On Monday, Bryan Epis was taken into custody to serve the remainder of his 10 year sentence. Despite an order from the U.S. Deputy Attorney General to federal prosecutors to stop wasting resources by focusing on medical marijuana patients and providers, Mr. Epis will spend the next 7 years in federal prison.
It was a groundbreaking day for medical marijuana. Proclamations on marijuana’s therapeutic benefits came from two medical organizations, one in California and the other in Iowa. The University of California’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) presented a report today to the state legislature regarding the first clinical trials on smoked cannabis (marijuana) in the United States in more than 20 years. CMCR found that:
“reasonable evidence [exists] that cannabis is a promising treatment in selected pain syndromes caused by injury or diseases of the nervous system, and possibly for painful muscle spasticity due to multiple sclerosis.”
ASA Associate Director Don Morgan and I traveled to Washington, DC, this week to speak to the City Council about proposed regulations for medical cannabis dispensaries in the District and work with the staff at our National Office. The City Council here is developing regulations for dispensaries after Congress voted in December to lift the ban against a medical cannabis initiative passed by the voters of Washington, DC, in 1998. Unfortunately, we arrived in the middle of a record setting blizzard – one that snarled traffic and closed government offices. The City Council canceled tomorrow’s hearing in light of the storm. We’re disappointed about the cancelation, but we are making good use of our time here. Tomorrow, Don Morgan and I will trudge back through deep snow for a third day of work with ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer. I hope we have a chance to get back here to talk to elected officials in the future… when the snow melts, of course!
Yesterday, ASA Director of Government Affairs Caren Woodson joined Maryland Delegate Morhaim on the Marc Steiner Show to discuss the proposed medical cannabis bill. Check out the full, hour long podcast online.
