Write To Your Senator And Representative On Sb660

[+washtenaut]

I wrote the following.  If you oppose SB660, feel free to use any or all of these words in writing to your own state senator and representative.

 

 

Dear Senator Warren and Representative Rutledge,

 

As a patient in the Michigan Medical Marijuana program, I would like to ask for your help.  There is an apparent effort underway to fast track Senate Bill SB 660.  This legislation is strongly opposed by most patients and I would like you to oppose it as well.  Here is why.

 

Prairie Plant Pharmaceuticals is the company behind this legislative push.  The dollars that these folks are tossing around Lansing seem to have caught the eye of many of our Senators and Representatives.  Political contributions and promises of tax windfalls seem to be clouding the vision and influencing the judgment of many of your colleagues.  Shouldn’t we being asking why patients are opposed to this bill?

 

Recall that the purpose of the 2008 medical cannabis ballot initiative was to provide effective medicine to patients in need.  Please take the time to find and review some of the published feedback from Canadian patients that are today being provided medical cannabis from Prairie Plant Pharmaceuticals.  In a nutshell, they are quite unhappy that the Canadian Government has now forced them to buy medicine from this company.  They feel it is grossly inferior in quality and variety from the medicine available from small, home based caregivers.  It is less effective medicine.

 

We know that today the stated goal of the Prairie Plant bill is to supplement the small caregiver model that is currently in place in Michigan.  It is all too obvious however that the longer term plan is to replace the caregiver system with this centralized distribution system.  As has happened in Canada, once in place and providing tax revenue, there will be a strong legislative push to expand Prairie Plant’s role in the program thus eliminating the small growers who are today providing excellent medicines to their patients.

 

We do not have much of a voice in the lawmaking bodies because most patients are sick or disabled and so have very little money to hire lobbyists.  Patients are afraid that our legislature – you - will take away the right of patients to grow medicine in favor of the marijuana business interests.  Please protect patient interests and oppose SB 660.  Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

[bobandtorey]

Very good Thank you

 

i will be using some of your letter to write my  Representative  Mr. Jim Townsend i use Regular  mail i feel it has a better impact then E-mail imo

[+washtenaut]

I have discussed this situation with others, and have come to the conclusion that trying to make points by railing on the initiators of the bill is ultimately a losing argument, as the bill does not mention Prairie Plant, in fact the name of the US subsidiary that would conceivably be participating is Sub-Terra, also not mentioned.

 

The bill does not read as if there will be only one supplier, so the focus on the one supplier that initiated the mess will not be effective.

 

Well, I'm sorry to hear that.  Perhaps you could take 5 minutes or so and help put together an effective message. 

[GregS]

My Senator is Dave Robertson in Grand Blanc. Past conversations with him have shown that he is absolutely in the other camp. Rep. Pam Faris Mt. Morris is someone we can work with.

Edited November 9, 2013 by GregS

[+Malamute]

Good letter washtenaut.

 

Just to shore up your argument, I would have proof of the political contributions made and send them noted. 

 

http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,4670,7-127-1633_8723_8751-169289--,00.html

 

 Make sure to have proof before making an allegation. ;-)

[+washtenaut]

Zap, after listening to Planet Greentrees last evening, the message above doesn't sound so far off to me.  The consensus seemed to be that Prarie Plant Pharma was behind the legislation.  I think telling our reps that we, patients, oppose the legislation could be helpful. 

 

I think telling them that we 'fear substandard medicine in the name of easy to collect tax revenues' could be helpful, but I would copy any type of reporter that you know on the email.  As before, we need to make sure they can't later say, 'I didn't know this was substandard medicine'.  When you copy reporters on your emails you let them know that folks are watching.

[semicaregiver]

SB660 seems very surreal to me.   They start off with the premise that the bill will not take effect until the feds resch. mj and make it a legal drug. 

 

Once the feds make mj a legal drug, CVS/Walgreens, etc can sell it and presumably obtain their supply from any federally licensed drug producer.  Is there any precedent for a state creating an entire separate registry program and production control framework for any of the schedule 2 drugs? 

 

The focus on Prairie Plant seems myopic.  They are not mentioned in the bill and the bill seems to allow anyone to produce a "pharma" grade mj.   To me the real issue is why, when the Feds have legalized mj and added it to the Sch. 2 list, are the legislators here in Michigan singling out mj patients for a special registry program when none of the other sch. 2 drugs (products that range from codine to meth to morphine) have a special registry program?

