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Parents Ending Prohibition . . . because there are better ways to protect kids ! |
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PEP -- Making news in 2003 |
Easing the Pain With Pot As a patient with Crohn's Disease, I've seen dramatic improvements in my symptoms because of using medical marijuana. Cannabis is no more a magic cure-all than morphine, but this makes me no less grateful for the relief they both provide. I don't believe our nation would have benefited had I been taken from my children and thrown in prison for choosing an herbal remedy. Andrea Barthwell's attitude is willfully ignorant ["More Tests Needed on Medical Marijuana Use," Viewpoints, July 28]. Whatever else we can say about marijuana, with budgets stretched to the breaking point and prisons overflowing, society does not benefit when we throw sick people in prison for trying to feel better. Erin Hildebrandt Smithsburg, Md. |
Md. Mom Fights For Medical Marijuana Use Mother Uses Marijuana To Treat Crohn's Disease Symptoms BALTIMORE -- A Maryland mother who openly admits she smokes marijuana said it's the only way she can cope with her chronic disease and care for her family -- but it is illegal. WBAL-TV 11 News Health Alert reporter Donna Hamilton spoke with Erin Hildebrandt, 32, about her controversial decision. Hildebrandt is a mother of five from Hagerstown. She has suffered a long saga with severe and painful Crohn's Disease that began in the 1990s, Hamilton reported. "They tried surgeries, experimental surgeries. They tried everything they had at their disposal and nothing worked for me," Hildebrandt said. Nothing worked, Hildebrandt said, including powerful painkillers like Demerol and Dilaudid. She tried steroids, Prozac and antibiotics -- but nothing worked. "And the attacks can be quite acute?" Hamilton asked. "Imagine the worst stomach flu you've ever had, that is what it's like," Hildebrandt said. That's when a friend, seeing what shape Hildebrandt was in, brought her some marijuana and recommended that she try it because it might help. "I was sobbing with relief. It made such a big difference. The nausea went away, the pain was less," Hildebrandt said. So marijuana became Hildebrandt's secret -- and illegal -- answer to Crohn's Disease. She was afraid to tell her doctor, but fear is what led her to imagine the worst, Hamilton said. "The bottom line for me is I don't belong in prison, I don't belong being arrested [and] I shouldn't have to worry about a dangerous raid on my home with guns pointed at my children's heads," Hildebrandt said. Dr. Steven Noga is the chief of hematology and oncology at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. He has known plenty of cancer patients -- who can't eat because of the nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy -- who have been helped by marijuana. "You don't do as well when you're getting sick. These patients will eat. The so called munchies, as we've all heard about, it's a real thing," Noga said. "Don't a lot of doctors sanction this?" Hamilton asked. "Absolutely," Noga said. "Even encourage it?" Hamilton asked. "Yeah, but I think you have to watch the encourage part," Noga said. According to Dr. Andrea Barthwell, who is the White House deputy director of Drug Control Policy, marijuana has no place in medicine and should remain illegal. "Marijuana is a drug and not a medicine. We have made time-honored process in this country when we bring medications to the market-place that protects the health of the patient and marijuana has not gone through that test," Barthwell said. As an alternative, Barthwell suggested to "try Marinol." Marinol is a federal Food and Drug Administration-approved drug that is a synthetic form of the active ingredient in marijuana. But there's a problem for many people. "These drugs have to be taken by mouth. lots of patients can't eat, because they're nauseated, so they can't take the pills," Noga said. Noga is among a group of doctors who believe marijuana should be dispensed by prescription to those who need it so the amount and the grade can be controlled. "When they're getting it from an illegal source or a dubious source, one never knows what one is getting," Noga said. "Erin, a lot of people would just call you a lawbreaker," Hamilton said. "Yeah, technically I broke the law, no doubt about it. But my choice was that or not being able to care for my family," Hildebrandt said. Hildebrandt's Crohn's Disease is in remission for the time being, so she doesn't currently use marijuana. But she said next week or next year, that could change. "It's these things, the baking cookies, finger painting, taking the kids out and playing that I really used to miss -- and marijuana gave me that back," Hildebrandt said. In May, the state of Maryland lowered the penalties for possessing marijuana for medical reasons. The federal government hasn't followed suit and can still conduct raids and arrest anyone possessing marijuana, Hamilton reported. |
