Three great studies linking cannabis consumption to health benefits this week inspired me to write this letter to the editor.

MARIJUANA HAS HEALTH BENEFITS

Health care professionals report America is suffering an epidemic of obesity and diabetes. What if a widely used substance could prevent and maybe "cure" diabetes? There is, and cannabis is that substance.

In a new study published in the American Journal of Medicine, "The Impact of Marijuana Use on Glucose, Insulin, and Insulin Resistance among U.S. Adults," researchers studied 579 current cannabis users and 1,975 past users. In multivariable adjusted models, current marijuana use was associated with 16% lower fasting insulin levels and 17% lower insulin resistance levels. Researchers also found significant associations between marijuana use and smaller waist circumferences.

Other recent studies have also found cannabis use beneficial for other conditions. Israeli researchers concluded smoking cannabis caused a "complete remission" of Crohn's disease compared to placebo in half the patients in a study to be published by the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Kaiser Permanente researchers looking at bladder cancer concluded cannabis use only was associated with a 45% reduction in bladder cancer incidence, while tobacco use only was associated with a 52% increase in bladder cancer.

These studies only add to the overwhelming evidence that marijuana prohibition is not just a colossal failure but also a counterproductive fraud. Repeal would not only save billions in criminal justice system costs but, as these studies suggest, save billions in health care costs as well.

Gary Storck
Co-founder Is My Medicine Legal YET?
Co-founder/past president Wisconsin and Madison NORML
Madison

The Dane County board looks at a vote on cannabis legalization.

Dane County Sup. Kyle Richmond has announced he has introduced a resolution to support HR 499, federal legislation which would decriminalize marijuana. Richmond's resolution, Res. 25, has 10 cosponsors and has been referred to the Executive Committee for consideration in the next week or two..

Read entire article: Dane County Board may vote to urge Congress to legalize pot

Here is a letter on the current state of Wisconsin politics published in the Capital Times.

May 07, 2013

Dear Editor: Paul Fanlund's article "In UW, the 'Jiffy Lube' GOP found its latest demon," highlights the current state of dysfunction in Wisconsin government. But many of us still remember a time when politicians of all backgrounds, including Sen. Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, worked together for the common good.

A prime example of that time is found in the years former Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus was in office. Those who remember the Dreyfus years point to a time in Wisconsin politics very unlike today when representatives did not vote along party lines but actually decided issues on their merits.

A high point came in 1982 when a bipartisan majority of lawmakers approved the Therapeutic Cannabis Research Act (TCRA), which was signed into law by Dreyfus. Dreyfus had initially opposed the bill but came around to support it.

The TCRA established a program where glaucoma and cancer patients could obtain medical marijuana with support of their physician. It remains on the books today but due to the refusal of federal authorities to share federal medicinal pot supplies, the promise of the TCRA remains unfulfilled.

Ellis, then an Assembly representative, was one of the 77 "aye" votes. Ellis was joined by a diverse bipartisan group that included Mordecai Lee, Tom Loftus, John Norquist, Mary Panzer, Tommy Thompson and a host of others.

In the Senate, Lynn Adelman, William Bablitch, Tim Cullen and Scott McCallum joined others in casting an emphatic 32-1 vote in favor.

In 1982, Wisconsin lawmakers put the state firmly on record as supporting the rights of patients to obtain medical cannabis with physician approval. It's time for today's lawmakers and governor to join together on issues Wisconsinites agree on. A good start would be to finish what was started in 1982 by passing legislation that will allow patients legal access to medical cannabis without further delay.

Gary Storck

co-founder, Is My Medicine Legal YET?

www.IMMLY.org

Madison

Here is an OPED I wrote that was published in the American Cultivator detailing the sorry state of affairs for cannabis consumers residing in or visiting the Badger State.

By Gary Storck

Wisconsin’s failure to recognize the changing times by passing a medical cannabis law or even decriminalizing possession of small amounts of cannabis has led to a growing exodus from the state.

How did we get into this mess? Why is there such a big gap between legalization in Washington State and Colorado, and Wisconsin’s draconian pot laws, laws that kill tourism and send our citizens out of state to treat their illnesses?

Continue reading The American Cultivator: Missing the Boat: Wisconsin Says, “Don’t Come Here”

Here is an update on what is happening this April 20th in Madison.

On April 20, Madison Wisconsin, long a beacon of cannabis tolerance, will be hosting an array of events celebrating what has become the annual holiday dedicated to cannabis around the world.