[bobandtorey]

i agree their is something fishily going on here

[greenbuddha]

Leave it to the politicians to put any new MJ laws together and we are going to get screwed...plain and simple.

[GregS]

The patient/caregiver model was completely upended in Canada. Now patients have two options: Either buy the mass produced weed from the likes of Prairie Plant Systems, or go back under ground and grow their own illegally. Not a good outcome. I'm assuming something similar would eventually happen here if this bill doesn't get the axe.

 

If we cannot expect to influence the entire bill, we can nonethelss address portions of it. Hammer on the exclusivity of one card or the other. If access is indeed the purpose of the bill, all reasonable options must be left open. Not one or the other. We can argue the difference between garden and WalMart produce. Prarie Plant cannabis in Canada is reportedly of poor quality. Tell them this. We can demand they show harm that has occurred in using the stuff without testing requirements.

Edited November 9, 2013 by GregS

[t-pain]

komorn has a great post about prarie plant

http://komornlaw.com/komornlawblog/coorperatizing-cannabis-production-in-michigan/

 

the PPS idiots think they can grow in "brownfields".

like old mines full of heavy metals, blasting chemicals, oil, gas and other toxins.

 

 

Canadians for Safe Access had the PPS marijuana tested for heavy metals by a lab certified by the EPA and CAEAL certified in 2003. The results of the tests showed that the marijuana had high levels of both lead and arsenic.

[chi_guy]

How is it that PPS stole the rights of Canadians to grow their own but we are suppose to believe they won't trounce on our rights. Wtf? Do we really believe they won't attack our law?

[+washtenaut]

I got the following reply to my email from Rep Cavanagh

 

 

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns over Senate Bill 660.  This bill was introduced in the Senate on October 31, 2013 by Senator Roger Kahn and referred to the Senate Committee on Government Operations.

 

As a member of the House of Representatives and not the Senate, I am unfamiliar with this bill or Senator Kahn's intentions on introducing this piece of legislation. 

 

It is my understanding that the bill would amend the Public Health Code to classify marihuana as a Schedule 2 controlled substance, with Federal authority; provide for licensure of facilities that manufactured, cultivated, and tested pharmaceutical-grade cannabis; allow facilities to sell PGC to pharmacists and pharmacies; provide for PGC prescriptions; and provide for the issuance of enhanced PGC registration cards to patients. The bill would also amend other articles of the Public Health Code to include references to Article 8 in provisions concerning disciplinary procedures, provisions regulating pharmacy practice, and a prohibition against disciplining health facility employees for reporting malpractice. 

 

Although I have not had a chance to read the bill in its entirety or have a conversation with Senator Kahn, it is also my understanding that Senate Bill 660 is contingent upon the reclassification of marihuana has a Schedule 2 controlled substance for the purpose of treating a debilitating medical condition, which would not occur unless authorized by the Federal government. 

 

Before I try to become more familiar with this bill I would like to wait and see if it does pass the Senate and comes before the House.  A lot of times pieces of legislation will be amended in a committee before it passes out and then again when it returns to the Senate Floor for a vote.  If and when it does come before the House I will keep your thoughts in mind as I become more familiar with the intentions of this legislation.

 

Thank you again for contacting me with your concerns/comments.  Please keep me in mind if I may be of assistance to you in the future, or feel free to contact me again if/when this particular bill reaches the House.

 

Sincerely,

 

Phil Cavanagh

State Rep. 10th District

[+washtenaut]

I then replied to Rep Cavanagh with the following:

 

 

Representative Cavanagh,

I appreciate your attention to this matter and your timely response.  I guess we will both be watching the progress of SB 660.

From a patient perspective, it is so frustrating to see this legislation already passed out of committee.  There are a myriad of more pressing issues within the cannabis community that are not even in legislative discussions let alone fast tracked to the Senate floor. 

Fast tracking any of the following would be significantly more helpful than SB 660 to the legitimate patients:

 - Concentrates of cannabis were the predominant way these compounds were delivered to patients back in the early 1900's when this was a widely accepted medicine, prior to prohibition.  With a recent COA ruling, only the leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant are now protected by the Act.  To outlaw the most clearly medicinal of cannabis preparations is truly hurting patients in Michigan. This ruling is especially cruel as it has re-criminalized the most ill patients, adding stress to their already terrible health situation.

