Medical pot patient prevails in court

New Times Magazine (San Luis Obispo, CA) ^ | 17 Oct 2002

[MrLeRoy]

Donovan No Runner, who staged a month-long "occupation" of the county courthouse steps in San Luis Obispo to protest his arrest and police confiscation of his medical marijuana supply, has been vindicated.

Charges of marijuana possession were dismissed recently, and Judge Barry LaBarbera issued a court order to San Luis Obispo police to return No Runner’s stash. The Native American suffers from a bipolar condition and has a physician’s prescription for the drug. He said he explained that to officers who cited him and took his pot, but to no avail.

"It went as expected," said No Runner’s San Luis Obispo attorney Lou Koory of the court proceedings. "Judge LaBarbera’s ruling was appropriate. Mr. No Runner will get his medication back."

During No Runner’s residency on the courthouse steps, he erected a tent and was accompanied by his wife and infant. Koory said that time, "There’s nothing more American than what Donovan No Runner is doing."

[chachacha]

I just saw the Simpson's episode where Homer is given a prescription for medical pot

"I am all for medicinal pot" Oh! This is enlightning.

[MrLeRoy]

[citizenK]

I understand your line of thinking here - that smoking mj would probably not be good, and in fact may be very bad for people with coronary heart disease. However, I have never heard any suggestion from mj advocates that people with coronary heart disease seek mj for what ails them. Perhaps you could provide a link or a reference to such claims made by mj advocates? I have heard about general pain relief, relief from nausea, headaches (i.e., migraines), and glaucoma from medical mj advocates.

However, your thinking here is flawed beyond this simple point that mj is not advocated for relief of coronary heart disease. The warnings delivered for the products in your list above (liver trouble? - stay away from alcohol; asthma? - stay away from cigs) are for products that while regulated by our society, are nonetheless legal for adults to use. The powers that be (i.e., govt. and medical industry) cannot speak frankly about mj and provide warnings re the implications of mj use for people with coronary heart disease. Giving such a warning would imply that people without coronary disease may be able to use mj with little effect to their overall health. The current establishment rap on mj is that it is as dangerous as cocaine and heroin, and the current drug czar actually argues that mj affects your brain in the same way as does cocaine and heroin. The problem is, when the govt. or medical industry starts talking about the effects of pot on coronary disease, they enter the foray of a discussion of the relative dangers of mj, which is a discussion in which the government does not want to engage. The medical industry cannot discuss the relative risks of mj for specific patients because the government prohibits that discussion. In fact, many oncologists/physicians, if asked, will tell patients they cannot council them on mj use for chemo-induced nausea, but will suggest they use it if it works for them. Hence the status quo actually presents more risk to cancer patients who may also have coronary heart disease if they are inclined to try mj for nausea relief.

[Britton J Wingfield]

It probably does help a lot of people with nausea and pain, but it also doesn't sound too healthy for people with cardiac conditions.

All drugs are a trade-off between benefits and side effects or addiction. I get annoyed by those that promote pot as the all-purpose wonder drug, but it is very good for certain ailments, like nausea. If people want to smoke it recreationally, fine by me, it's their lungs.

Anyone that tried to take my caffeine would pull back a stump, and I know that it has some deleterious effects on me. It's simply my own choice to make.

[robertpaulsen]

Now I know this guy! He used to be known as Donovan RunFar before he started smokin' that weed.

So now pot is "the" prescription drug for bipolar disorder. I see; and his prescription form is probably signed: Dr. Timothy Leary.

What a joke! MrLeRoy, you're reaching with these articles.

[vin-one]

actually RP, he was known as Donovan Run High, now he is no runner.
But his Bipolar is much better, and who is to say if it helps
him why can't he use it. It should be up to him, not up to some gov't thug.

[AppyPappy]

During No Runner’s residency on the courthouse steps, he erected a tent and was accompanied by his wife and infant.

Sounds pretty healthy to me

[rebelyell]

Don't confuse the drug warriors with logic or fact. It could get in the way of their ignorant opinions.

[MrLeRoy]

So now pot is "the" prescription drug for bipolar disorder.

Propping up more straw men, I see.

I see; and his prescription form is probably signed: Dr. Timothy Leary.

Cannabis- THC and Bipolar Disorder (Included with patient's petition) Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base [ Institute of Medicine, 1999.]
A. Describes the action of cannabinoids at cellular level as consistent with those that would decrease mania. (See petition notes)
B. Describes side-effect profile as "within the range tolerated for other medications."
GRADE: Good evidence that cannabis side effects fall well within acceptable range. Fair evidence that cannabis reestablishes neurotransmitter balance in some manner that decreases manic symptoms. - http://www.omma1998.org/EG_Bipolar.pdf

[robertpaulsen]

One case?! And they admit that!

I bet I can find a case where a person improved their bipolar disorder when they wore one dress shoe and one tennis shoe. Would this be a breakthrough?