At 3:00 p.m. on 4/20, there will be a panel discussion, "Pot Policy and Drug Peace," at the Isthmus Green Day event at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in downtown Madison two blocks from the Capitol on MLK Blvd.

Read full article: "Pot Policy Panel and 420 Festival among April 20 events in Madison"

Here's the skinny on April 20 in Madison this year!

Madison will be among pot-friendly cities hosting 420 celebrations this April 20. The Madison 420 Festival 2013 is being held at two downtown venues, the Brink Lounge and the High Noon Saloon and will feature three stages. Madison reggae favorites Natty Nation will headline the event at the High Noon Saloon.

Read full article...

A look back at when Wisconsin farmers prospered from hemp cultivation.

The cultivation of hemp dates back to America's earliest settlers and hemp products including rope, paper, canvas helped build America. While the crop fell victim to marijuana prohibition, it was brought back during World War 2 to provide rope for the U.S. Navy.

In Nov. 2012, Colorado voters passed Amendment 64, legalizing marijuana in that state. Amendment 64 also allows the legal cultivation of hemp, pending legislative authorization.

Wisconsin lawmakers have sponsored hemp related bills over the years but because of federal law, any state effort is likely to continue to be symbolic. But clearly, with talk of full legalization widespread after Colorado and Washington voters repealed marijuana prohibition in those states Nov. 6, 2012, hemp offers a huge range of opportunities for business and job creation for hemp producers and the industries that would arise to process the plant, if legal.

Read entire article here.

The State of the State address by WI Gov. Scott Walker is now set for Jan. 15, 2013 at 7 pm.

Wisconsin cannabis activists will be at the State Capitol, for two consecutive days next week to advocate for cannabis law reform. A trio of Wisconsin groups, the Wisconsin and Madison chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and the medical pot group Is My Medicine Legal YET? (IMMLY) were already planning a medical cannabis lobby day Wed. Jan. 16.

With the announcement that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will be delivering his annual State of the State (SOTS) address at 7:00 p.m. on Jan. 15, Madison NORML has announced it will be filing for a permit to hold an annual vigil outside the SOTS address in the Capitol. Last year, the group's permit application was mysteriously "lost" and cannabis advocates were barred from holding an event that dates back into the 1990's or before.

Read full article here.

Very nice article from the Cap Times' Steve Elbow!

Gary Storck has been working for marijuana legalization for a long time. The 57-year-old Madison resident started to use it as a medication for glaucoma when he was 17 years old, and it worked.

“I smoked some and went to see my eye doctor and my eye pressures were normal,” he says. “They were usually very elevated when I went in without using cannabis.”

Born with a condition called Noonan syndrome, which causes heart problems, joint pain and a variety of other health issues, he found that marijuana — he prefers the term cannabis — relieved a lot of pain from those ailments as well.

After suffering a life-threatening infection from heart surgery in 1997, Storck became a bonafide activist, crisscrossing the county to attend protests and conferences and lobbying U.S. lawmakers. In 2004 Storck co-founded Madison NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He also co-founded Wisconsin NORML and IMMLY (Is My Medicine Legal Yet?).

In 2007, local marijuana users were heartened when then-Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard announced his office would no longer prosecute casual users, a policy that remains in place.

In 2009, when Democrats controlled state government, Storck and other activists were able to convince state Rep. Mark Pocan and state Sen. Jon Erpenbach to introduce bills that would legalize medical marijuana. But with no support from then-Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan and Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, the bills died.

Now, even though Republicans rule the roost, Storck is still hopeful. He and other activists are planning a Capitol lobby day in January. And although he expects a “tough sell,” he’s in it for the long haul.

This year, Connecticut and Massachusetts became the 17th and 18th states to pass medical marijuana laws. And on Nov. 6, Colorado and Washington stunned the nation by legalizing pot for any adult who wants to use it.

That, says Storck, is a game changer. It’s only a matter of time, he says, before Wisconsin will have to take a serious look at the issue.

“I’ve been waiting my entire lifetime for this,” he says. “And I really believe it’s here, or it’s going to be here soon.”

As he recently said in an interview with a Milwaukee radio station, “The winds of change aren’t going to stop at the Wisconsin border.”

The Capital Times: You’ve spent that last 15 years battling for medical marijuana. Now that Washington and Colorado have ended the prohibition on pot, does it make more sense to go for full legalization?