- Patients need a secondary source of medicine.  A single source for such a critical resource is simply asking for a supply disruption.  Again, to the most legitimate of patients, this hurts the most as it is not a recreational substance.  When it is medicine to control a serious health issue it is a necessity.  The failure of one's own grow or the caregiver's garden should not send the sick and disabled patient onto the street to find medicine.  Patient to patient transfers were able to cover this situation prior to being ruled illegal by the courts.

 - A statewide program to educate Michigan's physicians is desperately needed.  These supposed medical experts have absolutely no formal education as to the benefits of cannabinoids.  Only recently have a few leading edge pharmaceutical companies begun trying to educate the doctors in order to push their new medicines.  Personally I would defer to my Doctor's knowledge of any medicine EXCEPT cannabis.  I know far more about cannabis than almost any physician I have met and due to my health issues, I have met way too many. 

 - Today Michigan's Doctors are much more willing to approve patient use than ever before.  Not many do however.  The constraint cited most often is the policies of the hospital or medical practice with which the Doctor is affiliated, forbid cannabis recommendations.  There needs to be a legislative hearing of some type on this practice.  It is becoming increasing clear that Michiganders would be a healthier group if given greater access to cannabis in place of many of the drugs currently recommended to and by our Doctors.  It seems that pharmaceutical companies are strongly influencing the supposed freedom of a doctor to treat his/her patient.

 - Patients must be allowed to operate a motor vehicle as long as they are not impaired.  Patients will have elevated THC levels at all times during periods of treatment.  Recent studies have confirmed what patients have known, once accustomed to the medicine, nearly all patients can safely operate a motor vehicle given that a couple of hours pass since ingestion.  If blood THC levels are going to be used to determine ability to operate motor vehicles, medical cannabis patients need to be given special consideration.  Patients need to have their driving capabilities judged on their performance on the road rather than their blood-THC level.

 - Prospective transplant patients should not be eliminated from consideration because cannabis is found in their system.  Often times, cannabis is the least toxic medicinal choice and patients taking this option should not be punished for this choice. 

 - It is critical to protect the small patient and caregiver grows.  A few strains of mass produced cannabis will not be as effective medicine for most patients.  Today hundreds of strains are available in Michigan to address the wide variety of ailments that respond to cannabinoids.  Please protect the legitimate patients and do not bow to the cannabis business interests.

Thank you very much.  I appreciate your interest in protecting Michigan's sick and disabled.

Sincerely,

[GregS]

forget it

Edited November 13, 2013 by GregS

[GregS]

I got the following reply to my email from Rep Cavanagh

 

 

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns over Senate Bill 660.  This bill was introduced in the Senate on October 31, 2013 by Senator Roger Kahn and referred to the Senate Committee on Government Operations.

 

As a member of the House of Representatives and not the Senate, I am unfamiliar with this bill or Senator Kahn's intentions on introducing this piece of legislation. 

 

It is my understanding that the bill would amend the Public Health Code to classify marihuana as a Schedule 2 controlled substance, with Federal authority; provide for licensure of facilities that manufactured, cultivated, and tested pharmaceutical-grade cannabis; allow facilities to sell PGC to pharmacists and pharmacies; provide for PGC prescriptions; and provide for the issuance of enhanced PGC registration cards to patients. The bill would also amend other articles of the Public Health Code to include references to Article 8 in provisions concerning disciplinary procedures, provisions regulating pharmacy practice, and a prohibition against disciplining health facility employees for reporting malpractice. 

 

Although I have not had a chance to read the bill in its entirety or have a conversation with Senator Kahn, it is also my understanding that Senate Bill 660 is contingent upon the reclassification of marihuana has a Schedule 2 controlled substance for the purpose of treating a debilitating medical condition, which would not occur unless authorized by the Federal government. 

 

Before I try to become more familiar with this bill I would like to wait and see if it does pass the Senate and comes before the House.  A lot of times pieces of legislation will be amended in a committee before it passes out and then again when it returns to the Senate Floor for a vote.  If and when it does come before the House I will keep your thoughts in mind as I become more familiar with the intentions of this legislation.