From what I was able to get from your article (thanks) and others is that marijuana is not recommended for any psychiatric illness.

[philman_36]

Pot can greatly increase the heart rate.
Let the Surgeon General proclaim forthwith that pot smoking may greatly increase the heart rate.
On the pack of cigarettes I'm smoking right now...
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, And Low Birth Weight. (the caps are all there just like that and there are about a dozen different "warnings")

Phil's Warning: Abortion by pregnant women does result in fetal injury, premature birth, and low birth weight.
Rank hypocrisy comes to mind. Sorry to have strayed from the topic.

[dcwusmc]

You know what the problem is? If people were left alone to medicate or do their whatevers as they pleased, these control freaks would wither away and die; their lives would have no purpose anymore. robertpaulsen would have to get his OWN life instead of annoying his betters. And even the lowest crack-addicted street bum is the better of a drug warrior. Because they will at least die off and their addiction with them if they refuse assistance to get off drugs... the drug warriors keep proliferating through the gooberment propaganda camps (the pubic skools) and it might take a major blood-bath to get rid of these Constitution-raping hyenas...

[clamper1797]

t might take a major blood-bath to get rid of these Constitution-raping hyenas

I'm afraid you may be right

[HiTech RedNeck]

It might as well be said, for a product that is claimed to "cause ZERO deaths." (That quote can be found with a little Googling. I'll leave it to the reader as an exercise.) Do the "ZERO deaths" people leave out the heart attacks or fatal cardiac arrhythmias? And if you counter that well, nobody says to take pot for heart diseases, I can counter that people who may take pot for other reasons may have heart diseases, even silent ones. I.e. it is not a "ZERO risk" to life. And if you counter that even aspirin has analogous problems, I can counter that at least the warnings are there on the aspirin bottle. Where are the warnings in, say, High Times?

[wienerdog.com]

Do you have a source for any marijuana-induced heart attacks or fatal cardiac arrhythmias?

[shempy]

The amount of caffeine in just couple cups of coffee can cause life-threatening changes in some heart rhythms. Where are the warning labels on my Folgers? You won't find any warnings in Fresh Cup Magazine either. Check for yourself: http://www.freshcup.com/

But hey, just to make you happy, how 'bout we make marijuana legal and put a big fat warning label on it that proclaims:

CAUTION: THIS PRODUCT MAY CAUSE INJURY OR DEATH TO PEOPLE HAVING CERTAIN HEART CONDITIONS. CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN BEFORE USING.

That way, I am happy and you are happy. What do you say? Does this work for you?

[HiTech RedNeck]

One thing different about these examples is that it is common knowledge in our country that caffeine will increase heart rate and boost blood pressure. "Coffee nerves" is a well worn cliche. Nobody is suprised to find themselves revved up by a cup of strong coffee or tea.

Whereas the similar cardiovascular effect of pot will come as a total surprise to a lot of newbies. If pot were unbanned this would change in time, but an ethical case for unbanning it is easier to make when those who want it unbanned tell the unvarnished truth. And the unvarnished truth telling should start in places like High Times. I'd say the same thing for coffee and magazines like Fresh Cup if caffeinated drinks were currently verboten and the truth about their effects obscured by heaps of Barbra Streisand from both sides of the issue.

[shempy]

I kind of agree with you about the hemp activists. I favor legalization, but not because marijuana can be made into paper, rope, oil, fabric, medicine, etc.

I favor legalization because it isn't the government's business what I ingest so long as I don't hurt anyone or scare the horses.

And quite honestly, I favor legalization because smoking marijuana in the evening after a stressful day at the office is something I enjoy. I remember my dad doing the same thing, except he preffered 2 to 3 gin martinis. I can't handle liquor like my dad could. If I had 3 martinis I would end up having 10 martinis and fighting with my wife. I have 2 or 3 one-hitters on my deck and I hurt nobody.

[robertpaulsen]

"And even the lowest crack-addicted street bum is the better of a drug warrior. Because they will at least die off ..."

If only. But they don't die off because our society (our taxes) subsidize these leeches. We provide them health care, deliver their crack addicted babies, provide them with food and shelter.

All hail the AIDS infected, teen-age, prostituting, pregnant crack addict! dcwusmc loves you and wants to make it easier to have more of you.

[dcwusmc]

You don't read well, do you? But then it's not surprising as you don't want facts and logic to interfere with your preconcieved notions. I would not wish there to be MORE addicts. I stated that even the LOWEST was your better. Because they are not sticking their noses into other folks' business and getting people thrown in jail or killed for ingesting an unapproved substance. YOU are the kind of scumbag who sets up the conditions whereby some OTHER scumbag can find it convenient to burn a woman and her kids to death. I hope you're happy with yourself, drug warrior. May you and all your ilk rot in prison along with the scum who set the fire which killed that family.