Tag Archives: Medical Cannabis

Drug War, Featured, Marijuana Prohibition, Politics, US

In Surprising About-Face, John Boehner Becomes Medical Pot Lobbyist

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Republican John Boehner, who had always maintained that he was “unalterably opposed” to marijuana legalization back when he was serving as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, announced on Wednesday that his position has changed and he has signed on to the advisory board of Acreage Holdings, one of the largest cannabis companies in the United States. He is joined on the board by former Republican Massachusetts Governor and 2016 Libertarian Party vice presidential candidate Bill Weld.

A news release by Acreage Holdings said, “As members of the Board, Speaker Boehner and Governor Weld will bring an immense, collective and unique set of experiences in government affairs, unmatched leadership and guidance to help drive Acreage towards its strategic mission.” The first phase in this strategic mission appears to be an effort to take down the federal government’s Schedule 1 categorization of cannabis as a hardcore narcotic with no medical use, which prevents scientists from studying potential medical benefits.

[Related: Health and Human Services Secretary: ‘No Such Thing As Medical Marijuana’]

“The effect of marijuana being a Schedule class 1 narcotic in Washington is a seriously flawed idea. Descheduling is the most constructive step that could be taken,” Bill Weld told The Boston Herald.

A Wednesday joint statement by Weld and Boehner read, “While we come at this issue from different perspectives and track records, we both believe the time has come for serious consideration of a shift in federal marijuana policy. Over the past 20 years a growing number of states have experimented with their right to offer cannabis programs under the protection of the 10th amendment. During that period, those rights have lived somewhat in a state of conflict with federal policy. Also, during this period, the public perception of cannabis has dramatically shifted, with 94 percent of Americans currently in favor of some type of access, a shift driven by increased awareness of marijuana’s many medical applications.”

It continued, “We need to look no further than our nation’s 20 million veterans, 20 percent of whom, according to a 2017 American Legion survey, reportedly use cannabis to self-treat PTSD, chronic pain and other ailments. Yet the VA does not allow its doctors to recommend its usage. There are numerous other patient groups in America whose quality of life has been dramatically improved by the state-sanctioned use of medical cannabis. While the Tenth Amendment has allowed much to occur at the state level, there are still many negative implications of the federal policy to schedule cannabis as a Class 1 drug: most notably the lack of research, the ambiguity around financial services and the refusal of the VA to offer it as an alternative to the harmful opioids that are ravishing our communities.”

David Schnittger, spokesman for John Boehner, told The Washington Post that the former speaker changed his mind on the issue after studying it closely upon leaving office.

Weld said that though it was believed that marijuana was a gateway drug when he was a prosecutor under President Reagan, “Now there’s some evidence that it can become an exit drug” for individuals addicted to opiates.

According to The Hill, some Republican members of Congress are optimistic that cannabis legalization may take place during 2018.

“I’m fairly optimistic that this year will be the year that we can make great progress on this. We had 68 Republicans vote with us last time, and I think it’ll probably be 75 or more next time around,” said California Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher.

“Today’s constituency within the Republican Party has changed. I think that we will be able to have this and expand on this change among Republicans and that’s what’s going to give us the leverage to actually change the law,” he added.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5_7ZeIC2Y40

 

Marijuana Prohibition, Politics, States Rights, US

Tenn. Medical Pot Decriminalization Bill Passes Criminal Justice Committee

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A significantly-amended reworking of the Medical Cannabis Only bill HB 1749 passed the Tennessee House Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday by a vote of 9-2. The bill decriminalizes the possession of medical marijuana by individuals with qualified medical conditions and a doctor’s prescription, but falls short of providing access to the medication in-state.

Truth in Media reported last month that the more robust original version of the bill had passed the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee with Republican Speaker Beth Harwell’s tying vote.

The qualifying medical conditions under the bill include cancer, HIV and AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, Alzheimer’s disease, severe arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, or chronic or debilitating diseases.

While the original version of the bill would have provided a legal marketplace for medical pot, bill sponsor Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) stripped the bill of language related to marijuana access and focused on decriminalization due to fears that he would not get the votes needed to pass the Criminal Justice Committee. “You’re always working to meet the needs of the individual committee that you’re in,” he told The Tennessean. Faison also complained that medical pot opponents in the state are “stuck in Reefer Madness.”

