Tag Archives: denied
Super Bowl Contest Winner Denied Entry to US Due to 1981 Pot Charge
While more than 70,000 fans attended Super Bowl 47 in New Orleans last night, one man was unable to make the trip … because he got caught with pot when he was 19. A Vancouver Island man won a free trip to the Super Bowl by beating out roughly four million players in a fantasy football league sponsored by Bud Light Canada. The man, Myles Wilkinson, arrived at the airport in Toronto last Thursday ready for his trip to the states when he was informed by US customs agents …More
HIGHTIMES.COM –
ArmA 3 developers denied bail; 70 days so far in Greek jail
Two ArmA 3 developers remain jailed in Greece, with bond and an appeal against their espionage charges both denied, Eurogamer reports from Czech news site Rozhlas. Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar have been imprisoned for 70 days, awaiting trial as the Greek legal system remains paralyzed by labor strikes.
The pair were arrested while on vacation to the Greek island of Lemnos in September, real-life inspiration for the ArmA 3 setting of Limnos. Their travels across the island and alleged recording of sensitive military installations were taken to be espionage by Greek authorities, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Buchta’s father Miloslav described their conditions as leaving much to be desired, despite initial insistence from the two that they were getting by alright.
“They’re in a cell with over 25 people, they sleep on the ground,” Miloslav Buchta said. “They have food twice a day.”
One of their mothers said the imprisonment (which is supposed to last a maximum of 120 days before seeing trial) is beginning to take its toll.
“Our boys no longer tell us on the phone that it’s alright, that they’re handling it,” she said. “After the court’s decision we only hear from them something that no parent ever wants to hear: Mom, dad, please save us.”
Meanwhile, fans as well as DayZ creator Dean “Rocket” Hall have organized campaigns for the release of Buchta and Pezlar. The pair’s families say the foreign ministry has not done enough to help and they are escalating the matter to the Czech prime minister and president,
Like what you’re seeing?
Sign up for the Newsletter
Here’s What You’ll Get:
- Exclusive access to the hottest gaming news
- Killer guides to make you an even better gamer
- Cool contests and hot prizes
Snoop Dogg Denied Norway Entry For 2 Years For Pot
Associated Press | Jul 28, 2012 | Comments 0
OSLO, Norway (AP) — A lawyer representing Snoop Dogg says the American rapper has been banned from entering Norway for two years after trying to enter the country with a small amount of marijuana last month.
Holger Hagesaeter, the rapper’s legal representative in Norway, told The Associated Press on Saturday that his client “can live with the decision” and has no immediate plans to appeal it.
Snoop Dogg, whose name is Calvin Broadus, was on his way to a music festival in southern Norway in June when sniffer dogs detected eight grams of marijuana in his luggage. He was also carrying more cash than is legally allowed and was fined 52,000 kroner ($ 8,600) after admitting to the two offenses, the lawyer said.
Filed Under: Entertainment • Exclusive Web Content • The War On Drugs
Nevada Medical Marijuana Patient Suing Federal Government After Being Denied Gun Purchase
In late September, I wrote about the letter sent by the ATF to all federally licensed firearms dealers, explaining that it was illegal to sell guns or ammunition to state-licensed medical marijuana users.
The reasoning behind this was a clause in the Federal Firearms Act that states that a person cannot purchase or possess a gun if they are “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana, or any depressant, stimulant, or narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.” The ATF reminded gun dealers that marijuana is still illegal according to the federal government, and that having a medical marijuana license was proof that a person fit the definition of an unlawful user or addict. Of course, a state-licensed patient is a lawful user as far as the state is concerned, but as we have seen, the feds do not care all that much about state law.
In a debate between MPP’s Steve Fox and former head of the ATF Mike Sullivan, Sullivan repeatedly claimed that the ATF’s hands were tied in this matter. Contrary to the claims that the ATF is simply reminding gun dealers about the law, the ATF actually has the discretion to define what they consider to be an “unlawful user.” In the absence of a court decision clarifying the definition, the ATF had every right to issue a memo that instead declared state-legal medical marijuana users to be lawful users and exempt from this particular status. Instead, they decided to use the vague law as a cover to deny sick people their constitutional right to bear arms.
Well, it looks like this might get cleared up in the (reasonably) near future.
On Oct. 4, outspoken Nevada medical marijuana advocate Rowan Wilson was denied purchase of a handgun due to her status as a patient. On Oct. 17, she and her attorney announced that she is suing the ATF and the federal government.
If this case goes to trial, federal judges will have the ability to determine whether patients in jurisdictions that allow the medical use of marijuana are, in fact, unlawful users pursuant to federal firearms laws.
Let’s hope they side with Ms. Wilson.