 

Thank you again for contacting me with your concerns/comments.  Please keep me in mind if I may be of assistance to you in the future, or feel free to contact me again if/when this particular bill reaches the House.

 

Sincerely,

 

Phil Cavanagh

State Rep. 10th District

This is teed right up for you Washtenaut. It is an invitation to respond with your points. Great work getting out in front. You have this guy's attention. I will thank you.

Edited November 13, 2013 by GregS

[+washtenaut]

Well, I understand that money has pushed this through the Michigan Senate at a pace generally reserved for emergency actions. 

 

If it didn't affect us so much, the reflections on the integrity of the body would be laughable

 

Please contact your representatives and voice any objections very, very soon or you will be too late.

[t-pain]

so how much does it cost to get a bill passed in the senate in 13 days?

how many business days was that ?? darn!

[+Malamute]

It has taken them like 3 years.

[t-pain]

 

I saw Senator Rick Jones on Off the Record back in January talking about testing of medical marijuana. Just recently , sb0660 came up with a testing scheme to do that. Unfortunately SB0660 did not include a few tests that are important, and that Senator Rick Jones brought up at the time.

 

There is no requirement in SB0660 to test the soil for heavy metals.

There is no requirement to test for pesticides or insecticides.

There is no requirement to give patients who purchase this medicine any testing reports or to have those testing reports publically available.

 

SB0660 requires all medical marijuana produced under the act to be irradiated. I don't believe irradiated medical marijuana has ever been tested for efficacy, safety of consumption by humans or animals, or of which new chemicals or byproducts occur in marijuana when it has been irridated. Even in Canada, where this irradiated medical marijuana has been sold to patients, I dont believe there was any testing done to see what irradiation does to marijuana. Nor any studies done to see if it was still safe to consume after irradiation.

 

I hope you can make some changes to this bill to address these issues.

 

the video:

http://wkar.org/post/record-overtime-sen-rick-jones-12513

[GregS]

Irradiation destroys biologic organisms and does little to react with chemical elements except in a limited number of reactions. This would work to ensure the product is free from disease causing organisms and pests, but nothing to remove nutes, heavy metals, herbicides and pesticides, or other chemical impurities.

Edited November 14, 2013 by GregS

[+washtenaut]

Feel free to use any of the following if it helps you to write to your representative regarding the bill.

 

 

Michigan Representatives,

 

SB660 has passed through the Michigan Senate with the speed of an emergency assistance bill.  The only reason I can see for such speed is to get it passed before the medical cannabis patient community can mount an organized opposition to this bill. 

 

Patients, while sick and disabled, can still see a shady deal from miles away.  Shouldn't it raise some questions that the current customers of this mass produced medicine are very much displeased?  Would you gladly accept a legislative 'fast one' that would most certainly lead to a large drop in the quality of the medicine available to you and your family?

 

Please oppose this SB660 and consider supporting legislation that would actually help the medical cannabis patients.  See issue list in the email below.  Perhaps a House Committee hearing could be held to actually determine the needs of the medical cannabis patients.  Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

 

(the issue list is in the message above that I sent to Rep Cavanagh.  That message was forwarded along with the above message)

[GregS]

Another point in fact is that the electorate that passed the mma is still out here. We did not vote to hand things over to corporate and government interests. We will be back at the polls whether they pass this thing or not.

Edited November 14, 2013 by GregS

[trichcycler]

did you know that commercial tobacco is basal salt fertilized to the day of harvest ?  I bet these guys would follow suit.  Yuck !

Organic foods cannot be irradiated.

here are some foods that are irradiated now;

• Beef and Pork
• Poultry
• Molluscan Shellfish
• (e.g., oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops)
• Shell Eggs
• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
• Lettuce and Spinach
• Spices and Seasonings
• Seeds for Sprouting (e.g., for alfalfa sprouts)

Until recently only bulk dried spices were irradiated in the United States.

Irradiation is a method of food preservation in which foods are treated with ionizing radiation from Cobalt 60, Cesium 137, X-rays, or high energy electron beams from machine sources. Irradiation is also referred to as "ionizing radiation" because it produces energy waves strong enough to dislodge electrons from atoms and molecules, thereby converting them to electrically charged particles called ions. Other terms commonly used to identify ionizing irradiation are "cold pasteurization" and "irradiation pasteurization."

