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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US VA: Virginia Medical Marijuana Law Seen Largely As Symbolic
ccguide Tuesday 05 Nov 2002 Pubdate: Mon, 04 Nov 2002 Source: Daily Press (VA) Copyright: 2002 The Daily Press Contact: Website: http://www.dailypress.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/585 Author: Associated Press VIRGINIA MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW SEEN LARGELY AS SYMBOLIC, CONFLICTS WITH FEDERAL LAW RICHMOND, Va. -- Since 1979, Virginia law has allowed doctors to prescribe marijuana for glaucoma and cancer patients, but few if any doctors do. The law is viewed as largely symbolic because it conflicts with federal policy prohibiting doctors from prescribing the drug. It was enacted in an era when supporters expected the federal restrictions to be relaxed. "The '70s promise was never fulfilled," said Lennice Werth, a member of the group Virginians Against Drug Violence, which supports the availability of marijuana for medical use. Federal policy means that there are no legal means for patients to get the herb, which is also known by its scientific name, cannabis sativa. Virginia law, Werth said, "can't be used because it requires a prescription. Under federal law, a doctor cannot write a prescription for it." Attorney Rodney K. Adams, author of "Virginia Medical Law," said the law puts "a doctor in conflict between two statutes. Also, the Virginia Board of Medicine looks at any violation of the statute. Do they look at federal law or state law when they interpret that?" Under federal policy, marijuana is a Schedule I drug, said Dr. Billy R. Martin, professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Virginia Commonwealth University. "The definition is that it has no medical utility. Therefore, it cannot be used in the medical profession." In California, a federal appeals court recently ruled that the federal government cannot go after doctors who "recommend" that patients try marijuana. That state's laws also allow patients to grow their own herb with a doctor's recommendation. Some jurisdictions within the state even recognize marijuana-buyers' clubs. "The political climate is different there than here," Martin said, adding that the Virginia law is little used because of the lack of mechanisms for dispensing marijuana. "In California, that is why they established cannabis-buyers' clubs." Doctors noticed the dilemma, too. "There is no way I can write a prescription for marijuana. To my knowledge, it's not stocked anywhere," said Dr. Christopher Desch, a cancer specialist at Hematology and Oncology Associates of Virginia. "Places like California and Oregon have pushed things a little bit." Some cancer patients say that marijuana helps reduce nausea from treatments, decrease pain and increase appetite. However, the verdict is still out on whether the herb works more effectively than prescription drugs intended to do the same. "I have had patients who have told me they are using marijuana," Desch said. "In most situations, I tell them it's all right to do that if it helps them ... I have never prescribed it." Having the Virginia law on the books may have bearing on legal cases involving patients accused of violating drug laws, said Werth. She worked on a letter-writing campaign in 1997 against repealing the state law. "Sometimes a prosecutor will see that law when they have somebody who is a paraplegic or who has multiple sclerosis," she said. "The prosecutor can decide, 'I am just not going to prosecute this case."' - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens
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