http://www.nbcnews.com/id/51148243/ns/business-press_releases/t/federal-government-reports-marijuana-effective-combatting-certain-cancers-reports-adsi/#.UUVPOBmG_5f

LOS ANGELES, March 12, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The following is a statement by Advocates for the Disabled and Seriously Ill:

In a recent report, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the Federal government’s National Institutes of Health (NIH), stated that marijuana “inhibited the survival of both estrogen receptor–positive and estrogen receptor–negative breast cancer cell lines.” The same report showed marijuana slows or stops the growth of certain lung cancer cells and suggested that marijuana may provide “risk reduction and treatment of colorectal cancer.”

Referring to the NCI report, Patient Rights attorney Matthew Pappas said, “The Federal government’s continuing attack on people prescribed medical cannabis by their doctors is hypocritical considering the benefits reported by its own National Cancer Institute.” Pappas represents patients in defending their right to reasonably obtain medical marijuana. The patients contend the Federal government and various municipalities are trying to prevent them from obtaining cannabis for medical purposes in direct contravention of state laws. “Cities that ban dispensaries are denying patients the ability to obtain a medicine the Federal government’s National Institutes of Health says fights cancer and they’re doing it with the Obama Administration’s help.” Recently, the City of Los Angeles repealed its ban of medical marijuana collectives after Bill Rosendahl, a member of its city council diagnosed with cancer and prescribed medical marijuana said to fellow council members about the ban, “You want to kill me? You want to throw me under the bus?”

The NCI report also examined whether patients who smoke marijuana rather than ingesting it orally are exposed to a higher risk of lung and certain digestive system cancers. According to the government, 19 studies “failed to demonstrate statistically significant associations between marijuana inhalation and lung cancer.” The report also identified a separate study of 611 lung cancer patients that showed marijuana was “not associated with an increased risk of lung cancer or other upper aerodigestive tract cancers and found no positive associations with any cancer type.” In the area of prostate cancer, the NCI report was inconclusive and suggested further research was necessary. In its report, the National Cancer Institute also identified a “study of intratumoral injection of delta-9-THC in patients with recurrent glioblastoma” that showed tumor reduction in the test participants.

Despite the Federal government sanctioned and authorized NCI report, Pappas said Congress and the Obama Administration have continued to thwart marijuana research. In an announced effort to displace state medical marijuana laws, the Office of National Drug Control Policy described “medical” marijuana as a “myth” fueling “troubling misconceptions” in documents found on its website. The Federal government appears to be focused on creating more chemical drugs, many of which are the subject of various attorney television commercials seeking out those adversely impacted by those drugs. Pappas said both the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Office of National Drug Control Policy continue to assert marijuana lacks any medicinal value despite the research showing cannabis reduces certain cancer risks and inhibits the growth of tumor cells. He also commented that the Federal government’s anti-marijuana position contributes to and encourages prejudice and public misconception about the legitimate use of medical cannabis as treatment for seriously ill patients.  (cont’d)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/01/third-medical-marijuana-measure-la-ballot.html

January 16, 2013 |  1:23 pm   — Kate Linthicum at Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles City Council moved forward with its own medical marijuana ballot measure Wednesday, increasing the chances voters could face three pot initiatives on the May ballot.

On an 11-1 vote, the council instructed city lawyers to draw up language for a ballot measure that would restrict the number of marijuana dispensaries allowed in the city. Supporters of the measure, including Councilman Paul Koretz and Council President Herb Wesson, said it would raise taxes on medical marijuana sales and would permit only those dispensaries that opened before a city moratorium in 2007.

The proposal comes after two other initiatives qualified for the ballot this month. According to Wesson, “both of those measures have left us wanting.”

One would allow any pot shop that meets certain requirements to operate. It would also raise taxes on medical marijuana sales by 20% to pay for city enforcement.

The other measure, which is backed by a labor union that has organized dispensary workers as well as a prominent medical marijuana advocacy group, would, like the City Council proposal, allow only those shops that opened before the city moratorium. But according to Wesson and Koretz, the measure doesn’t require dispensaries to keep enough distance from one another and from churches, schools and parks.

“We have to have some kind of distance requirement because that’s what’s the making the neighborhoods crazy,” said Wesson. He said there’s a stretch of Pico Boulevard in his central Los Angeles district that people call “the green mile” because there are sometimes multiple pot shops on a single block.

Wesson said he hopes the city can craft a ballot measure that is attractive to the labor-led coalition that is supporting the second initiative. Although it is too late for that group to drop its own measure, it could throw its support behind the city measure, which Wesson said would increase the chances that it passes.  (Cont. click link)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/01/third-medical-marijuana-measure-la-ballot.html

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_22300108/100-medical-marjuana-shops-l-would-be-legal