Gary Storck: I still believe that patients need to be taken care of first. But yeah I think that legalization would be better for medical users because then it wouldn’t be a forbidden fruit that only medical users have. And medical users wouldn’t be potential targets, and dispensaries and things like that wouldn’t be targets. They’d just be another business. So I think that anytime cannabis laws are reduced it gets easier for patients. Even decriminalization, as minor as that is, takes some of the fear out for patients possessing small amounts of cannabis for medical use.

CT: In 2009 most Democrats in the Legislature appeared to be lukewarm to medical marijuana. Now one of its biggest backers, Mark Pocan, is heading to Washington, D.C., to serve in the U.S. Congress. Have you found any lawmakers that are sympathetic to your cause?

GS: Rep. Chris Taylor has already indicated that she’ll be taking over writing the medical bills from Mark Pocan’s office, so that bill is already being looked at and revised from prior sessions. We have some names in mind but we haven’t really talked to anybody yet. So we’re going to go out there and try to see how they feel about this. I think it’s even worth putting the full legalization, tax and regulation out there and just see where it goes, just to have the discussion started.

CT: But you don’t seriously expect Republicans to advance a marijuana bill?

GS: Cannabis definitely isn’t on their agenda. But they do claim to be about jobs, and they claim to be about business. I’m not just talking about medical use and recreational, aka social, use. I’m talking about legalizing the hemp plant so we could have products like hempcrete and more hemp foods. There would be so many industries, and other states are going to be passing these laws and getting ahead of us. Wisconsin’s already experiencing a brain drain. Some of our best and brightest are in the states that have more lenient medical cannabis laws and now legalization laws. Why should a young person stay in a state and look for a job here when they could potentially get a felony for having a couple of joints?

CT: One of the most prevalent arguments against legalization is that marijuana is a gateway drug. Do you think that people who use marijuana are more likely to graduate to harder, more harmful, drugs?

GS: Some of the evidence that’s developed from medical use shows the exact opposite. I have a friend in California, he’s a retired Army thoracic surgeon, Dr. Tom O’Connell, and he’s been clearing people for cannabis recommendations in California since it became legal, or close to that. He gives patients a questionnaire, and his findings, and other evidence too, are that cannabis is actually a gateway back for people who are into alcohol and other drugs. They’re able to substitute cannabis for these more harmful substances and move away from them. Cannabis also works synergistically with medications. So if you take cannabis and pain medication together you take less of each. And also many people are able wean themselves off of prescription medications with cannabis. So really I think if anything, it’s a gateway away from addiction. It’s not a gateway into it.

CT: How about those who fear that legalization will increase use by kids?

GS: There’s been a bunch of really great articles online and news sources lately about children using medical cannabis for cancer and epilepsy and other things. What about when you’re a parent and you’re seeing your kid ill and they’re putting them on all these drugs, 15 drugs or something, and it’s not helping?

CT: I think what people fear most is recreational use by kids.

GS: Kids are going to access pot, most likely as teens. I know I did as a teenager. Actually I began using it to treat my glaucoma at age 17 after stumbling upon it as a treatment for glaucoma. It’s probably not a good idea to expose a developing brain to any kind of drug, including cannabis or alcohol. But I don’t agree with giving all these kids prescription meds, too. I think it’s a Band-Aid approach. Nobody wants to see kids smoke pot. That’s why legalization has been for 21 and over. But if they do use it it’s going to be safer for them than drinking or sharing their prescription meds or their friend’s attention deficit disorder meds.

CT: Despite the fact that it’s illegal, you use a considerable amount of marijuana. Ever have any problems finding it?

GS: Luckily, living in Madison, it’s a pretty tolerant town for it so I haven’t really had issues with that for a long time, thankfully, which is a big thing because this is my medicine. I really don’t know what I’d do without it. I don’t know how I could have a quality of life. It’s on the edge every day. If I didn’t have cannabis I would really be in a bad place.

Below is a link to an interview I did that aired today on WTMJ-AM620.

Legalize marijuana in Wisconsin?

By Erik Bilstad

CREATED 5:08 PM

MADISON - Colorado and Washington states recently legalized recreational use of marijuana. Will that ever happen here in Wisconsin?

"The winds of change aren't going to stop at the Wisconsin border," Gary Storck of Madison NORML told Wisconsin's Afternoon News. "In five to ten years, there could be 20 states with legal marijuana."

AUDIO: Click to hear Storck on Wis. Afternoon News

Wisconsin could suffer 'brain drain' if state lawmakers don't consider legalization, according to Storck.

Others disagree.

