Medical Marihuana New Conditions Panel Meeting

[Hayduke]

The Medical Marihuana Review Panel will meet in the Ottawa Building, Conference Room 4 on the Upper Parking Level tomorrow, Thursday, at 9:00am. 

 

This will likely be the final vote on PTSD and Bi Polar.  Bi Polar is not going to pass it seems, but it is right on the bubble for PTSD.

 

Well behaved PTSD supporters really need to consider showing up.  You will not be in a testimony situation, but you will be able to speak at the end.  This is sausage making at the Capitol….

 

​Don't miss it….

[t-pain]

obstacles for ptsd:

no quorum

already rejected by arwood for not having a quorum, so this time if its approved he'll say you can only appeal this in the court.

it fails to get required votes. someone brings up some study that ptsd hasnt been studied with marijuana and thats it. cant approve it, its not studied. can we study it? no, nida/fda/dea wont let you. well if you wont let us study it, how can we provide you with research?

 

so if anyone shows up for the meeting, be sure to mention that:

"people are using marijuana for ptsd now, illegally. the panel is not recommending people use marijuana for ptsd. the panels ONLY JOB is to protect people from arrest and prosecution by allowing doctors to recommend the patient tries marijuana for treatment of his disease."

 

 

and then because i'm nasty:

"as marijuana is still illegal, it will be decades before human research is done on any condition brought before the panel. if they arent going to accept any condition due to lack of research, they might as well quit showing up."

Edited March 5, 2014 by t-pain

[Hayduke]

obstacles for ptsd:

no quorum

already rejected by arwood for not having a quorum, so this time if its approved he'll say you can only appeal this in the court.

it fails to get required votes. someone brings up some study that ptsd hasnt been studied with marijuana and thats it. cant approve it, its not studied. can we study it? no, nida/fda/dea wont let you. well if you wont let us study it, how can we provide you with research?

 

so if anyone shows up for the meeting, be sure to mention that:

"people are using marijuana for ptsd now, illegally. the panel is not recommending people use marijuana for ptsd. the panels ONLY JOB is to protect people from arrest and prosecution by allowing doctors to recommend the patient tries marijuana for treatment of his disease."

 

 

and then because i'm nasty:

"as marijuana is still illegal, it will be decades before human research is done on any condition brought before the panel. if they arent going to accept any condition due to lack of research, they might as well quit showing up."

 

Sorry T-Pain, let me gently correct you.  Indeed there can be a quorum issue.  However, Mr. Arwood has never rejected anything, nor has he been given any questions to answer to date.  We hope we get a question re PTSD to him tomorrow if we are fortunate.  Legendary supporter and the guy behind PTSD in Michigan, John Evans, is coming in from where he now lives in Washington DC just for the meeting.  We do not intend to quit until PTSD is recognized as a qualifying condition.

 

I fully intend to make the point you made in large type in the second paragraph above.  Thank you for posting that.

 

There are eleven panel members, so a meeting quorum is six.  It is looking like eight will be in attendance according to a good guess.  Now here is the quorum problem.  There is also a quorum for votes.  So if we have an attendance quorum, it helps to have better attendance at the meeting, because we need a minimum of six votes in the positive to send it to Mr. Arwood.

 

It is my understanding, and I participated in a meeting discussing proposed language changes to the Administrative Rules regarding the panel.  There is nothing as yet to report in writing, but I am told new Rules will come in the Fall 2014.  The issue of a quorum on the vote was agreed to become as follows:  We will have a quorum to hold a meeting, but once that quorum is reached, the decision of the final vote will be based upon a simple majority.  LARA was very willing to streamline the process to try and make it work better.  Both the pro mmj and anti mmj members were frustrated by how things were going.  I am hopeful this is going to help.

 

However, until formal notice, we are on the old Administrative Rules.  

 

I urge interested parties to attend… please be respectful if you attend.  All members in attendance are volunteers who are unpaid.  They deserve civil treatment whether you agree with them or not.

[t-pain]

However, Mr. Arwood has never rejected anything, nor has he been given any questions to answer to date.

probably i misunderstood this thing LARA put up last year.

 

 

 5/9/13 Final Determination of Department - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 

http://www.michigan.gov/lara/0,4601,7-154-35299_63294_63303_51869_62980---,00.html

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/lara/Final_Determination_PTSD_421153_7.pdf

 

For the reason that a quorum of the review panel did not concur in the recommendation, the petition to add PTSD to the list of debilitating conditions is denied.