National Post Re: 'Officer, I'd Like to Report Some Stolen Marijuana,' July 19. Here in the United States, our citizens ironically contribute to the violence we fear in an effort to combat the violence we fear. I applaud Canadians for taking the sensible step of providing recourse for citizens who have been victims of armed robbery. As a patient who has needed medical marijuana, I've run across a few unscrupulous vendors who were more than willing to provide a product they knew to be worthless. I've also had friends who've come home to find their houses in disarray, and their medicine stolen, but they had no legal means to recover their substantial loss. The frustration that accompanies having been victimized, yet unable to recover the loss -- or even to keep others from becoming victims -- by demanding the criminal be held accountable for his actions, is the only potential for violence I've ever witnessed with regard to cannabis. As a society, we can choose to leave these victims without the aid of law enforcement and increase the potential for violent retaliation, or we can reduce violence every chance we get. I'm encouraged to see our neighbours to the north blazing the trail for us. Hopefully we'll learn from your example! Erin Hildebrandt, Smithsburg, Md. |
WBAI New York, radio interview Bruce Mirken, Director of Communications for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), and I spoke with Bob Lederer on "Health Action" about medical marijuana. |
Unwinnable fight Do the warriors actually want to win the war? I believe Americans deserve to have this question more fully explored. Michael Holzmeister stated, "If drugs are as big a scourge as the warriors would have us believe, they are going to need a convoy of trucks to haul all the illegal substances away." In fact, according to the Associated Press, only 10 to 15 percent of the heroin, and roughly 30 percent of the cocaine that hits our streets, is intercepted by law enforcement, while it would take the removal of at least 75 percent to begin to have an impact on drug trafficking. Even under a totalitarian regime, this would be impossible. One enormous problem is that we place all illegal substances under the same umbrella, and call them dangerous, while glorifying patented pharmaceuticals and alcohol. In foreign papers, they call cannabis "the aspirin of the 21st century," while we have "drug czar" John Walters trying to tell us medical marijuana is a "cruel hoax." Walters is either being willfully ignorant or cruelly deceptive. There are better ways, and we can make the nation safer for all of us, by demanding better from the people we pay to advise us. ERIN HILDEBRANDT Smithsburg, Md. |
Medical marijuana decisions shouldn't be made by judges Having testified in support of Maryland's medical marijuana bill, I disagree with Tom Riley ("Marijuana fight to be continued," July 2) that resubmitting our legislation is a "Trojan horse" for legalizing drugs. My interest in this issue is personal. Before turning to cannabis, I tried dozens of dangerous drugs, prescribed by my doctors, to ease the symptoms of Crohn's disease. Even if one of the more dangerous drugs had worked, why should I be arrested for choosing what DEA Law Judge Francis Young characterized as the "safest therapeutically active substance known to man"? Only a willfully ignorant or cruelly deceptive leader could deny that marijuana is medicine, with mountains of hard science supporting it. In addition, where cannabis has been regulated, they're seeing decreases in substance abuse, overdoses and crime. Don't we deserve the same advantages? I can agree with Mr. Riley in is his criticism of our bill: "It puts the medical determination ... in the hands of a judge." This is why I'll be back in Annapolis to testify again next year. Medical decisions belong in patients' hands, not a judge's, and certainly far from the hands of Mr. Riley. For too long, we've been operating under the assumption that our leaders would not mislead us about such an important issue. As Tony Walters said, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." Shame on Mr. Walters for fooling us. Now that we know better; it's time to act responsibly and stop arresting patients for taking their medicine. ERIN HILDEBRANDT Smithsburg |
