Bulletin of Experimental Treatments for AIDS, No. 30; September, 1996
Ronald Baker, PhD

Adding insult to injury, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has steadfastly refused to allow recognized medical researchers to conduct an FDA-sanctioned clinical study of smoked marijuana's safety and potential benefit to HIV positive patients.

Donald Abrams, MD, of San Francisco's Community Consortium, an Association of Bay Area Health Care Providers, has attempted for 3 years to carry out such a study. His efforts have been met with disdain from DEA officials who have rejected the research proposal without offering any opportunity for dialogue or compromise.

California's Proposition 215

To create a safe and affordable mechanism through which seriously ill individuals can access marijuana, proponents of its legitimate use for medical purposes have placed Proposition 215 on the California state ballot. If passed, the measure would legalize use of marijuana by any resident of California whose physician determines that the patient's health would benefit from such use. The medical uses listed on the ballot measure are cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine or "any other illness for which marijuana provides relief."

Under the proposed measure, a patient or primary caregiver may grow marijuana for personal use. Patients and their caregivers would not be subject to criminal prosecution and no physician could be punished or sanctioned under state law for recommending marijuana. Although Proposition 215 will not completely solve all problems related to Californians' access to marijuana for medical use, it decriminalizes its prescription and use as a treatment for serious illnesses. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation supports passage of Proposition 215 and other efforts to change state and federal laws that make medical use of marijuana illegal.

San Francisco's Healing Alternatives Foundation

For about 2 years, over 10,000 people procured medicinal marijuana through the Cannabis Buyers Club (CBC) in San Francisco. On August 4, 1996, the state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement raided the CBC headquarters, and a Superior Court judge has prohibited further sale or storage of marijuana at the club. Despite protests and demonstrations, the CBC operation appears shut down for good. Operators of the club may face fines and imprisonment.

San Francisco's Healing Alternatives Foundation (HAF), a non-profit group that has operated for several years as a buyers' club for certain AIDS drugs and alternative AIDS treatments, has announced that it will offer medical marijuana for sale to San Franciscans who qualify. Matthew Sharp, Director of HAF, said that when prospective buyers come to HAF's office, they will be given a letter for their doctor to copy onto official letterhead and sign. The doctor's documentation of the patient's illness and need for medical marijuana will be required. Once the letter is verified by HAF, patients will be told where to go to purchase medical marijuana. For more information about this program, call HAF at 415-626-2316.

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Copyright © 1996 - San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Reproduced by permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through BETA: PO Box 426182, San Francisco, CA 94142-6182. Tel: 415 487 8060 Fax: 415 487 8069 URL: http://www.sfaf.org/beta E-mail: beta@sfaf.org

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