While speaking on behalf of the decriminalization bill at Wednesday’s committee meeting, Rep. Faison argued, “We have Tennesseans who are illegally alive today, and they’re doing well, but they’re breaking the law. My question is why would we want to have the law be able to arrest these type of individuals or put them in jail or give them a criminal record when they’re fighting to stay alive?”

Reps. Sherry Jones (D-Nashville), Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis), Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis), Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville), Jim Coley (R-Bartlett), Mary Littleton (R-Dickson), Michael Curcio (R-Dickson), Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough), and Tilman Goins (R-Morristown) voted in favor of the bill.

Reps. William Lamberth (R-Cottontown) and Paul Sherrell (R-Sparta) voted against the measure.

Lawrenceburg mother Andrea Houser testified at the committee that she needs THC-activated cannabis oil to deal with epilepsy and that alternative pharmaceutical drugs used to treat it had given her 19 kidney stones. “Because of cannabis, I felt normal again. I stopped because I didn’t want to break the law – but my seizures came back… It’s not fun when you’re having a seizure, biting your tongue and choking on blood in front of your kids,” she said according to Fox 13.

“I would rather be illegally alive than legally dead,” she added.

Tennessee Highway Patrol Colonel Tracy Trott testified against the bill and said that it would lead to an increase in impaired drivers. “Once you start down this slope, it is very difficult to stop the ball from rolling,” he said according to The Tennessean.

The Knox County Democratic Party issued a tweet criticizing the bill for not going far enough. “By removing all language that referred to the creation of a safe, transparent and accountable business and regulatory model for medical cannabis from his own bill, GOP Rep Jeremy Faison gives TN a choice: Leave to get a prescription or break the law by buying on the black market,” it read.

According to Fox 17, the bill now moves on to the House Health Committee.

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) said that the Tennessee Senate will delay considering the bill until it passes through committees in the House.

International, Marijuana Prohibition, Politics

Medical Cannabis Patients in Israel Will Now Be Allowed to Drive

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Tel Aviv, Israel – The Israeli Health Ministry, on Tuesday, introduced a new amendment that will allow individuals to drive after using medical cannabis, after many patients complained that their freedom of movement was being restricted.

Currently, Israel recognizes more than 30,000 medical cannabis users who have a government-issued permit, but these patients were previously not allowed to drive since the government classified cannabis and all its derivatives as a dangerous drug under Israeli law, classifying anyone with a dangerous drug in their system as being “drunk,” according to Haaretz.

The Israeli permit to use medical cannabis specifically states: “While using the dangerous drug it is completely forbidden to carry out acts requiring concentration, including driving and operating heavy equipment.”

According to a report from Haaretz:

The new amendment, which will come into effect in about 30 days, stipulates that patients will be permitted to drive three hours after smoking cannabis. If they consumed it in the form of edibles or as oil, they will have to wait six hours before getting behind the wheel, while those who also consumed alcohol will have to wait 12 hours after taking cannabis before being allowed to drive.

The amendment puts further restrictions on drivers who use cannabis, requiring them to be under the supervision of the doctor who signed their medical cannabis permit and to refrain from consuming other substances classified as dangerous at the same time. The amendment also limits the cannabis dosage for drivers to 50 grams a month with an active ingredient concentration below 15 percent, or up to 40 grams a month with an active ingredient concentration below 20 percent.

Health ministers had previously refused to make an exception for the medicinal use of cannabis, requiring patients to acknowledge that they understood they were not allowed to drive if being treated with cannabis. Under the new amendment, individuals will be allowed to drive three hours after taking the drug, but critics note that there is no way to enforce the amendment due to being unable to verify when a patient last used cannabis.

[RELATED: Reality Check: Jeff Sessions Wages War on Cannabis]

The amendment decriminalizes patients who had become “offenders against their will,” according to the Health Ministry. Despite the progress, the Medical Cannabis Association, which advances patients’ rights, was critical of the amendment, highlighting the fact that amendment doesn’t apply to many patients using medical cannabis.

“There’s no way to ascertain the percentage level of active ingredients in each and every flower, so there’s no way to determine what active ingredient percentage a patient consumed in the hours before he got behind the wheel,” the Medical Cannabis Association noted.

