(in NewMexico) Full support for medical marijuana is growing — literally

url source: hXXp://newmexicoindependent.com/25174/full-support-for-medical-marijuana-is-growing-literally ======================================================== By Tracy Dingmann 4/16/09 4:49 PM tracy-dingmann-new-pic1Is safe, legal medical marijuana use finally becoming reality for seriously ill New Mexicans who have state approval for use of the drug? A raft of changes at the state and federal level seems to indicate that medical use of marijuana is growing closer to consistent government support every day. And that’s good, because it’s never made sense that even though medical marijuana use is legal, many New Mexico patients still fear eviction, harassment and even arrest and prosecution when trying to use, grow or otherwise procure their medicine. Medical marijuana has been legal in New Mexico since 2007, when the Legislature passed a law authorizing its use for people with chronic debilitating or terminal conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS or multiple sclerosis. A total of 13 states have legalized the use of marijuana for serious medical conditions, including Michigan, which just approved it in 2008. Currently, a total of 284 New Mexicans are registered to possess the drug for medicinal purposes — a small number when compared to California, where hundreds of thousands of patients are approved to possess the drug. But just because medical cannabis is legal for some New Mexicans doesn’t mean it’s easy or safe to get. Advocates for the seriously ill who seek it to relieve the pain of symptoms or ease the effect of harsh medications like chemotherapy have long said the actual process of getting medical marijuana is fraught with complications and contradictions. Not the least of those were the threat of being arrested and prosecuted for using a drug that the less-enlightened in society refuse to see as anything but strictly recreational — and illegal. Raids by federal law enforcement have been rare in New Mexico. Not so in California, where both medicinal marijuana providers and users have been targeted. “The Bush administration maintained that marijuana was not medicine, that any marijuana use was illegal and that they had the authority to raid patients and caregivers even in states that had authorized medical marijuana use by law,” said Reena Szczepanski, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico, which helped get New Mexico’s law passed and continues to advocate for medical marijuana patients and policies. The election of a new president with a more compassionate stance on medical marijuana has already signaled a change in federal practices. As a candidate, Barack Obama said he supported the use of medical marijuana and would not support prosecuting users if elected. Last month, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the federal government would no longer go after users or providers of medical marijuana in the 13 states where it was approved, as long as they were not providing fronts for criminal activity. At the same time, two significant changes have occurred at the state level that make it easier for desperately ill people who seek pot to ease their pain, said Szczepanski. On March 18, the New Mexico Department of Health, which runs the Medical Cannabis Program, approved the first legal producer of medical cannabis in the state. The state gave a nonprofit organization, the name of which is being kept anonymous due to safety concerns, the rights to grow up to 95 plants and seedlings for medicinal distribution. At long last, that move means some properly registered New Mexicans seeking medical marijuana can obtain it legally, without having to resort to illegal sources. Until that change, patients were either forced to grow their own or rely on illegal sources — unrealistic and just plain scary choices for most seriously ill patients. Because of strict regulations governing the process, very few entities have applied to become legal marijuana producers, said Szczepanski. But there is a statewide need for more legal dispensaries to ensure that rural patients and those who don’t live near the one licensed producer can safely and easily get the drug. Another development at the local level has eased the path of many New Mexicans seeking medicinal marijuana. On February 16, after an extensive process of petition and review, the New Mexico health department added seven more medical conditions to the seven already approved, adding categories such as Crohn’s Disease, peripheral neuropathy and severe anorexia and cachexia to the list of conditions for which patients can seek medical cannabis. That change will allow many more New Mexicans who suffer from chronic pain or wasting due to illness to experience the relief that medical marijuana can provide. But beyond that important mini-expansion, I’d like to see more policy makers get past the reactionary belief that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that any use of it must be, by definition, criminal and immoral. Szczepanski, who was deeply involved in the campaign to legalize the drug for medical purposes, said the fight for medical marijuana really has always been all about compassion for and treatment of people who are suffering and in pain. Many of the patients she worked with to pass New Mexico’s law have since died of their illnesses, she told me. “For those who aren’t ill, giving people access to medical marijuana may not seem like a big deal. But for people who are desperate and may not have a lot of time left, it’s a matter of life and death.”