methods.
"They live in a place that has passed this law, and it's their choice to use it," Pedene said. "The question is: How can we co-manage their care?"
She said the VA does not keep track of the number of patients who say they participate in the medical-marijuana program, nor do they report them to federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Justice or the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Both agencies oppose medicinal use of pot.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/20120530veterans-say-marijuana-eases-ptsd.html#ixzz2KRQ0L9LP - Reply to this comment
- Tuesday, 05 February 2013
~ News Release - Alert ~
Members of Congress To Introduce Federal Measure To Legalize Cannabis, Regulate Sales
Members of Congress will introduce historic legislation on Tuesday to permit for the regulated production and retail sales of cannabis to adults in states that have legalized its consumption.
Representative Jared Polis, (D-CO) is sponsoring legislation that seeks to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol.
Separate legislation to be introduced by Rep. Earl Bluemenauer (D-OR) seeks to establish a federal tax structure for retail cannabis production and sales.
Both Representatives, along with drug policy reform advocates, will discuss these measures at a teleconference this afternoon.
"When residents of Colorado and Washington voted to end their state's prohibition on marijuana last November, it was a watershed moment for our nation's move towards sane marijuana laws," said NORML Communications Director Erik Altieri, who will be speaking at today's teleconference. "But there remains a lingering conflict between state and federal law. These historic measures seek to resolve this conflict and empower states to dictate their own marijuana policies, without fear of federal incursion. NORML would like to thank the Congressmen for taking this brave step forward and encourages their colleagues in Congress to join them in calling for sensible marijuana law reform."
Representatives Blumenauer and Polis have also released a report today outlining the need for federal marijuana law reform, titled "The Path Forward: Rethinking Federal Marijuana Policy." The report states that "It is time for Congress to allow states and voters to decide how they want to treat marijuana. The current system is broken. It wastes resources and destroys individual lives, in turn damaging families and entire communities. It is past time to take action and stop this tragic waste in the future."
In the paper, the Congressmen also call for establishing a Congressional Working Group on Sensible Drug Policy. - Reply to this comment
- ~ De-Frocked Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony defended his tattered legacy Friday, in a sharply worded letter to his successor Jose Gomez, who stripped him of his administrative duties, while bowing to a court order releasing thousands of pages of secret files on sexually abusive priests. A resignation was also accepted from a "Bishop" Thomas Curry when papers revealed he and Mahony maneuvered to shield priests from prosecution and failed to call police about sex crimes committed against minors.
Citizen Mahony rebuked replacement Gomez for publicly shaming him, saying "he didn't even do it" after taking over Catholic leadership in 1985, and reiterated, "I already apologized two weeks ago! Unfortunately, I can't return to the 1980s and reverse (my) actions and decisions made then, but I handed Gomez a first class Archdiocese for protecting children and youth and he knows it." The fallout will get worse as parishioners begin to start reading these thousands of pages of documents that are posted on the archdiocese's website. We fought for 5-years to keep those damn files sealed!
Thomas Doyle, a Catholic canon lawyer, who worked for the Vatican's Washington D.C., embassy remarked how extremely rare it is that the Roman Catholic Hierarchy breaks ranks publicly, and rarer because they stick together like glue. The fact that "Gomez" said what he said, this had to have been cleared by Pope Ratzinger himself. They had to have discussed this with the Vatican. Mahony took the "fall".
Other sources in the Vatican, who spoke off-record because they did not have the authority to speak publicly commented, "It looks like Joe Ratz is in on this, and for all our liking, they should put "God's Rottweiler" in the dog pound where he belongs."
The person of interest, Roger Mahony reports hoping this will all fade into a bad dream and looks forward to an opulent retirement. - Reply to this comment
- 2/1/13 NORML
~ D.C. Court Rejects Challenge To The Prohibitive Classification Of Cannabis ~
Late 1970 - As a sop (concession) to the more conservative members of Congress, who were distinctly uncomfortable with the pending Koch (NY) amendment, and fearing that the commission might recommend legalizing marijuana, the 1970 (Koch, adopted amendment) "Controlled Substances Act" clearly stated that Marijuana would be "temporarily" placed under the most dangerous Schedule-1 (heroin) classification, pending receipt of the commission's report and recommendations due at the end of the year (1970).
The Congressional Record of Debate makes it clear that Marijuana's regulation to Schedule-1 (heroin) was a temporary measure, until Congress could benefit from the commission's report and reschedule cannabis accordingly.
But as we know, Marijuana remains classified under Schedule-1, nearly forty years after the commission set up to study marijuana called for its decriminalization." - Keith Stroup, The 40-year Fight for Marijuana Smoker's Rights - Reply to this comment
- Steve,
Disappointed in the softball interview you did with the Prez and Hillary. Thought you were a journalist first. - Reply to this comment
- ~ Where in the World is George W. Bush ? ~
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- DESPICABLE
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