“On top of that, the number of patients who take more than 40 grams of cannabis a month is significant, as is the percentage of patients who use another narcotic medicine as well. The amendment doesn’t apply to at least a quarter of medical cannabis users,” the non-profit group added.

Drug War, Marijuana Prohibition, Opinion, US

Truth In Media Accelerates National Cannabis Discussion

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In March 2014, Benswann.com was alerted to the story of Shona Banda, a woman who was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in 2002. After seven years of suffering from the debilitating effects of the disease despite conventional treatment and medication, Banda took a bold step to manage her symptoms after watching an online documentary about cannabis oil being used to relieve a variety of ailments ranging from sleep disorders to cancer.

Banda went on to make her own oil at home, and told Ben Swann in an interview in May of 2014 about cannabis oil positively impacting her life. Banda told Swann, “I literally went from feeling the degradation of dying, the pain from dying, knowing that I wasn’t going to be here very long to literally waking up on day three knowing that I was going to live long enough to see my grandkids someday.”

Swann later released a Truth In Media episode last September about medical cannabis. This episode, made possible via donations made by Swann’s supporters through a crowdfunding effort, illustrated the government’s refusal to publicly accept cannabis as medicine while quietly holding two patents on cannabinoids and cannabis oil for the treatment of diseases including Alzheimer’s and indeed, auto-immune diseases like Crohn’s Disease.

Last month, Banda’s home was raided and her son was removed from her care because the boy had disputed common anti-marijuana talking points during school. Banda spoke exclusively to Benswann.com’s Barry Donegan last week about the ordeal. After the publication of Banda’s discussion with Donegan, the news began to spread nationwide.

Radley Balko, author of Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces and contributor at the Washington Post, wrote about the incident. Soon sites including Uproxx and Reason also covered it. On Monday, the hosts of ABC’s The View discussed the story; Rosie Perez pointed out the “hypocrisy” of the federal government’s classification of marijuana, which remains Schedule 1.

“Listen to this,” Perez said, referencing a key point made in Swann’s episode. “The US government has a patent, patent number 6630507, held by the Department of Health and Human Services, which covers the use of cannabinoids for treating a wide range of diseases.”

With great thanks to the fundraising power of individuals supporting Ben Swann’s Truth In Media Project, Swann’s episode is now sparking a large national discussion about the use of cannabis and the federal government’s deceptive behavior preventing access as well as government agencies punishing people like Shona Banda and her son for challenging government hypocrisy.

Drug War, Featured, Government Accountability, Marijuana Prohibition, US

Angela Brown: Case Of Mother Who Treated Son With Cannabis Oil Reaches End

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Madison, MN- The legal case of Angela Brown, a Minnesota mother who was charged after she treated her son’s health problems with cannabis oil, is expected to end as Mrs. Brown and the state of Minnesota have reached an agreement.

According to a press release from Brown’s attorney, Michael Hughes, Brown and the state of Minnesota filed a “continued for dismissal” petition with the Lac Qui Parle County Court on April 17th to dismiss the final remaining charge of child endangerment upon Brown paying $100 and avoiding violations for 90 days. Angela Brown will not have to plead guilty.

“This resolution obtains the ultimate goal, which was to get the charges against Mrs. Brown dismissed,” stated the release.

The agreement was reached before jury selection for Brown’s trial was set to begin next week. Brown was facing up to a year in jail and a $3,000 fine for giving her son the oil. Brown will now be avoiding a jury trial, which also spares Brown’s son, Trey, from being subpoenaed to testify. According to the press release, “the State had threatened to subpoena the child and force him to testify against his mother at trial.” 

According to the Star Tribune, Angela Brown accepted the deal but remains frustrated by the state’s pursuit of charges against her. “For an entire year, they have put us through emotional, financial and literally physical damages,” she said. “And now they want me to pay court fees and spend 90 more days dealing with them?”

Legal troubles for the Brown family began last year when Angela turned to cannabis oil to treat Trey’s multiple medical issues stemming from a sports injury that occurred when the boy was 11. After the injury, Trey suffered a stroke and had been in a coma. Medical issues followed, including seizures, muscle spasms and severe headaches, and they were causing Trey’s school grades to decline. Angela said that he had begun harming himself.

According to court documents, the family had exhausted almost every other course of treatment for Trey before discussing cannabis as a possible option with Trey’s medical providers.

