Tag Archives: stop-or-reduce

UW Looking For Marijuana ‘Addicts’; Will Pay $150

Ever known someone who wanted help quitting pot? Me neither. ​ By Steve Elliott at Toke of the Town They might have an easier time finding unicorns. The University of Washington says it is looking for people who want to quit pot. The UW School of Social Work’s Innovative Programs Research Group is looking for 70 “marijuana-dependent adults” in the Puget Sound area to participate in a clinical research trial testing approaches for people who want to stop using cannabis, reports KING5.com. The university says research has shown that nearly 3.6 million Americans use pot on a daily basis. Unfortunately, UW then puts its reputation as a center of higher learning in serious danger by absurdly claiming that “between one-third and one-half of those are dependent.” I’d love to know where the University of Washington got those numbers, but since they seem to have only the most tenuous of connections to shared reality, I’m guessing they’re from the “pull fake statistics out your ass” school of thought, sub-variety “I’ll say anything to get one of those fat government NIDA grants.” “When people smoke marijuana they don’t intend to become dependent on it, but marijuana becomes pervasive over time,” said Cynthia Shaw, project director of what they’re calling the “Marijuana Counseling Project.” “People work hard in treatment programs, and many stop or reduce their marijuana use while in treatment but lose ground quickly once they leave treatment,” said Shaw, who obviously has very little real-world experience with — or, apparently, even casual knowledge of! — marijuana. What Shaw didn’t mention — and I’m sure it was just an “oversight,” umm hmm — was that nearly all those people in rehab programs “working so hard” to quit marijuana were forced into those programs under threat of being thrown in jail. The judge says “Go to Narcotics Anonymous and tell them you’re a pot addict, or else go to jail.” Bingo! Instant marijuana addicts! Works like a charm. In any event, the Marijuana Counseling Project will test two nine-session counseling “proven treatments” (is your bullshit detector going off? I know mine is going crazy), “a blend of motivational enhancement therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy.” Participants will be offered additional counseling sessions “as needed,” and half will be randomly assigned to receive post-counseling “checkups,” which may well be a synonym for “piss tests.” To be eligible, volunteers must be at least 18, “want help in stopping marijuana use,” and be willing to travel to Seattle’s University District for “counseling.” Oh, and if you need a little additional “motivation” to claim you “want help in stopping marijuana use,” they’ll pay you to say so. Participants will receive $50 for each of two post-counseling interviews, and an additional $50 incentive if they complete both. Let’s see, that $150 would get me half an ounce… If you are interested in fleecing these poor credulous academics by participating in their sham “study,” or if you have questions about it, call Cynthia Shaw at (206) 616-3235 between 9 and 7 Monday-Thursday or 9-5 Friday, or email mcpsvcs@uw.edu .

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UW Looking For Marijuana ‘Addicts’; Will Pay $150

Is The Washington Legislature Really ‘Too Busy’ To Protect Medical Marijuana Patients?