Raid will do little to deter drug dealers To the Editor: Although often well-intentioned, printing such silly propaganda about our nation's "war" on some drugs, is misguided at best. With the most sincere naivete, "Not Here" stated, "...the raid sends a shockwave signal through the drug dealing community, reaching all the way to the streets of Baltimore and New York." So 25 people were arrested. This does not mean any of them were guilty of the crimes for which they've been charged! Unless our laws which prioritize "innocent until proven guilty" have been nullified, I believe they still apply to people accused of drug law violations. In addition, this was only 25 people. According to the Associated Press, interdiction efforts intercept about 10-15 percent of the heroin and roughly 30 percent of the cocaine hitting our streets, while at least 75 percent would need to be removed to begin having an impact on drug trafficking. Even under the most repressive regimes, this would be impossible. If we really want to make this world safer and brighter for our children, we must wake up and start looking at our problems realistically. To praise the beleaguered efforts of overworked officers who are expected to save people from themselves, is not appropriate. Instead, let's look toward how we can free up these precious resources, and place them where they can have the greatest impact to fight real crime, and true threats to our security. Mrs. Erin Hildebrandt Smithsburg |
MEDICAL MARIJUANA MOM A Maryland patient tells her story. Story by Erin Hildebrandt ANNAPOLIS, MDIt's a unique and humbling experience to stand with the leaders and policy makers of Maryland, to witness the birth of new ideals and new hope for the patients of our state. On May 22, with my baby daughter in my arms, we watched Governor Robert Ehrlich sign the Darrell Putman Compassionate Use Act, reducing the penalty for possession of medical marijuana to a $100 fine, into law. All I could think as I approached his desk was, "Please God, don't let me throw up on the governor!" Having experienced the miracle of using medical marijuana to treat my Crohn's disease, migraines, and hyperemesis gravidarum, a dangerous complication of pregnancy which frequently leads to malnutrition, I was a firm believer in the necessity of making it legally available. I had also enjoyed many college experiences with this fine herb, saw the enormous difference between its effects and the effects of alcohol, and believed in full legalization, even though I had very few facts to back up my beliefs. My personal experiences have greatly shaped my views. My days used to be spent between bed, toilet, and doctors' offices, with occasional trips to emergency and operating rooms for variety. Most of the time I was completely disabled by illness, unable to care for myself, let alone my family. Cannabis changed all of this for me. After I'd exhausted what conventional medicine could offer and had been unable to eat for days, barely able to keep down water and nibbles of saltines, a friend suggested that marijuana could help. She offered me a few doses of the first medicine to provide me relief without devastating side effects. It just may have saved my life. I became involved in marijuana-law reform just last year. After reading online about a demonstration in Washington, my husband, Bill, and I packed up the minivan and our five kids, and hit the roadbut, completely unfamiliar with the DC area, we couldn't find the protest. I wrote to Hilary McQuie at Americans for Safe Access, who put me in touch with Kevin Zeese at Common Sense for Drug Policy, who warmly welcomed me into this wild world of activism. When he invited us to attend future demonstrations, I began to learn about Bryan Epis and the 10-year federal prison sentence he's now serving for his humanitarian efforts to provide himself and other suffering patients with a safe source for their medicine. Late at night, Bill and I would discuss how this could be our family, and how we had to do more to stop this kind of injustice. The more we read about good people who were losing their livelihoods, possessions, and even their lives in our nation's ridiculous pursuit of selective sobriety, the more our outrage increased. Finally, Bill agreed to sacrifice a small part of his own freedom in order to make a statement about the obscenity of Epis' sentencing. On Oct. 7, 2002, along with Chuck Thomas of Unitarian Universalists for Drug Policy Reform, Dave Guard of the Drug Reform Coordination Network, and Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project, Bill was arrested in front of the White House for refusing to obey the police and leave when he was told to do so. They had hoped to garner some press attention, but CNN appeared to be more committed to covering a hot-dog eating contest that day. While the 2002 elections and this lack of concern in the press for medical-marijuana issues were terribly disappointing, we went on undaunted. I started a small Website, parentsendingprohibition.org. Though initially not very well organized, it was very helpful to me in learning about the issues surrounding cannabis prohibition, and how to more effectively communicate my ideas. In January, I began hearing that there would be a bill introduced in our state that