Jared Robert Senseman, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger

(Photo: Jared Robert Senseman, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger)
 
OXFORD, Miss. — The only reason 73-year-old Elvy Musikka still has her sight, she says, is she’s been smoking pot for the last 30 years.
“In 1975, my doctor told me if I didn’t start using marijuana, I’d go blind,” said Musikka. “Shortly thereafter I found out that, indeed, it was the only thing that would help me with my glaucoma.”
Musikka is one of only four people still enrolled in the federal government’s Investigational New Drug program, which allows a small number of patients to use medical marijuana grown at the University of Mississippi. The program stopped accepting new participants in 1992 but allowed patients already in the program to continue receiving their prescriptions. At its peak, the program provided pot for 30 patients.
“All of us admitted in the program were required to prove to the FDA, DEA and NIDA that marijuana was the safest and most efficient treatment available for us,” she said. “The bottom line for me was that I was losing my sight.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/28/medical-marijuana-lab-in-mississippi/1796475/

Marcus Lütticke, John Blau

 
A German court has ruled in favor of allowing seriously ill patients to grow their own cannabis for medical treatment. But the ruling, with certain stipulations, could still prevent self-cultivation for some patients.
Michael F. is seriously ill. For more than 20 years, the craftsman from the western German city of Mannheim has suffered from multiple sclerosis. He has difficulty speaking, often suffers from convulsions and says cannabis gives him relief.
Legal and affordable
The medical effect of cannabis is widely accepted, but for many people like Michael F. a legal and affordable cannabis treatment is difficult in Germany. That could change following a recent ruling, which has not yet gone into effect, by the Federal Administrative Court in Münster.
A German court has weighed in favor of allowing patients to grow their own cannabis
Under strict conditions, severely ill people in Germany may now be allowed to grow cannabis at home. Those for whom no other therapies are available or effective but may receive a medical benefit from cannabis can apply to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) for permission to treat themselves with their home-grown cannabis, when its use is monitored by their doctor.
“If an affordable treatment option is missing, a license for personal cultivation of cannabis has to be taken into consideration – at the discretion of the BfArM,” the court ruled.
Previously, all requests for personal cultivation had been rejected by the Federal Ministry of Health.
 
Full Article:
http://www.dw.de/german-court-allows-patients-to-grow-own-pot/a-16480968

http://pigeonsandplanes.com/2012/12/a-snoop-dogg-portrait-made-from-marijuana/
 

AlterNet / By Kristen Gwynne

Photo Credit: Farsh/ Shutterstock.com
 
Right now, five adults await death in prison for non-violent, marijuana-related crimes. Their names are John Knock, Paul Free, Larry Duke, William Dekle, and Charles “Fred” Cundiff. They are all more than 60 years old; they have all spent at least 15 years locked up for selling pot; and they are all what one might call model prisoners, serving life without parole. As time wrinkles their skin and weakens their bodies, Michael Kennedy of the Trans High Corporation has filed a legal petition with the federal government seeking their clemency. Otherwise they will die behind bars for selling a drug 40% of American adults have admitted to using, 50% of Americans want legal, and two states have already legalized for adult use. Since these men were convicted of these crimes many years ago, public opinion and policy related to marijuana have shifted greatly. Should these five non-violent senior-citizen offenders die behind bars for a crime Americans increasingly believe should not even be a crime?
 
Full Article:
http://www.alternet.org/5-senior-citizens-serving-life-without-parole-pot?paging=off

BY Nathan Salant

 
Criminal charges against operators of a Vallejo medical marijuana dispensary raided three times and shut down earlier this year were dismissed Thursday by a Solano County judge.
Superior Court Judge William Harrison threw out all charges against Vallejo residents Jorge Espinoza, 25, and Jonathan Linares, 22, owners of the old Better Health Group on Sonoma Boulevard, after a preliminary hearing.
“I don’t think there is sufficient evidence” that a crime has been committed, the judge said, according to the Vallejo Times-Herald newspaper.
“Our legislature has said you can have this kind of business if you do it right.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/13656403-off-the-hook-charges-against-two-vallejo-pot-dispensary-operators-dismissed