Last year, the New York Assembly voted to pass legislation that would make it legal to use marijuana medicinally under a doctor’s care. The Senate Majority Leader, Joe Bruno, quickly killed the bill. On Wednesday, The New York Assembly voted again, 89-52, to pass Assemblyman Richard Gottfried’s (revised) medical marijuana bill, A.4867B.

Similar to the laws in effect in the other 12 medical marijuana states, this bill allows registered patients to grow plants for their own medicinal use. As soon as the Federal government gives the state permission, it will start regulating distribution. A.4867B is more strict in that it will apply strictly to patients with life-threatening or debilitating conditions, who’s doctors believe marijuana would be the most effective treatment.

Monday, June 23rd, is the day the Senate will adjourn, and New York state needs you to help convince the Senate, and Joe Bruno, to pass this legislation. First, call Joe Bruno. Urge him to bring the bill to a vote. After that, call your senator, whether you already have or not, and have them commit to asking Joe Bruno to bring the bill for a vote.

With nearly the entire state medical community and 76% of voters supporting medical marijuana, there is no good reason for them not to take up the bill! Many senators, including Joe Bruno, have expressed their support for medical marijuana; it’s up to you now to make them take action on their words.

The Marijuana Policy Project recently began airing television ads in New York in favor of pending medical cannabis legislation. In the commercial, Burton Aldrich, a quadriplegic man from Kingston, explains how medical marijuana helps with his excruciating pain and spasms by saying, “I … don’t know if I would be around if it wasn’t for marijuana.”

Being a New Yorker, this hits very close to home. This man doesn’t live even an hour away from me. I really, truly hope that legislation passes and New York becomes the 13th Medical Marijuana state, not only for my own sake, but for everyone in New York suffering like Mr. Aldrich.

If you’re from New York, I urge you to please visit NYPatients.org and contact your legislator. All you have to do is fill your information into the form – The letter is pre-written for you. It can’t get any easier than that! You can also learn more about this issue by going to NYCompassionateCare.org.

Does smoking marijuana increase the risk of heart disease or stroke?

A recent study by Dr. Jean Lud Cadet of the National Institute on Drug Abuse showed that heavy marijuana use boosts the levels of a protein called apolipoprotein C-III in the blood by up to 30%, which increases the levels of triglycerides in the blood. Triglycerides contribute to the hardening and thickening of arteries and raise the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The study measured the protein levels in 18 long-term marijuana users who smoked an average of 78 to 350 joints a week — 11 to 50 joints per day — which, according to the NORML blog, is equivalent to 2 to 9 ounces per week. The study did not research whether or not the subjects actually had heart disease.

Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the The Marijuana Policy Project disputed the results:

We’re talking about people who are stoned all the time. We’re talking about the marijuana equivalent of the guy in the alley clutching a bottle of cheap wine. If you do anything to that level of excess, it might well have some untoward effects, whether it’s marijuana or wine or broccoli [...] Even if you take this finding at face value, it’s not at all clear that it has any relevance to the real world because there is still no data showing higher rates of mortality among marijuana smokers. If this was a significant cause of cardiovascular disease, where are the bodies?

In other words – If you’re not smoking upwards of two ounces of weed every week, you shouldn’t really have anything to worry about.