could legalize medical marijuana. Intrigued with the possibility I could help somehow, right here at home, I contacted Bruce Mirken at MPP and asked what I could do. Soon after, his colleague Larry Sandell asked if I would consider testifying before the Maryland Senate about my experiences. I was excited, but terrified. For weeks, they worked with me, answering my many questions and giving me pep talks when I would panic. They were indispensable resources in an area that was terribly foreign to me. After all, I was just an ordinary "soccer mom." It's not too often that housewives find themselves standing before the state Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, in front of numerous people in police uniforms, explaining how they broke the law and that they're very glad they did! I arrived in Annapolis on February 26, prepared to speak to the committee. It was eye-opening to watch people like Eric Sterling of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation and State Senator Paula Hollinger present the bill to the committee and field their questions. One question posed involved the absurd tale of a woman whose baby had been "harmed" by "pot smoke drifting through an open window" from an apartment above. The senator demanded to know what provisions would be made to keep these newly legal medical users from being able to "poison" other people's kids. It was very difficult to keep from standing up and stating my disgust. I had traveled there to talk about the need in Maryland to stop arresting sick people for taking medicine, and this man was so afraid of marijuana that he couldn't even recognize the absurdity of his question, nor could he comprehend the inhumanity of putting people like me in jail. His sole focus was his own reefer madness. Nonplussed, Sterling took a deep breath and fired off statistics and studies showing that marijuana, in the example given, could not possibly harm a child. He went on to add that the bill before them would not make it legal to use marijuana in any public places nor in the presence of children; therefore, the point was moot. He then went back to discussing the real issues. Considering that right now, an individual can legally chain-smoke cigarettes in a closed room with a child, the idea that we would prioritize a purely theoretical "danger" over basic human rights and dignities is pathetic. For every child who could be spared this sort of "risk," there are millions of patients who suffer real harms and real dangers created entirely by marijuana prohibition. One glaring example of the desire of some of the committee members to remain blind to the real issues came while I was waiting for my turn to be heard. I noticed two of the senators ignoring the people speaking in favor of perusing a copy of HIGH TIMES. This could have been a positive adjunct to their research into this issue. However, they missed vital testimony during their adolescent titillation with the magazine, and ultimately, both voted against the bill. This was a shameful display of childish arrogance and willful ignorance from two leaders from whom I would have expected better. When it came time for me to speak, I was completely overwhelmed and intimidated. The last time I had spoken in front of a group of people was a decade before, at my wedding. Shaking, I approached the podium. I decided all I had was the truth, and I'd emphasize both how disabling my diseases had been and the stark, cold terror I'd been forced to live with just to feel better. I can't remember much of what actually came out of my mouth, but I pleaded with them to pass this bill, so people like me and my family wouldn't be forced into this awful situation anymore. Reporters started questioning me after I testified, and I realized I was supposed to come up with brief ways of saying why I was there. I hadn't really thought much about these quotes that seemed routine for everyone else. I had all of these personal epiphanies running through my mind, and opinions about every aspect of this odd war on some drugs. It was very difficult to try to put my outrage into a two-sentence soundbite. With editorial assistance from Mirken, I began writing letters to editors, and even had an op-ed article printed in the Baltimore Sun. My ordinary life has been turned upside down, with a little unexpected fame and a success with writing that's opened up new worlds to me. However, the finest moment of all was watching Shaleen Murphy, Darrell Putman's widow, before the lights and cameras after the bill-signing, proclaiming victory in seeing the bill that bore her husband's name finally signed into law. Putman was a cancer patient who used medical marijuana and lost his battle with the disease in 1999. His dear friend, former Delegate Donald Murphy, introduced a version of this bill in 2000 in his honor. Shay Murphy and everyone else supporting