(signed)

Steve Arwood, Director

Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

 

i dont mean to give you trouble hayduke. good luck. thanks for taking some concerns to the panel for us.

[Hayduke]

Well that is true, but with an asterisk...

 

this is in reference to the quorum of the total panelmember's needed to send the panel recommendation to Mr. Arwood.  I know… pretty confusing...

 

Ironically it was about this time they disbanded the original panel and subsequently reformed and allowed PTSD (and Parkinsons if someone filed a new petition) to go back to the "new" panel….

 

And that is the panel that is meeting.

[Norby]

So they don't take the past 5k years + like they do with alcohol and tobacco?  Nothing but hurdles, when will they wake the ^%& up?

obstacles for ptsd:

no quorum

already rejected by arwood for not having a quorum, so this time if its approved he'll say you can only appeal this in the court.

it fails to get required votes. someone brings up some study that ptsd hasnt been studied with marijuana and thats it. cant approve it, its not studied. can we study it? no, nida/fda/dea wont let you. well if you wont let us study it, how can we provide you with research?

 

so if anyone shows up for the meeting, be sure to mention that:

"people are using marijuana for ptsd now, illegally. the panel is not recommending people use marijuana for ptsd. the panels ONLY JOB is to protect people from arrest and prosecution by allowing doctors to recommend the patient tries marijuana for treatment of his disease."

 

 

and then because i'm nasty:

"as marijuana is still illegal, it will be decades before human research is done on any condition brought before the panel. if they arent going to accept any condition due to lack of research, they might as well quit showing up."

[Norby]

Sorry T-Pain, let me gently correct you.  Indeed there can be a quorum issue.  However, Mr. Arwood has never rejected anything, nor has he been given any questions to answer to date.  We hope we get a question re PTSD to him tomorrow if we are fortunate.  Legendary supporter and the guy behind PTSD in Michigan, John Evans, is coming in from where he now lives in Washington DC just for the meeting.  We do not intend to quit until PTSD is recognized as a qualifying condition.

 

I fully intend to make the point you made in large type in the second paragraph above.  Thank you for posting that.

 

There are eleven panel members, so a meeting quorum is six.  It is looking like eight will be in attendance according to a good guess.  Now here is the quorum problem.  There is also a quorum for votes.  So if we have an attendance quorum, it helps to have better attendance at the meeting, because we need a minimum of six votes in the positive to send it to Mr. Arwood.

 

It is my understanding, and I participated in a meeting discussing proposed language changes to the Administrative Rules regarding the panel.  There is nothing as yet to report in writing, but I am told new Rules will come in the Fall 2014.  The issue of a quorum on the vote was agreed to become as follows:  We will have a quorum to hold a meeting, but once that quorum is reached, the decision of the final vote will be based upon a simple majority.  LARA was very willing to streamline the process to try and make it work better.  Both the pro mmj and anti mmj members were frustrated by how things were going.  I am hopeful this is going to help.

 

However, until formal notice, we are on the old Administrative Rules.  

 

I urge interested parties to attend… please be respectful if you attend.  All members in attendance are volunteers who are unpaid.  They deserve civil treatment whether you agree with them or not.

I agree with all but the last, we have to treat them civily while they step all over our right to take care of our own health and do quite the opposite? Respect and civility are both earned and mutual in my book.

[bobandtorey]

Thanks that would be good news and the right thing to do because if they had not OK it that would have been the last straw to get any respect from the sick

[Hayduke]

I would like to see that video… yes PTSD got the quorum required and passed 6-2

 

insomnia passed 4-3 but did not receive a quorum so it is now dead

 

Bi Polar failed completely and is also dead.

 

Now PTSD goes to Director Arwood for rejection or approval.  The final decision is his and his alone….

 

Norby, ya got to be polite and nice in the face of uncomfortable situations, in order to sway votes…. just sayin'…. (to quote SFC)

[+Malamute]

Thanks Hayduke for sticking this out for patients.  One more step forward.  Hopefully Director Arwood allows this to pass for PTSD.