Gamma rays produced from Cobalt 60 and Cesium 137 and X-rays are able to penetrate food to greater depths than electron beams, which can only penetrate a maximum of one inch below the surface of most foods (three inches if irradiated from both sides of the food). While electron beams are not produced from radioactive sources and therefore have no resultant radioactive waste, they do produce ionizing changes in foods, just as the other irradiation energy sources do.

Ionizing radiation reduces the number of disease-causing organisms in foods by disrupting their molecular structure and killing potentially harmful bacteria and parasites. However, when food is irradiated, some nutrients are destroyed and untested compounds, referred to as URPs (unique radiolytic products), may be created.

The FDA says "Why Irradiate Food?

Irradiation can serve many purposes.

• Prevention of Foodborne Illness – irradiation can be used to effectively eliminate organisms that cause foodborne illness, such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli (E. coli).
• Preservation – irradiation can be used to destroy or inactivate organisms that cause spoilage and decomposition and extend the shelf life of foods.
• Control of Insects – irradiation can be used to destroy insects in or on tropical fruits imported into the United States. Irradiation also decreases the need for other pest-control practices that may harm the fruit.
• Delay of Sprouting and Ripening – irradiation can be used to inhibit sprouting (e.g., potatoes) and delay ripening of fruit to increase longevity.
• Sterilization – irradiation can be used to sterilize foods, which can then be stored for years without refrigeration. Sterilized foods are useful in hospitals for patients with severely impaired immune systems, such as patients with AIDS or undergoing chemotherapy. Foods that are sterilized by irradiation are exposed to substantially higher levels of treatment than those approved for general use."
•  

I don't think any beans found in the pharmacy provisions will be able to sprout.

 

These growers will not produce an organic product, and patients' organic needs will have be met by the cottage industries, as it is now with produce often.

Maybe the powers would let some friendly organic competition in ?
 

 

Debunking Irradiation Myths

Irradiation does not make foods radioactive, compromise nutritional quality, or noticeably change the taste, texture, or appearance of food. In fact, any changes made by irradiation are so minimal that it is not easy to tell if a food has been irradiated.

 

 

Irradiation destroys biologic organisms and does little to react with chemical elements except in a limited number of reactions. This would work to ensure the product is free from disease causing organisms and pests, but nothing to remove nutes, heavy metals, herbicides and pesticides, or other chemical impurities.

[+washtenaut]

Irradiation destroys biologic organisms and does little to react with chemical elements except in a limited number of reactions. This would work to ensure the product is free from disease causing organisms and pests, but nothing to remove nutes, heavy metals, herbicides and pesticides, or other chemical impurities.

From this article posted earlier in this thread,  (edit : sorry, another thread here)

 

http://www.cannabisculture.com/content/2013/09/23/Prairie-Plant-Plant-Systems-Medical-Marijuana-Monopoly-Back

 

There is the following about radiating cannabis to kill bacteria.

 

 

In order to kill hazardous bacteria, the PPS marijuana is bombarded with Gamma radiation. According to Health Canada's website, "The product has been irradiated by gamma irradiation to reduce to undetectable levels, potentially harmful bacteria and microbial load which may cause spoilage of product. The lowest dose required is utilized for the irradiation process (i.e. 10 kilogray - standard level for herbs and spices), ensuring that the chemical characteristics of the marihuana product are not altered."

"Gamma irradiation is a controversial decontamination technique that has never been studied for safety in smoked or inhaled products anywhere in the world," CSA wrote in its letter. "Although it effectively destroys most bacteria, it does not destroy viruses or mycotoxins, and is often used to cover up biological contamination resulting from poor production, processing or handling practices. One of the bi-products of gamma irradiation is the production of Unique Radiolytic Products, which are a new class of chemicals resulting from irradiations that are not otherwise found in nature. Of significance in the gamma irradiation of whole plant cannabis is the potential production of cyclobutanones, which are toxic, carcinogenic chemicals that form when fats are subjected to gamma irradiation, and which have been directly linked to the development of colon cancer in rats. In addition, gamma irradiation has been shown to destroy terpenes like myrcene and linalool, which have known therapeutic properties and are found in high concentrations in some strains of whole-plant cannabis."