it agonized for three years, trying to make the elected officials understand how despicable it is to lock up people like Darrell Putman, before finding a legislature compassionate and educated enough to pass this bill. Now, the patients in Maryland who benefit from the use of cannabis will no longer have to face state prison sentences for doing so. This is far from an ideal situation, but it's an improvement. I'm very grateful to Governor Ehrlich for having the courage to do the right thing, in spite of pressure from the highest offices in the Bush administration to demand that he veto this bill. He stood by his campaign promises to protect the patients in his state, which gives me great hope he will do so again when we bring him a bill to end the arrests of patients next year. I still have to live with the fear of having armed men raid my home, and all the dangers that entails, should I need my medicine again. With seven people and a cat, what are the chances no one would make a sudden move while their guns were drawn? Still, I firmly believe our best chance to see an end to these unjust laws is by simply living honestly and being unabashedly open about our medicine. In order to change hearts, our collective outrage must exceed our collective trepidation. There is nothing inherently shameful about using marijuana. Cannabis is far safer than the dozens of drugs peddled to me by MDs, and one of the few medicines without any side effects that I mind experiencing. It quelled my nausea, reduced my pain, and made me want to eat and laugh again. While they could arrest me, no judge or police officer can change the fact that locking me up, or others like me, doesn't mean we did anything wrong. It's time for our government to recognize that they're filling our prisons with people just like themselves and their loved ones. Just like you and me. |
Pot phobia distorts truth about its medical properties To the editor: According to Joe McGeeney, ("Ehrlich signs controversial medical marijuana bill," May 22) "It's sending the wrong message to our kids that it's OK to use because there is medicinal powers. Other states that have approved (similar bills) have seen a sharp increase in the youth smoking marijuana." McGeeney must be unaware that 47 percent of Maryland's 12th graders admit to having experimented with marijuana. Californians have enjoyed almost a 10 percent reduction - down to 34 percent - of teen use since 1996, when California legalized medical marijuana. Clearly, kids choose to abuse "drugs" more often than they abuse "medicines." Furthermore, the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians; American Bar Association; American Public Health Association; American Society of Addiction Medicine; AIDS Action Council; British Medical Association; California Academy of Family Physicians; California Legislative Council for Older Americans; California Medical Association; California Nurses Association; California Pharmacists Association; California Society of Addiction Medicine; California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church; Colorado Nurses Association; Consumer Reports Magazine; Kaiser Permanente; Lymphoma Foundation of America; Multiple Sclerosis California Action Network; National Association of Attorneys General; National Association of People with AIDS; National Nurses Society on Addictions; New Mexico Nurses Association; New York State Nurses Association; New England Journal of Medicine; and Virginia Nurses Association have all endorsed medical access to marijuana. Have they just been "misled on the actual science" too? The first time kids learn that these "dangers" of marijuana are exaggerated at best, they will mistrust the source of this misinformation. "Pot equals terrorism" ads, in-between beer and pharmaceutical ads, is a truly dangerous mixed message to send. Yet we wasted more than 4 million of our tax dollars to do just that. We need to stop inventing dangers by criminalizing an act that hurts no one, but helps many. The best we can do for our children is to give them honesty and the common sense to make healthy choices in a challenging world. The rest is up to them, just as it was up to us when we were younger. Erin Hildebrandt Smithsburg |
Medical marijuana shouldn't be illegal Michael Olesker's column "Marijuana law makes a humane distinction" (May 25) brought me to tears. I've sat with doctors, tiptoeing around the same subject with some, completely avoiding the word marijuana with others. I've also laid, doubled over in my bed, sobbing, and knowing that no doctor in this state could give me a medicine that would help me feel better. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is to be commended for courageously signing our medical marijuana bill. He lived up to his campaign promise to protect the patients of Maryland, and I'm very grateful to him for his honorable stand on this issue. Still, this bill is the smallest step toward justice and common sense. We need to be free to be honest with our health care providers. Honesty is a foundation for that terribly intimate relationship, yet we're afraid our doctors will deny us care or turn us in if we tell them we've used marijuana. I'm grateful I won't have to go to jail. Is it too much to ask that I not be arrested, either? Erin Hildebrandt Smithsburg |