So far, gun rights activist groups like the National Rifle Association have been largely silent on this issue, but smaller organizations such as the Montana Shooting Sports Association and the Independent Firearms Owners of America have offered their support.
When asked why gun rights activists should support medical marijuana patients in this instance, IFOA president Richard Feldman said, “Republicans, Conservatives and independents need to face the dire economic realities facing our nation and stop funding programs like the war on drugs that don’t work, corrupt law enforcement and grow criminal enterprises. Our experience with alcohol prohibition teaches us how to lessen both the harm and the costs to society from banning substances which otherwise law abiding individuals will pursue. As gun owners many of us subscribe to the maxim, ‘Better to be caught by the police with one, than by a gang banger without one’! It’s time American face reality, deal with it intelligently, and stop protesting it, regardless of the ’it’ being guns or marijuana.”
Medical Pot Patients Say They Were Denied Care
Since mid-June, several medical marijuana patients have been denied care at Mark Twain St. Joseph’s Hospital clinics, and one doctor is telling patients to stop using medicinal marijuana, according to Collective Patient Resources founder Tom Liberty, of Mountain Ranch. Several patients have been denied care unless they sign a Patient Responsibility Agreement put out by Mark Twain St. Joseph’s Family Medical Centers that prohibits the use of marijuana.
The agreement stipulates that the patient must agree to a list of terms and conditions in order to receive or continue his or her treatment.
“Patient will not use any illegal controlled substances, including marijuana, cocaine, etc. Also, if provider advises, patient will not use alcohol,” the agreement reads. Based on this policy, it appears that while some doctors working at Mark Twain’s clinics are recommending that their patients use medical marijuana, others are refusing to provide care for patients if they do use it.
When Larry Cornish, vice president of facilities and project management for the hospital, was asked about the reasons behind the new agreement, he was tight-lipped.
“We’re not going to provide any information on that,” Cornish said. “We decline to comment.”
Hospital President Feliciano Jiron did not return a message asking for comment.
Calaveras County Public Health Officer Dean Kelaita said Mark Twain administration may just want this controversy to go away.
“I guess they’re hoping that it will die down,” Kelaita said. “That’s not an effective way to run an operation.”
“If they feel that it’s ( using medical marijuana ) not consistent with their organization’s principles or mission, explain why can’t they support it. Make it a policy decision and support it.”
Kelaita pointed to the card program that has been instituted in Calaveras County according to state guidelines that he feels helps distinguish between medical marijuana users and recreational users.
“The law says that there is appropriate medical use for marijuana. I think that our ID card program helps sort that out.”
While state law permits medical marijuana, cannabis remains an illegal Schedule I drug on the federal level.
When he first heard about the new policy, Liberty said he was skeptical. At first he did not believe the reports that clinics were denying care to patients who would not sign the agreement
“I could not believe that any doctor would let people stay in pain, and I did not believe any hospital would implement such a legally risky policy,” Liberty said.
“Contracts between prescribing physicians and patients receiving abusable medications are common; there is no problem with them. What sets this contract apart is the fact that it includes a legal substance that has been recommended by a doctor, and the circumstances under which the contract is being presented,” he said. It wasn’t until Valley Springs resident Sam Slayter told Liberty that he had been refused treatment by Dr. Rafael Rosado, who joined the Mark Twain staff in June, that Liberty realized patients were actually being denied care because of their medical marijuana use.
“He did report that he had been refused treatment for his pain by Dr. Rosado, due to his status as an MMJ ( medical marijuana ) patient,” Liberty said. “He also reported that Rosado had refused to help him find a primary care physician, and that Rosado told him the hospital would not provide primary care for any MMJ user.”
Kelaita said Rosado was brought in by Mark Twain to be the medical director of the hospital’s clinics.
“He oversees the operations of all five of the clinics,” Kelaita said. “He could recommend that the policy be changed.”
As to why the policy was changed, Kelaita said he didn’t believe that it was because of an interaction between marijuana and other drugs.
“Marijuana, if used in normal amounts that people would use for a medicinal purpose, does not interact with traditional pain medications to any significant point that I’m aware of,” he said. “If people overdo anything, there can be side effects.” Messages left at Rosado’s office asking for comment were not returned.
“Rosado’s approach violates the MTSJ patients’ rights policy,” Liberty said. “That policy states that if a patient is seeking medication that a particular doctor is not comfortable with, they have the right to be referred to another doctor he is therefore violating hospital policy by taking the position he has been taking.”
Another patient, who wishes to remain anonymous, was refused treatment July 6 at the hospital’s clinic in Valley Springs unless he signed the agreement.
“Rosado told him that he must sign a contract in which he agreed to refrain from the use of MMJ and also agree to submit to drug testing for cannabis if he was to receive any pain meds. This patient signed the form so that he could get pain relief,” Liberty said.
