Heads up! The Sixth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics will be held from Thursday, April 15 through Saturday, April 17, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI. It is not too early to register for this event, sponsored by UC San Francisco School of Medicine, the Rhode Island State Nurses Association and Patients Out of Time.

Some of the diverse topics to be covered in these three days include:

• Cannabis for Muscle Spasms and MS, presented by Jay Rostow (VA) & Rhonda O'Donnell (RI)
• Chasing the Rainbow-Medical Cannabis and the Struggle to Break the NIDA Monopoly, presented by Lyle Craker, PhD
• Cognitive and Psychomotor Effects of Cannabis, presented by Richard Musty, PhD
• Endocannabinoid System & Neuropathic Pain, presented by Andrea Hohmann, PhD
• Growing Cannabis for Medicine, presented by Ed Glick
• Safety of Medical Cannabis Use, presented by Mark Ware, MD, MSc, MRCP
• Veterans and Pain, PTS(d) Syndrome, Traumatic Brain Injuries, presented by Michael Krawitz and Martin Chilcutt

Other noted presenters include: Donald Abrams, MD (UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Mount Zion); David Bearman, MD (American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine); Al Byrne (Patients Out of Time); Lyle Craker, PhD (Professor, Department of Plant, Soil & Insect Sciences, University of Massachusetts) and Raphael Mechoulam, PhD; (Lionel Jacobson Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

• Continuing education credits will be available through the University of California's Office of Continuing Medical Education.

• The Rhode Island State Nurses Association Nursing has applied for contact hours and awaits approval.

Do not miss this important event. Opinions regarding medical cannabis are rapidly changing. We must inform ourselves and be prepared for any chance to help raise awareness about this versatile medicine.

Who's Who in Medical Cannabis - Mary Lynn Mathre and Al Byrne - by c.a. riley

Mary Lynne Mathre, RN, MSN, CARN

With more than 30 years of hospital experience—the last 20 in the field of substance abuse/addiction treatment—Mary Lynne Mathre is a veteran medical cannabis campaigner. By encouraging and educating others in her field, Mathre has helped to bring the American Nurses Association, as well as many state nursing organizations, into the realm of medical cannabis. In 1994, after a presentation by Mathre, the Virginia Nurses Association became the first nursing organization to pass a resolution in support of medical cannabis.

Today, Nurse Mathre works as a self-employed legal nurse consultant and an Addictions Consult Nurse with the University of Virginia Health System in the Charlottesville, Virginia region. She remains committed to raising awareness of the therapeutic benefits of cannabis, and is President and a founding member of Patients Out of Time, a well-regarded non-profit organization working to educate heath care workers and the general public about the medical qualities of cannabis.

Al Byrne, Lcdr, SC, USN (ret)

The son of a cancer patient who, in 1966, used medical cannabis to combat the negative aspects of cancer chemotherapy, Al Byrne has remained active in the promotion of medical cannabis since that time. From 1989-1994 Byrne was on the Board of Directors of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), serving as Managing Director in 1991 and 1992, and as National Secretary from 1992 to 1994.

Mr. Byrne works with some of the remaining federally-supplied patients enrolled in the Compassionate Individual New Drug (IND) Program, and advocates for U.S. patients with the International Academy of Cannabis Medicine (IACM). He worked as an outreach counselor for five years in Appalachia for the Agent Orange Class Assistance Program, and is a valuable source of cannabis use information for PTSD-afflicted veterans in that region

This is but a short list of Byrnes accomplishments in increasing awareness of cannabis therapeutics. Today he is Secretary-Treasurer of Patients Out of Time, as well as a founding member. Mr. Byrne uses a variety of media to continue to inform health care professionals and the public.

Patients Out of Time

Following a few years of informally working as a team, three of the federal patients, along with health care workers and others knowledgeable about medical cannabis, founded “Patients Out of Time” (POT) in the spring of 1995.

POT is a national non-profit organization working to spread the truth about the remarkable potential of medical cannabis. This year marks its 15th anniversary, and the 10th anniversary of its biennial series of accredited Clinical Conferences on Cannabis Therapeutics. One of the functions of these informative gatherings is to refute any contentions by the federal government that meaningful research does not exist. We can only hope that by our continued action it may soon be said that government resistance to medical cannabis does not exist.