Artwork: Jimmy Wheeler The late Jimmy Wheeler, a medical marijuana patient in Washington, created this artwork. Now a proposed patient protection bill will be named in his honor. ​By Steve Elliott at Toke of the Town As most medical marijuana patients in the state already know, the current medical marijuana law in Washington doesn’t protect patients from search, arrest or prosecution. The recent Washington Supreme Court ruling in State v. Fry further highlighted how little protection — as in almost none! — the current law gives “legal” patients. Medical marijuana activists Ken Martin and Steve Sarich of patient advocacy group CannaCare contacted every Senator and Representative in Washington at the beginning of the current 2010 legislative session, attempting to find a sponsor for their new bill that would finally offer legal patients protection from arrest and prosecution. “We could not find a single sponsor for this bill,” Sarich told Toke of the Town . “Those I actually spoke with told me they were ‘too busy’ this session.” “This made us curious about what, exactly, these legislators were so busy working on (besides new taxes on just about everything),” Sarich said. “What we found amazed us.” “Here are just a few of the bills that our legislators believed were more important than protecting sick and dying patients in Washington,” Sarich said. XB 6255 Concerning mute swans. SB 5192 Allowing dogs in bars. SB 6207 Allowing local governments to create golf cart zones. SB 6284 Recognizing Leif Erickson day. HB 1024 Designating Aplets and Cotlets as the state candy. XB 6128 Concerning taxation of little cigars. HB 1137 Protecting landowners’ investments in Christmas trees. SB 5011 Prohibiting the sale or distribution of certain novelty lighters. HB 1638 Concerning colon hydrotherapy. HB 1993 Allowing fishing license holder to use two poles in selected state waters. “Perhaps these bills are truly important to some people,” Sarich allowed. “That said, I think it’s insulting to tell patients that making Aplets and Cotlets the official state candy is more important than keeping patients from being searched, arrested and prosecuted.” Medical Marijuana Lobby Day: Wednesday, February 24 “It’s time to send the message to our elected officials, and Medical Marijuana Lobby Day is the opportunity to do that!” Sarich said. “Show up and have your voice be heard.” “We are gathering at 1 p.m. on the north stairs of the Legislative Building,” Sarich said. “We’ll have white booths there with literature, posters and special medical marijuana patient scarves with buttons that say “STOP ARRESTING PATIENTS.” According to Sarich, the goal is to educate legislators, “let them know we are voters and activists,” to to gather legislative sponsors for the “Patient Protection Act” for the 2011 legislative session. “The bill will be named the ‘Jimmy Wheeler Memorial Patient Protection Act’ in honor of my friend and longtime activist who was providing medical marijuana to patients before there there was legal medical marijuana,” Sarich said. “Jimmy died recently without ever seeing patients free from arrest and prosecution in his lifetime,” Sarich said. “Please ask yourself how many more of us have to die before they realize we are not criminals.” “How many patients need to be persecuted before our elected officials provide us with the same protections offered to the rest of the disabled and terminally ill patients in this state?” Sarich asked. “I’m tired of being a second class citizen!” “We will do our best to arrange transportation for you to this historic event,” Sarich said. For more information, contact Ken Martin at (509) 235-5485 or Steve Sarich at (206) 407-3017.

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Is The Washington Legislature Really ‘Too Busy’ To Protect Medical Marijuana Patients?

Victory In Washington: Jury Finds Medical Marijuana Patient Not Guilty

By Steve Elliott in Toke of the Town Once again, a jury has seen through the lies and distortions and found a medical marijuana patient not guilty. ​Washington state jurors Thursday afternoon found Cammie McKenzie, who grows marijuana to treat her chronic back pain, not guilty of all charges in a case where prosecutors tried to portray her as a drug dealer. The prosecution’s unsuccessful case was notably nasty, even for a medical marijuana arrest in a state where some law enforcement officials have been slow to adjust to the legalization of medicinal cannabis passed by voters in 1998. “This case is not about medicine. This case is about money,” Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Matthew Baldock said in his opening statements Tuesday. “The defendant was masquerading as a marijuana patient and was in reality a drug dealer, no question.” One can only imagine the incensed reaction of Snohomish County’s good voters when they realize their scarce tax dollars are being wasted on foolishness like this. Prosecutors and narcotics detectives claimed McKenzie, 24, was using her medical marijuana authorization as a front for an illegal pot farm at her home in Bothell, Washington, reports Diana Hefley of the Everett Herald Net . McKenzie said that prosecutors based their case on the word of her former roommate, a “known drug dealer” who was promised he wouldn’t be prosecuted if he testified against McKenzie. Jurors ultimately didn’t buy the prosecution’s claims and declared McKenzie not guilty of manufacturing marijuana, which is a felony. Baldock called two witnesses, both detectives with the Bellevue-based Eastside Narcotics Task Force in his case against McKenzie. Defense attorney Natalie Tarantino asked the judge to throw out the charge against McKenzie due to a lack of evidence, including the state’s failure to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that her client is, in fact, the person charged with the crime. Superior Court Judge George Appel denied that motion, instead allowing Baldock to bring a detective back on the stand to testify to the defendant’s identity. Jurors were shown a copy of a driver’s license picturing Cameron Scott Wieldraayer. That was the defendant’s name before she changed her gender and her name. The detective identified the person on the driver’s license as McKenzie. McKenzie herself took the stand Wednesday, testifying at length about marijuana growing methods. She currently runs an Internet business selling growing equipment. The defendant explained how medical marijuana alleviates her symptoms. Marijuana “stops the brain from acknowledging the pain,” allowing her to function, she said. McKenzie told jurors she consumes up to a quarter-ounce a day. She adamantly denied that she was selling marijuana or using her grow operation to make a profit.

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Victory In Washington: Jury Finds Medical Marijuana Patient Not Guilty