ALERT: NOTICE TO ALL MICHIGAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS
Posted on | September 18, 2012 | No Comments
It has come to our attention that a local physician in Ann Arbor has been accused of providing less than satisfactory patient care. Doctor ED HARWELL, MD has recently been accused by the state of Michigan and the Michigan Board of Medicine in an ongoing investigation into unsatisfactory patient care.
NOTICE TO ALL MICHIGAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS:
FIRST NATURAL WELLNESS AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES HAVE NEVER BEEN AFFILIATED WITH DOCTOR ED HARWELL OR ANY OF HIS AFFILIATES.
We have always put the protection of our patients first. We have never had any dealings with sub par physicians who possess malpractice (pending or prior), don’t have good standings with the medical board, or who treat patients like they are just a number.
If you have seen Dr. Harwell in the past and believe that you may be at risk, please call us as soon as possible toll-free at 866-649-9034
Ann Arbor medical marijuana doctor faces complaint from Michigan Attorney General’s Office
Posted on | September 18, 2012 | No Comments
A doctor who had ties to a now-closed medical marijuana clinic in Ann Arbor that was the scene of a 2010 armed robbery is accused of failing to follow protocol prior to certifying patients for Michigan’s medical marijuana program.
The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports that the Michigan Attorney General’s Office filed the complaint Aug. 30 against Edward L. Harwell, who owns and operates the Triple M Clinicsin Cadillac and was affiliated with the Liberty Clinic in Ann Arbor.
The complaint from John Wright, an assistant counsel with the Licensing and Regulation Division of the Attorney General’s Office, alleges that Harwell no longer requires patients to submit medical records and failed to maintain patient records. It accuses Harwell of negligence, incompetence, a lack of good moral character, failure to respond to a subpoena and “promotion for personal gain of an unnecessary drug,” the Record-Eagle reported.
Harwell is certified by the American Board of Nuclear Medicine and the American Board of Radiology. He has 30 days to respond and demonstrate that he’s in compliance with state licensing rules for doctors.
Harwell decline to comment when reached by AnnArbor.com.
Liberty Clinic, a dispensary, was the scene of a dramatic armed robbery in September 2010. The clinic went out of business soon after.
Harwell, of Reed City, told AnnArbor.com in June 2010 that he was anti-drug until attending a medical marijuana conference and studying the benefits of cannabis on his own. At the time he was traveling weekly to the nonprofit Liberty Clinic to certify patients.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, an outspoken opponent of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act that voters approved in 2008, says the law never authorized dispensaries and can be shut down under the state’s public nuisance law.
For more, read the Record-Eagle’s story.
Risk-FREE Medical Marijuana Evaluations This Labor Day… Get Legal NOW With Same-Day Certifications
Posted on | September 2, 2012 | No Comments
For us, Labor Day is a labor of love for patients needing to get their Michigan Medical Marijuana License (MMMP Certification). That’s why this Labor Day, September 3rd we will make sure that we continue providing the same great service to patients who need to get legal or renew their current card. Risk-FREE Medical Marijuana Evaluations are available this Labor Day in Ann Arbor by visiting First Natural Wellness’ nearby downtown office at 4127 Jackson Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48103
To schedule your Risk-Free appointment call 866-649-9034
Since 2009 we have helped over 24,000 patients get legal with same-day certifications provided by Michigan Licensed, Board Certified Physicians who hold credentials at local hospitals.
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed Service – All paperwork is verified and put together for you to ensure successful delivery to the state.
100% Patient Satisfaction – We have never had a patient denied by the state of Michigan
No Hidden Fees, EVER.
Free Patient / Caregiver Matching Service
First Natural Wellness is THE MOST TRUSTED SOURCE WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR MEDICAL MARIJUANA EVALUATION!
To schedule your Risk-Free appointment call 866-649-9034
Tags: Michigan Medical Marijuana Certification
To about 10,000 Thalidomide victims: drugmaker’s apology not enough
Posted on | September 1, 2012 | No Comments
For how long will we let these attacks on humanity go so that profiteering frug companies can use us as their gu
(Reuters) – Victims of thalidomide said on Saturday an apology from the German inventor of the drug that caused birth defects in thousands of babies around the world was too little too late.
Thalidomide, developed by the German firm Gruenenthal, was marketed internationally to pregnant women in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a treatment for morning sickness. About 10,000 babies were born around the world with defects caused by the drug, mostly malformed limbs or missing arms or legs.
“Having tried to remind them of their criminal behaviour across a negotiating table on several occasions, I didn’t think this company would ever make things right,” said British thalidomide victim Geoff Adams-Spink.
“This is an important first step. The next is to compensate everyone damaged by their so-called ‘totally harmless’ drug,” said Adams-Spink, who heads the European Dysmelia Reference Information Centre, a support group for those with limb malformations attributable to thalidomide and other causes.