A Medical Marijuana Break Use Will Remain Illegal, but Bill Signed by Ehrlich Cuts Patients' Penalties By Lori Montgomery Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, May 23, 2003; Page B01 Criminal penalties would be dramatically reduced for cancer patients and others in Maryland who smoke marijuana to relieve suffering under legislation signed yesterday by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., but the new law stops short of letting seriously ill people obtain the drug legally. The measure, which takes effect Oct. 1, merely makes "medical necessity" a defense against charges of marijuana possession. Instead of facing a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, those who can convince a judge that they use marijuana to relieve symptoms of a chronic or life-threatening illness will have to pay a fine of no more than $100. Though the Maryland law falls short of measures in California and seven other states where marijuana use is legal for medical purposes, advocates said it sends an important message of support to sick people and their caregivers -- as well as to police and prosecutors, who might otherwise brand them criminals. "It helps a little bit," said Erin Hildebrandt, 32, a mother of five from Smithsburg who has used marijuana to relieve pain from Crohn's disease. "At least I know I'm not going to be hauled off to prison if I'm caught." While the practical effects of the law may be limited, the political fallout could be substantial. Ehrlich is only the second governor in the nation -- and the first Republican -- to sign such legislation. The other eight measures were enacted by ballot initiative. A medical marijuana initiative also won approval from District voters but has been blocked by Congress. In addition, 21 states, including Virginia, have approved largely symbolic laws or resolutions recognizing marijuana's medicinal value. Ehrlich's decision to sign the bill puts him at odds with conservatives in his party and with the Bush White House, which lobbied hard and applied "a lot of pressure," Ehrlich said, to persuade him to veto the bill. Tom Riley, a spokesman for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, confirmed that White House drug czar John P. Walters and his deputy telephoned Ehrlich to express the administration's opposition. Walters, who has launched a national campaign against efforts to relax state drug laws, has said that arguments for medicinal marijuana make no more sense than "an argument for medicinal crack." Ehrlich "probably acted with the best of intentions with the idea of wanting to help people but was badly briefed on the science and public health aspect of the measure," Riley said yesterday. Ehrlich's decision also outraged many of his supporters, who accused the new governor of being duped by groups that seek access to marijuana for recreational use and are exploiting sick people to get their foot in the door. The Maryland law was backed by the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington-based organization that supports decriminalization. "This is a rotten and wrongheaded piece of work that will benefit the pro-marijuana lobby and the potheads of Maryland," said Malcolm Lawrence of Chevy Chase, a former State Department official in charge of international narcotics control in the Nixon and Carter administrations. Lawrence said he voted for Ehrlich and contributed to his political campaign but now will "vote for anyone but Robert Ehrlich" in 2006. "Along comes the first Republican governor in three decades, and he gives in on this legislation?" Lawrence said. "This is such a stupid maneuver, I have to react to this." Ehrlich seemed unconcerned by the uproar. He acknowledged that the marijuana law was "controversial even within our administration," which is why he took nearly two months to decide whether to sign it. In the U.S. House, Ehrlich co-sponsored a bill that would have authorized states to stake out their own positions on medical marijuana, free from the pressures of federal drug policy. In the end, he said he chose to stay true to his "long-held view" that people deserve compassion in "end-of-life situations." The Bush administration has "a very legitimate viewpoint. I respect 'em. I love 'em. Obviously, I'm a major W fan," Ehrlich said, using the president's nickname. "But if you look at my views over the years, there are clearly two wings of the party o |