To accomplish this, POT is involved in an ongoing action to get cannabis rescheduled by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Petition to Reschedule Cannabis. Medical cannabis advocates in the US are urged to ask their elected representatives to press for an immediate review.

This is not a membership organization. Patients Out of Time is a diverse group of patients, clinicians and scientists, all volunteering their time and talents to advance the cause. One hundred percent of expenses are met by donations from individuals and grants from charitable foundations, and one hundred percent of these donations and grants are put into education; no one takes a wage.

A rare study conducted in the U.S. in early 2001, involving some of the federal patients, was widely known as The Missoula Chronic Use Study, an intensive three-day examination of four of the patients, conducted to study the effect of long-term cannabis use. Every bodily system was thoroughly examined.

Other than their original illness and the normal effects of aging, the four patients were found to be in excellent condition. This groundbreaking study resulted in the publication of “Chronic Cannabis Use in the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program: An Examination of Benefits and Adverse Effects of Legal Clinical Cannabis” in the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics. Dr. Ethan Russo presented the results of the study in 2002 at the Second Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics in Portland, Oregon.

Recent polls about the therapeutic properties of cannabis and medical necessity show that support for medical cannabis has risen to as high as 81% in some parts of the country. This heightened awareness has expanded into a general opinion that US government policy on medical cannabis is seriously flawed. It is perceived by patients and others to be just plain mean, based on misinformation and outright lies.

Clearly, medical cannabis has become a mainstream issue, but there is a problem: many medical professionals voice enthusiastic support for medical cannabis, but will not publicly declare their support for fear of losing their jobs—an understandable reluctance. Patients Out of Time will continue to urgently spread the truth and help people find their voices until everyone needing therapeutic cannabis has legal access to it.

Learn more about Patients Out of Time and their outstanding accomplishments for medical cannabis patients. See http://www.youtube.com

What's New

Alabama: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Arkansas: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Connecticut: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Delaware: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Florida: Medical marijuana petition drive underway.

Idaho: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Illinois: Considering a medical marijuana law.
   Bill Status of SB1381

Iowa: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Kansas: Medical marijuana petition drive underway.
   Marijuana Bill Reaches House

Maryland: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Massachusetts: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Minnesota: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Missouri: Considering a medical marijuana law.
   HOUSE BILL NO. 1670 - An Act relating to the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes
   Cottleville Mayor Don Yarber hopes Missouri legislature passes medical marijuana law

New Hampshire: Considering a medical marijuana law.

New York: Considering a medical marijuana law.

North Carolina: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Ohio: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Pennsylvania: Considering a medical marijuana law.

South Carolina: Considering a medical marijuana law.

South Dakota: Medical marijuana petition drive underway.

Tennessee: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Texas: Considering a medical marijuana law.

Wisconsin: Considering a medical marijuana law.
   The Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act

Featured Recipe - Chili Con Cannabis

Once again your cannabis chef has been rummaging about on a cold winters afternoon for some comfort food with a kick. I love the idea of doing a survey of my kitchen cabinets, refrigerator, freezer, and garden to see what's on hand and what new combinations can be created. So we come to an old favorite, chili.

Now some purists insist on no beans while others insist on no meat. Personally, I love both. "Chili Con Cannabis" has a two-legged kick. One kick is from spices (use to taste) and the other is from the decadent addition of fine cannabis butter to the bubbling pot (no pun intended).

Here's my latest batch:

Directions:

Place the beans in a large pot under low heat. When steam begins to rise add the spices, wine, liquid smoke, and Lea and Perrins.

After about 30 minutes to one hour (with occasional stirring), add the tomatoes and onions.

Stir-fry the beef in a small amount of extra virgin olive oil to which you've added 6-8 cloves of fresh garlic. Add the browned beef to the pot (the cooking one silly).

Do not overcook the beef. For texture sake avoid ground meat. Do not be a textual deviate!

Allow the chili to very slowly cook for 1-2 hours over low heat with stirring.

Add the bud butter no more than 30 minutes prior to serving. Blend the butter in.

Extras!!! Serve with corn chips or fresh sourdough bread. Sprinkle freshly grated cheddar cheese over the top.

Beverage: Unlike my other recipes that recommend this wine or that, chili is best with beer (Budweiser or my favorite Modelo Negra).