On July 8, David Jack, 68, Volcano, said he was told by Clinic Nursing Director Pam Cornell that he would be denied an appointment with Dr. Paul Jacobson unless he signed the agreement.
Jack had surgery on a brain tumor in 1999 and has received care from MTSJ for the 30 years that he’s lived in Calaveras County.
He said medical marijuana allows him to avoid taking powerful opiates for pain, helps him keep his balance and staves off trigeminal neuralgia ( a searing stabbing or electric-shock-like pain in parts of the face ).
A migraine was causing Jack horrible pain July 8, and he was concerned that his tumor had caused something serious to go wrong, so he called to make an appointment with Jacobson, his primary care physician.
“I was told I could only see the doctor if I signed a contract,” Jack said. “She ( Cornell ) went into an immediate rant that Dr. Jacobson should have never written me a recommendation. I asked if she were familiar with California law and she said she wouldn’t discuss that.”
“She told me my recommendation, as far at MTSJ is concerned, is not valid. That’s scary to me, too.”
“I was really shocked. I felt like I’d been really betrayed,” Jack said. “I watch this tumor slowly growing again. I was in pain. I need to get in to see my doctor to see what’s going on, and I was denied.” A message left for Cornell and for Jacobson seeking comments were not returned.
That evening, Jack had an episode in which he vomited on himself, could not move for an hour and had difficulty expressing basic words.
He ended up having to go to Sutter Amador Hospital two days later to receive treatment
“David was refused treatment and eventually ended up at the Amador hospital with blood pressure 220/110 and being diagnosed with a thrombotic stroke from which he still is not fully recovered,” Liberty said.
“I’m trying to resolve with the hospital,” Jack said. “They have a policy that is detrimental to medical cannabis patients. I would like to see that eliminated. There’s no intention of any lawsuit on this. I’m not looking for money. I’m still part of the community. I would rather see a reform.”
When Jack called the hospital to start the complaint process, he was told that the person he needed to talk to was Cornell.
Jack instead filed a complaint with the California Department of Health Services, after he said attempts to file a complaint with MTSJ failed. He did not feel as though he could go through the complaint process with Cornell.
On July 11, Brian Gerber, Mountain Ranch, said he was refused treatment by Rosado due to his status as an MMJ patient.
“I visited the Angels Camp medical office of the MTSJ Hospital for a head/chest issue. Dr. Rosado diagnosed an ear infection and providedme with a prescription,” Gerber said. “… Then he asked if I used marijuana. As quickly as I said ‘yes,’ he said I would not be treated for pain with narcotics by the hospital.”
When Rosado was asked when this new policy had begun, he was informed that the hospital had instituted it about a month prior, due to federal law, Gerber said.
“I felt as though I was being belittled by a person who craved complete autonomy over my life. I then asked him to put the hospital policy in writing. He produced a form, signed it and told a nurse to make me a copy.”
Gerber feels he can no longer receive care from hospitals affiliated with Catholic Healthcare West.
“I reside in Mountain Ranch. The MTSJ Hospital is my local hospital. I have been to the hospital emergency room, on occasion in tears, asking for pain relief. I am glad I became aware of this policy before I was in dire need of help. It will be odd to pass by a hospital on the way to another.”
Three days after Gerber’s experience, Paula Stevens was seen by Rosado at a Mark Twain clinic. She was there to renew her paid medication prescriptions.
“When Paula told Rosado that she was an MMJ patient, he immediately discontinued all of her pain medication,” Liberty said. “He told her to return in eight weeks, at which time she would be drug tested for the presence of cannabis; if she tested clean, he would agree to provide treatment. Paula ended up in the emergency room.”
“For some unknown reason, Rosado has decided that it is his job to thwart the other doctors that are working for MTSJ by interfering in the relationships that they have established with their patients ( the majority of patients who are being refused treatment by Rosado because of their patient status have received their recommendations from other MTSJ physicians. ) Simply put, Rosado is at war with the other clinic doctors and it is the patients who are being caught in the middle,” Liberty said.
Liberty also takes issue with the agreement being presented to patients who are in pain.
“These patients are coming to the clinics suffering from pain that is severe enough to warrant what is essentially an emergency visit, and they are being told by the doctor, ‘I will only take away your pain if you sign right here.’ This type of coercion is unacceptable and cruel.”
Liberty spoke with Rosado July 20 and asked him if he was aware of the uproar he was causing by denying MMJ patients care.
“He smiled broadly and said, ‘Yes, yes, I am very aware of everything that is happening,’” Liberty said.
Source: Calaveras Enterprise (CA)
Copyright: 2011 Calaveras Enterprise
Contact: editor@calaverasenterprise.com
Website: http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/
Author: Joel Metzger
Other Posts of Interest:
Cannabis News – Medical Marijuana, Marijuana News, Hemp, Cannabis