Gruenenthal, which says it had paid roughly 500 million euros to victims by 2010, unveiled a commemorative statue on Friday. At the ceremony, its chief executive, Harald Stock, said the company was sorry for what had happened to the victims.
“In the name of Gruenenthal … I want to take this opportunity to express our deep regret over the consequences of Contergan and our deep sympathy for the victims, their mothers and families,” Stock said at the ceremony in the western German city of Stolberg, where the company is based.
“SILENT SHOCK”
“We also ask for forgiveness for not reaching out to you from human to human for almost 50 years … We ask that you see our long speechlessness as a sign of the silent shock that your fate has caused us.”
Several thousand victims of thalidomide, sold in Germany under the brand name Contergan and elsewhere as Distaval, are still alive.
Gruenenthal was not reachable for comment and it was not clear whether the 500 million euros in payments had been to victims in Germany only or also abroad, where other firms marketed the drug.
German thalidomide victims get a monthly pension of up to 1,116 euros from a trust to which Gruenenthal contributes.
An Australian woman whose daughter won a multi-million dollar settlement in July against Diageo Plc, the legal successor to thalidomide’s Australian distributor, said the apology was an insult.
“It’s the sort of apology you give when you’re not really sorry,” Wendy Rowe told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Lynette Rowe, now 50, was born without arms or legs after her mother took thalidomide for a month while pregnant. Her lawyers said Gruenenthal did not contribute to the settlement.
Referring to Stock’s statement of ‘silent shock’, Wendy Rowe said: “Our family couldn’t have gone into silent shock. We had to get up and face each day and every day and cope with the incredible damage that Gruenenthal drug did to Lyn and our family.”
“PATHETIC”
The Rowe family’s legal firm, Slater & Gordon, called the drug manufacturer’s apology “pathetic”: “It is too little, too late and riddled with further deceit.”
Rowe’s settlement followed a A$50 million payment Diageo agreed to make in 2010 to 45 thalidomide victims in Australia and New Zealand, who sought help to cope with the mounting costs of care as they were living longer than expected.
The cases have been closely watched in the United States, where a complaint has been filed against GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, Avantor Performance Materials and Gruenenthal, with several plaintiffs claiming their birth defects resulted from their mothers’ use of thalidomide.
The thalidomide scandal triggered a worldwide overhaul of drug-testing regimes and boosted the reputation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which refused to approve the drug.
Gruenenthal said it had acted to the best of its knowledge.
“In developing Contergan, Gruenenthal acted according to the scientific knowledge back then and fulfilled all industrial standards for the testing of new medication,” Stock said.
Many German thalidomide victims stayed away from the unveiling of Gruenenthal’s statue, which portrays a child with shortened arms, calling it a public relations stunt.
“The fact that Gruenenthal, a billion-euro company, is paying 5,000 euros (for the statue) is a slap in the face of every victim,” said the federal association of Contergan victims.
“This PR measure is supposed to signal to the public that the company still has Contergan on its agenda, without any serious effort to address the concerns of the people who have been permanently damaged.”
Harold Evans, Reuters editor at large who led a campaign for compensation of thalidomide victims as editor of Britain’s Sunday Times from the late 1960s, said justice delayed was justice denied.
“Fifty years of injustice is not to be assuaged by the most heartfelt apology, unaccompanied as it is by any compensation for the pain and suffering thousands of survivors endure every day,” he said.
(Additional reporting by Kate Kelland in London and Morag MacKinnon in Sydney; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Weekly Medical Marijuana Updates – California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, and Washington
Posted on | August 24, 2012 | No Comments
The feds strike again in California, this time in Orange County, and meanwhile, the battle over the LA dispensary ban heats up. There’s plenty more news, too. Let’s get to it:
California
Since mid-August, signature gatherers have been hitting the streets in Los Angeles in an effort to collect 27,400 voter signatures to put on the ballot a referendum to repeal the recent ban on dispensaries. They have about 10 more days to go, and if they succeed, the referendum would go before voters in March. The more immediate effect would be a temporary suspension of the ordinance. Dispensaries in the city have until September 6 until they are supposed to shut down.
Last Wednesday, San Francisco Mission District property owners asked the feds to shut down a dispensary that hasn’t even opened yet. Those owners of “white linen” restaurants and family-oriented businesses have asked the Justice Department to close down the Morado Collective, even though the Planning Commission approved the dispensary’s permit at a hearing the same day. The Mission Miracle Mile Business Improvement District had its president, local realtor James Nunemacher, write a letter to US Attorney Melinda Haag urging her to shut it down because it “is incompatible with the family shopping that predominates the immediate area in the daytime and the dining/entertainment venues that are active in the evening.” The gentrifiers have spoken.
