Month: April 2018

CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is publicly urging United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reconsider his opposition to medical cannabis, particularly as a way to fight the opioid epidemic.

Gupta wrote a public letter to Sessions, saying that he had changed his mind on the use of medical cannabis, “and I am certain you can, as well”, reports the Associated Press.

Gupta says he made his plea to Sessions after he declined to be interviewed for his special on the topic, Weed 4, which aired on CNN on Sunday, April 29, 2018. The special followed football player Mike James and others who say that medical marijuana has both eased the pain of injuries and weaned them from addiction to opioids. A spokesperson for Sessions declined to comment.

Before he began researching the issue a few years ago, Gupta said he was not a believer in medical cannabis and, in fact, thought marijuana was essentially being used as a ladder to recreational use of the drug. He said he became convinced that research on the issue was intentionally skewed against cannabis, and he spoke to enough people who swear by it.

“The idea that it could work for people, and sometimes is the only thing than can work for people, should give it the respect that it deserves,” he said in an interview. Still, reporters generally don’t become advocates the way Gupta has by writing to Sessions.

“I don’t see it, first of all, as a step into advocacy,” he said. “As a journalist, one of the things that we’re obligated to do is speak truth to power, and this is a good example of that.”

The opioid epidemic lends urgency to the issue, he said.

The CNN special quoted Sessions in a public appearance saying, “how stupid is that,” to the opinion that medical cannabis could be used to stem heroin addiction.

Gupta said the cannabis use needs to be carefully regulated and tested to determine the correct dosages. In his letter to Sessions, Gupta wrote that if researchers started from scratch to design a medicine to help turn around the opioid epidemic, it would likely look like cannabis.

He said he’s not morally opposed to recreational use of marijuana, which is legal in nine states and the District of Columbia. But he said he didn’t want to confuse the two issues.

“People commingle the two issues and I think it’s really hurt the medical marijuana movement,” he said.

The post CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta Urges Jeff Sessions to Support Medical Marijuana, Especially to Combat Opiod Epidemic appeared first on TheJointBlog.

California’s Assembly Labor and Employment Committee has given approval to Assembly Bill 2069, which is designed to end employer discrimination against medical marijuana patients.

The legislative proposal – titled the Medical Cannabis Worker Protections Act – would force employers to treat medical marijuana the same way they do legal prescription drugs such as (but not limited to) opioids. Employers would be required to give “reasonable accommodation” to medical marijuana patients under the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.

The legislation, filed by Asemblymember Rob Bonta (D) along with Asemblymember Bill Quick (D), was passed last week by the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee in a 5 to 1 vote.

The bill exempts employers who may be subject to federal regulations. It’s cosponsored by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

The post California Committee Approves Measure to Make Employers Treat Medical Marijuana Like Prescription Drugs appeared first on TheJointBlog.

School nurses would be legally authorized to administer medical marijuana to patients under legislation passed through its second reading today in the Colorado Senate.

Under current law, a primary caregiver may possess and administer medical marijuana in a nonsmokeable form to a student while the student is at school. According to the official summary of House Bill 1286, which the Senate passed today through its second of three readings; “The bill allows a school nurse or the school nurse’s designee, who may or may not be an employee of the school, to also possess and administer medical marijuana to a student at school.”

The bill “provides a school nurse or the school nurse’s designee protection from criminal prosecution if he or she possesses and administers medical marijuana to a student at school.”

House Bill 1286 has already been passed through its third and final reading in the House, meaning its now just one Senate vote short of being sent to Governor John Hickenlooper for consideration. Once sent to his desk, Governor Hickenlooper will have the option of signing it into law, allowing it to become law without his signature, or vetoing it.

The full text of the bill can be found by clicking here.

The post Bill Allowing School Nurses to Administer Medical Marijuana Given Approval by Colorado Senate, Already Passed House appeared first on TheJointBlog.