"I'm mostly concerned with marijuana access to youth," said Claudia Roska, the executive director of the Addiction Resource Council. "Youth access to drugs increases the chance of substance abuse later in life."

AUDIO:Click to hear Roska on Wis. Afternoon News

Pewaukee Police Chief Ed Baumann called the idea hypocritical.

"We sit and talk about the perils of tobacco, yet we want to legalize marijuana?" Baumann asked. "That's ridiculous."

Find this article at: http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/182895451.html

Read full article with link to interview at TodaysTMJ4.Com: Legalize marijuana in Wisconsin?

Save the date - Wed., Jan. 13, 2013 for a Wisconsin Capitol Lobby Day!

Madison NORML board members have confirmed State Capitol Police have approved the permit request for a Medical Cannabis Lobby Day at the Wisconsin State Capitol on Wed., Jan. 16, 2013.

Read complete original article here.

Here is my latest article which looks at changing attitudes in Wisconsin regarding cannabis legalization.

Colorado and Washington State voters spoke loud and clear on Nov. 6 when they approved initiatives to legalize, tax and regulate cannabis at the state level. The impact of these votes continues to reverberate nationally, internationally and right here in Wisconsin, home to some of the nation's harshest pot laws.

The Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012 edition of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (circulation 325,000) published no less than four opinion pieces on cannabis legalization, three strongly in support. All four were published in the Crossroads section, three on the front page and one on Page 3 in the letters section. The articles were published under a headline, "Time For A Blunt Conversation".

Read complete article here.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today published 4 articles regarding cannabis legalization. Three urged legalization, one was opposed. The articles were by James Causey, a Jourmal Sentinel columnist, "State should legalize recreational marijuana, Christian Schneider, a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, "Wisconsin, take the high road on marijuana", a column against by Charles "Cully" Stimson, a former prosecutor and defense attorney who is now a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, "How pot advocates are manipulating the truth". Finally the 4th article was my Letter to the Editor, "Legalize Marijuana " reprinted below.

With the "fiscal cliff" looming, Congress finds itself contemplating many unpleasant and politically unpopular options including increasing taxes and cutting Social Security and Medicare. President Barack Obama is working to build public support for his proposals.

Recent votes in Colorado and Washington State legalizing marijuana offer the president and Congress a route to both increasing revenues and saving billions now spent enforcing marijuana prohibition. Full national legalization of cannabis/hemp will provide millions of jobs and create multiple new green industries that will bring a new era of prosperity.

A majority of Americans now support legal pot. Even the chief of the Indiana State Police recently opined that legalization makes sense. Ending cannabis prohibition is just the ticket for a soft landing off the fiscal cliff.

Gary Storck
Co-founder
Is My Medicine Legal YET?
Madison

My LTE, published today in the WI State Journal!

Source: Wisconsin State Journal
Pubdate: 30 Nov 2012
Author: Gary Storck

ATTITUDES ON MARIJUANA CHANGING, SO SHOULD LAWS

It was good to read about the WISDOM group and bipartisan support for alternatives to incarceration for people charged with drug crimes.

Marijuana being the most commonly used illegal substance, state lawmakers should take note of changing attitudes toward it. Colorado and Washington voters passed initiatives repealing marijuana prohibition at the state level. Massachusetts voters made that state the 18th plus Washington D.C. to legalize the medical use of cannabis.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin has some of the most punitive, backward marijuana laws in the nation. It has a patchwork of local ordinances and state law with wide disparities in penalties, and it mandates a felony for second offense for possession of any amount of cannabis. These antiquated laws consume criminal justice resources for nonviolent, victimless activities.

If lawmakers are serious about cutting costs and increasing efficiencies, decriminalizing pot and taking away the felony for a second offense would be a long overdue first step.

- Gary Storck, Madison, co-founder, Is My Medicine Legal Yet?; co-founder and former president, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, state and local chapters

The folks at Wisconsin and Madison NORML are holding a Lobby Day and IMMLY is onboard as well!

State medical cannabis patients and activists are planning a Medical Cannabis Lobby Day on Wed. Jan. 16, 2013 at the State Capitol in Madison.

The Madison and Wisconsin chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), along with Is My Medicine Legal YET? (IMMLY), the Wisconsin medical cannabis advocacy group founded by medical cannabis bill namesake Jacki Rickert, are joining forces to bring advocates to Madison.

Continue reading: "Wisconsin Marijuana advocates planning State Capitol lobby day Jan. 16"