The Brown family said that Trey’s condition greatly improved shortly after using cannabis oil. An investigation was prompted when Trey’s school discovered, after staff noted that his academic performance had improved, that he had been taking the oil. Angela was later charged with two counts of child endangerment; one of those charges was dropped in January.

During the legal ordeal, Trey has not access to cannabis oil and Angela Brown said that Trey’s seizures returned, causing him to be sent to the emergency room twice. The family is currently struggling with about $8,000 in medical bills incurred while Trey has not been allowed to use the oil.

Marijuana use for some medical purposes will be legal in Minnesota on July 1st, 2015. The Brown family has decided to move to Colorado, where the blend of cannabis oil that effectively treated Trey’s symptoms was obtained. Cannabis oil is also reportedly cheaper and more easily accessible in Colorado. The family has started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help cover medical bills and moving expenses.

“We were ready for a dog fight,” Hughes said in regards to the trial. “I am very emotional about this case on several levels and have been preparing for this battle since taking the case. At the end of the day all the charges originally brought against my client will be dismissed. I see this as a victory and a positive outcome. Still, what this family has endured is just another sad example of how cannabis prohibition negatively impacts our society.”

Click here for more information about the Brown case.

Drug War, Featured, Government Accountability, Marijuana Prohibition, Police Accountability, US

Police Target Pot Activist Who Quit TV Job On Air

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Remember the Anchorage newscaster who quit her job on the air and planned to devote herself to marijuana activism? Former television reporter Charlo Greene and her organization, Alaska Cannabis Club, were raided by Anchorage police, who carried out search warrants after receiving reports of illegal marijuana sales.

According to the Associated Press,  Greene, whose legal name is Charlene Egbe, said that the club acts as a medical marijuana dispensary.

“We don’t sell any recreational marijuana. We don’t sell any medical marijuana. This is a place for cardholders to come and share their own cannabis,” she said.

Greene said that the police took a couple of marijuana plants, bongs, pipes, phones and computers from the home where multiple medical marijuana cardholders live. They also impounded a Dodge Dakota and a Jeep Liberty during the raid on Friday.

“Any evidence we find here in pursuit to the investigation we would seize that evidence and likely some charges will be filed,” said Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Castro. “It’s a good reminder that you cannot sell marijuana in Alaska or any product in any other form.”

Greene expressed her frustration on the Alaska Cannabis Club Facebook page:

“I don’t know what’s more disappointing: the fact that the only safe access point for our state’s thousands of medical marijuana cardholders was robbed by local police at gunpoint, or the fact that, in spite of voters legalizing medical marijuana in 1998 and recreational marijuana this past November, the raid on my home and private club didn’t surprise me, or anyone, at all.

“As a tax paying Alaskan, should I be incensed at the fact that Anchorage Police decided to waste already-stretched-thin resources executing a search search warrant on me, with around 10 armed officers in full-on swat gear (all threatening to arrest the peaceful 40-60 year old medical marijuana patients that were inside) instead of focusing on the stabbing and shootings that happened a mile away and just a few hours prior to their raid on my home?”

Although Alaskan voters approved recreational marijuana last year in a ballot measure, the substance remains illegal to sell. Guidelines for regulation are still under legislative review.

No charges have been filed yet.

Check out the video (at 3:00) that made her famous.

Drug War, Featured, Politics, US

“You Saved My Life”: Jury Clears Florida Man Growing Medical Cannabis

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Miami, FL- A Florida man facing up to five years in prison for manufacturing cannabis was found not guilty on Monday by a Broward County jury. The jury took less than an hour to deliver their verdict. Jesse Teplicki, 50, is reported to be the first person in Florida to successfully argue a medical need for cannabis during a jury trial.

Teplicki was charged with the manufacture of cannabis after deputies followed an anonymous tip and visited Teplicki’s home in January 2013, where 46 cannabis plants were found. Teplicki was straightforward in his acknowledgement of cultivating cannabis, and maintained that he was growing the plants exclusively for his own personal use to treat an eating disorder.

According to trial testimony, Teplicki has been suffering from severe anorexia since the age of 9, and he said that cannabis was the only treatment that effectively increased his appetite and reduced nausea. When Teplicki went on the stand at his trial he said “The thing is, orally you can’t just take a medication when you have my condition. You vomit, so to take something orally like a pill, it doesn’t work for me anyway.”