[mibrains]

http://www.hemp.org/news/content/michigan-medical-marijuana-review-panel-recommends-ptsd-qualifying-condition
 


Michigan: Medical Marijuana Review Panel Recommends PTSD as Qualifying Condition
Submitted by steveelliott on Thu, 03/06/2014 - 21:11

 

 

Finding by panel of physicians, professors, and medical marijuana advocates would make Michigan the eighth state to provide relief for those suffering from the effects of traumatic events
Residents in Michigan suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may soon be allowed to treat their symptoms with medical marijuana if their doctors recommend it. The Michigan Medical Marihuana Review Panel appointed by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has decided to recommend that the department add PTSD to the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana.
It is now up to Steve Arwood, director of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, to accept or reject the recommendation.
"There is mounting evidence demonstrating the benefits of medical marijuana for individuals suffering from PTSD," said Chris Lindsey, legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). "The panel should be commended for recommending that veterans and those who have experienced traumatic events, such as domestic abuse, be allowed to use medical marijuana to alleviate their PTSD and live healthy and productive lives. They deserve our compassion and support.
"Seven other states already allow the use of medical marijuana in the treatment of PTSD. We hope Michigan will be next," Lindsey said. "The Marijuana Policy Project joins patient advocates in Michigan in urging the director to adopt this recommendation quickly to provide relief for this devastating condition."
Research and anecdotal evidence have shown that medical marijuana can alleviate common symptoms of PTSD, such as anxiety and traumatic memories. The federal government has blocked efforts to conduct clinical trials to further explore the potential benefits of medical marijuana in the treatment of the condition. There are approximately 7.7 million American adults suffering from PTSD, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Twenty states and Washington, D.C. allow patients with qualifying conditions to use medical marijuana with recommendations from their physicians. Of these, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Oregon allow doctors to recommend medical marijuana to patients suffering from PTSD. Additionally, when retail stores opened in Colorado on January 1 and began selling marijuana to adults, the first customer was Sean Azzariti, an Iraq war veteran with PTSD, who was previously unable to legally access marijuana because his condition was not covered by Colorado’s medical marijuana law.

 

[+Malamute]

I guess Hayduke will smack me, but he will be on Planet Green trees tonight I believe to speak about the Review panel votes today.  Fact is, he doesn't want any credit or recognition for the work he did in helping get PTSD passed and his time spent on the panel etc.   Hayduke will and does deservedly give all credit to Johnny Evans who submitted the application for PTSD and shepherded it through the hearings with phenomenal testimony and factual support.  But, Dave nor CPU seek credit for what we do and prefer to stay under the radar, Dave deserves some kudos on this one. 

 

Tune in. :-)

[Norby]

I would like to see that video… yes PTSD got the quorum required and passed 6-2

 

insomnia passed 4-3 but did not receive a quorum so it is now dead

 

Bi Polar failed completely and is also dead.

 

Now PTSD goes to Director Arwood for rejection or approval.  The final decision is his and his alone….

 

Norby, ya got to be polite and nice in the face of uncomfortable situations, in order to sway votes…. just sayin'…. (to quote SFC)

I understand, that's just frustration talking.  Pointing out the double standard as we have to even go to the panel as we know better what works for us than anyone else.  Esp. with the people who fight and die for our country.  They should get the respect to do as they wish to alleviate what they suffer from for fighting for our freedom.  I'm much more brave speaking behind a computer board.  No offense meant.

Personally, my dad died from PTSD and agent orange from Viet Nam,  He had heart disease which is exacerbated by the stress of PTSD and can be caused by agent orange, which he was based downwind from and filled and sprayed, he was a helo pilot.  He died at 45 after quad bypass at 37.  It hits home when our military is denied taking care of their health in a way that would help.  I had to watch my dad suffer heart attacks while drs. asked him to rate the pain on a scale of 1-10.  Quite traumatic and can shape your views for the rest of your life.  My dad would've benefited greatly from mj but instead thought his son was a pothead on his deathbed, because of gov't propaganda, because I was using it for IBS(and recreational).  The red tape of gov't is truly frustrating.  I think I react quite well most times considering my experiences.  I don't think i swore in that one:)

 

I would like to thank the board for passing this one though, it renews faith that it will work better.  Just hope it makes the final hurdle.

Edited March 7, 2014 by Norby

[ozzrokk]

Thanx again Hayduke............... Hopefully this time it stays and does not meet some mysterious demise.......... Well one can hope can't they?

[cheapshades]

article published 11 March 2014 

 

http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2014/03/michigan_medical_marijuana_pan.html#incart_river_default

Edited March 11, 2014 by cheapshades