Last Thursday, patients and supporters filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the LA ban. The Patient Care Association and 11 individual patients are seeking an injunction to block the city from implementing the ban. They argue that California law preempts the city’s ban, that it violates dispensary owners’ rights to due process, and that it violates their right to freely assemble and associate to cultivate medical marijuana.
Also last Thursday, Butte County staff released a draft of the proposed new medical marijuana cultivation ordinance. It would ban outdoor cultivation and set limits on the amounts that could be grown indoors based on the size of the parcel. On lots of an acre or less, the grow area could not exceed 50 square-feet. On lots one to five acres, the allowable grow area is 150 square-feet. There is no size limit on lots five acres or larger, but a maximum of 99 plants could be grown. The ordinance includes limits on how powerful indoor grow lights can be and requires a ventilation and filtering system that doesn’t allow the smell of the pot outside the building. It also bans growing within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, parks, child care centers, and other youth-oriented facilities.
Last Friday, a Lake County judge granted a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the county’s recently adopted interim cultivation ordinance. The injunction is good until January 1. It allows all qualified people and collectives growing marijuana in conformity with state law at the time the county adopted its interim medical marijuana cultivation ordinance. Four people sued the county after the Board of Supervisors adopted the ordinance on July 9. It limited the number of marijuana plants allowed for outdoor cultivation and banned commercial growing as well as growing on vacant lands. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted to extend the interim ordinance for another 45 days anyway.
On Tuesday, federal prosecutors targeted more than 60 dispensaries in Orange County for closure by filing three asset forfeiture lawsuits and sending threat letters to the dispensaries. That brings the number of dispensaries targeted for closure in the Central District of California to more than 300. In all, 66 warning letters were sent to marijuana dispensaries in Anaheim and La Habra. Some have closed recently, but federal authorities said 38 remain open. As part of the offensive, DEA agents raided two Anaheim dispensaries.
Colorado
Last Friday, a state court held that federal law trumps the state’s medical marijuana law. The ruling came in a case pitting a grower against a dispensary. The grower sought payment for marijuana that had already been delivered, but Arapahoe County District Judge Charles Pratt ruled for the dispensary. In his opinion, he held that since all marijuana sales are illegal under federal law, the contract between the grower and the dispensary was null and void. Later in the same ruling, Pratt wrote that “any state authorization to engage in the manufacture, distribution or possession of marijuana creates an obstacle to full execution of federal law. Therefore, Colorado’s marijuana laws are preempted by federal marijuana law.” Because the ruling is by a district court judge, it is not binding, but it has the medical marijuana community concerned.
On Monday, the Denver City Council approved a ban on all outdoor advertising for dispensaries. The vote came after a public hearing last week where medical marijuana advocates were split over the issue and council members voiced strong support for it. The council killed an alternate, more limited plan that would have blocked outdoor ads within 1,000 feet of schools, day care facilities, and parks. Dispensaries can still advertise on their buildings and can still place ads in newspapers, magazines, or online, and they can display their logos at charity events they sponsor. The city had been inundated with dispensary flyers and young men twirling large cardboard arrows advertising “Eighths for $25” and the like.
Maine
Last Monday, state officials held a public hearing on proposed new cultivation rules. The rules will impose restrictions on where and under what conditions patients or caregivers can grow their own medicine. Patients, dispensary operators, growers, and advocates objected to various portions of the proposed rules. The last day for public comment was Wednesday.
Michigan
Last Thursday, the agency overseeing the state’s medical marijuana program said it could be up and running by this fall. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs said its review panel for adding new qualifying medical conditions is just about set, but patient advocates are skeptical, saying the agency is at least two years behind on making recommendations on requests to add new conditions.
Washington
Last Friday, the state Department of Revenue began doing audits of dispensaries, escalating a battle over whether they should be collecting tax revenues for the state. The department has told dispensaries since 2010 that they must remit sale taxes on their transactions, and 50 dispensaries have registered with the department to do so. But the department believes there are other dispensaries out there that haven’t registered, and now it’s going after them. Some dispensary operators and defense attorneys argue that by paying state taxes, dispensaries are incriminating themselves in the federal crime of marijuana sales.
Over the weekend, medical marijuana advocates may have skirted state election laws at Hempfest by handing out fliers against the I-502 legalization initiative. Dozens of medical marijuana businesses used Hempfest to lobby against I-502, but one of them may have violated election laws by handing out anti-I-502 posters that failed to say who had paid for them.
On Tuesday, the owners of two dispensaries pleaded guilty to federal marijuana trafficking charges. Brionne Keith Corbray, owner and operator of three GAME Collectives in White Center, Northeast Seattle, and West Seattle, copped to conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Craig Dieffenbach and Jing Jing Mu, owners of the Seattle Cannabis Cooperative, copped to conspiracy to distribute and money-laundering charges. All admitted in their plea agreements to selling marijuana to people who were not patients. Conspiracy to distribute marijuana is punishable by up to 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Conspiracy to launder money is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.