“Our brains will tell us, and our stomach will tell us that we are hungry,” said Michael Minardi, Teplicki’s attorney, last year. “His unfortunately does not work like that and again, this is severe, chronic anorexia from when he was a child.”

Prosecutor Kathleen O’Brien said that Teplicki failed to show he had a medical need for cannabis, and criticized Teplicki’s “self-diagnosing”, “self-medicating” and not seeking follow-up care from a physician. Teplicki told the Broward-Palm Beach New Times that when he was younger he had been prescribed steroids that were effective for a period of time, but had caused serious side effects including liver scarring and cysts. “I’ve been smoking it for 33 years, it works for me. This is the only source of relief that I have,” Teplicki said.

Teplicki rejected a probation offer from prosecutors and had told jurors that he was willing to accept a guilty verdict. “Jesse didn’t want to take the prosecution’s offer because he’s a family man, not a criminal,” said Minardi.

“This is a historic decision in the state of Florida,” Minardi told the Sun Sentinel. “Hopefully prosecutors heed the decision and are less likely to prosecute this kind of case in the future.” Minardi is considering taking civil action to protect Teplicki from future prosecution if he resumes growing marijuana.

While cannabis is currently illegal to possess, grow or sell in Florida, a medical marijuana bill was introduced by Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) in January that would allow “registered patients and designated caregivers to purchase, acquire, and possess medical-grade marijuana subject to specified requirements.”

Drug War, Featured, Interviews, Police State, Politics, US

Legal Medical Cannabis Growers on Trial: “Obama Admin is a Lie”

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Spokane, WA-  Despite a significant rider within the 2014 “cromnibus” federal spending bill that prevents the Department Of Justice from undermining state laws regarding medical marijuana, five people from Washington known as the “Kettle Falls Five” face trial next Monday for growing marijuana plants in accordance with state law.

The Kettle Falls Five are Larry Harvey; Larry’s wife Rhonda Firestack-Harvey; Rhonda’s son Rolland Gregg and Rolland’s wife Michelle Gregg; and close family friend Jason Zucker. The five are all medical marijuana patients in the state of Washington, and were growing marijuana plants on the Harvey’s rural Stevens County property. As of August 2012 they had 68 plants before the property was visited by law enforcement agents presenting a state warrant and informing Rhonda Firestack-Harvey that their growing collective contained more plants than allowed by the state’s Medical Use of Cannabis Act.

While state law allows an individual to grow up to 15 plants, agents claimed the law allows just 45 plants in total for a growing collective, so the agents seized 23 of the plants on the Harvey property to “put them in compliance” with state law. The agents also took the Harvey’s hunting rifles, $700 in cash and an all-terrain vehicle. Days later, federal agents came to the property to seize the remaining plants.

Ben Swann spoke with Rolland Gregg, and Gregg noted the state law’s ambiguity regarding collective growing. Gregg also described the initial visit from the state and the subsequent federal raid, and the legal burdens that have ensued since the raid:

Gregg explained the group’s commitment to adhering to state law, and said that they had been purchasing medical marijuana from dispensaries before deciding that growing marijuana was a more practical and cost-effective way of securing relief for their ailments:

The five were later charged with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana; manufacture and distribution of marijuana; maintaining a drug-involved premises; and possession of firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Federal authorities claim that the Kettle Falls Five violated Washington state law, although the five are facing federal charges rather than state charges.

Gregg told Swann that they grew plants on the Harvey’s property to “pool resources”, much like the way a dispensary operates. Gregg said that there is no real state-level registration as a collective and the marijuana they grew was used only by the five of them:

Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice declined a motion dismiss the charges against the Kettle Falls Five. Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl Hicks claimed that the five had too many plants for their own use and were operating an illegal for-profit business. Gregg said that they have been urged to take various plea deals, but have rejected the offers because they have maintained that their growing operation was legal. The trial for the Kettle Falls Five begins on February 23rd. They face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted.

UPDATE, February 20th, 11:36 a.m. EST: According to court documents, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice dropped the charges against Larry Harvey due to Harvey’s deteriorating health. Harvey, 71, has stage 4 pancreatic cancer that has begun to spread to his liver.

Drug War, Featured, Politics, US

Angela Brown: 1 Of 2 Charges Dropped For Mother Who Treated Son With Cannabis Oil

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Madison, MN- A judge dismissed one of the charges faced by Angela Brown, a Minnesota mother who was initially facing two child endangerment charges for administering cannabis oil to her son Trey.

Brown and her attorney, Michael Hughes, had filed motions to dismiss the charges last December, arguing that there was not probable cause to believe that Mrs. Brown committed child endangerment, and had requested that the Court dismiss the charges in the ‘Interest of Justice’.

The state has claimed that Brown administering medical cannabis to Trey was “sale” of a controlled substance in violation of Minnesota law which justified the child endangerment charges. A press release from Hughes stated that the government claims Brown’s actions were “dangerous and injurious” to her son and that the government had also “openly threatened the Brown family with other legal proceedings if there was any future treatment with medical cannabis by the Brown’s son” in its brief.

Judge Thomas Von Hon ruled that Brown giving cannabis oil to her son was not the sale of a controlled substance. Van Hon did not dismiss the remaining child endangerment charge claiming that administering medicinal cannabis put Trey in danger, and soon a jury will decide if Brown’s decision to treat Trey actually constituted child endangerment.

“I am very thankful that the Judge agreed with us regarding Count 1. Clearly, this was not child endangerment based on a controlled substance crime. We understand the Court’s rational for not dismissing Count 2. As long as the County Attorney maintains their position that treating a 15 year old with cannabis oil is in and of itself ‘dangerous’, then that is a factual dispute that only a jury can resolve. The Minnesota state legislature and a majority of other state legislatures belteve(sic) that treating children who are suffering from certain diseases or injuries with cannabis is not only safe, but effective. We agree, which is why we will continue to fight these charges,” said Hughes. He also noted that Brown will be in need of securing medical experts to testify at the trial.

Angela Brown was charged last summer after staff at Trey’s school found out he was taking cannabis oil to treat seizures and severe pain he had been suffering from as a result of a head injury during a baseball game. Brown’s decision to treat Trey with cannabis came after trying several other treatment options that provided no relief to Trey. The state has since held onto its argument that Angela Brown has harmed her son by giving him cannabis; medical marijuana will be legal in Minnesota this July.

In a January 9 response to the government’s brief opposing motions to dismiss the charges, Hughes challenged the prosecution’s insinuation that Angela was reckless in how she was giving the oil to her son. Hughes stated that the cannabis oil given to Trey was “a one-to-one ratio (1:1) of THC and CBD oil, and according to the bottle had 150 mg of each” and that “CBD rich oil is not going to have the intoxicating effects that an oil that is rich in THC would have. Many medical cannabis patients seek to avoid the intoxicating effects of THC, but they need some of the pain relief properties of the THC. They get products that are CBD rich, like the one-to-one oil at question in this case.”

Ben Swann has reported on combinations of THC and CBD oil and its various benefits to people suffering from ailments such as epilepsy, Crohn’s disease and cancer, and has also reported on the federal government’s claim that cannabis is not medicine while holding two patents for its use of cannabinoids for medicinal purposes.

Hughes’s response went on to state that the Brown family had visited a laboratory in Colorado to obtain CBD-rich oil after being unable to find it in retail cannabis shops. The response stated that the oil was given to the Browns legally “from someone in Colorado who clearly cared about helping a family deal with a child suffering” from a severe injury. The response claimed that it is legal in Colorado to give away less than one ounce of cannabis.

State Senator Branden Petersen (R-Anoka) introduced a bill earlier this month encouraging the Lac qui Parle County attorney to drop the charges against Angela Brown. The bill states that “Angela Brown’s son has pain so intense that he has headaches, muscle spasms, and seizures, and has self-harming behaviors that have resulted in a broken nose, broken clavicle, and wanting to end his life”. The bill also states that Mrs. Brown attempted “all other options to help Trey cope with the pain, such as administering more than 19 different prescribed medications, dealing with his suffering for four months from a serotonin overload attributed to the prescribed medications”, and “following an emergency room visit where a doctor suggested medical cannabis, Angela obtained medical cannabis oil legally in Colorado.”

(Updated January 26th, 2014, 12:50 p.m.)