Subject: Health Care Issues

• Post-Prop. 215 Stress Disorder

  March 1, 2001

• Prince Valeant and Mary Jane

  Valeant Pharmaceuticals, based out of Costa Mesa, wants to give cancer patients the munchies. The FDA has just approved Valeant's Cesamet, already on sale in Canada as Nabilone, to moderate nausea and vomiting in those undergoing chemotherapy. A Belgian company has made a similar project, Marinol, for years and years, but considering the U.S. government's conflicting views on the values of medicinal marijuana (FDA versus National Institute of Health), it's significant that the FDA are acknowl

  May 17, 2006

• Bad Medicine

  Fullerton is certainly full of something these days. Last month the Fullerton Planning Commission approved a resolution to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in their city. In fact, all the resolution woul accomplish is a violation of California law; that and a major buzz-kill to Jay's Paradise, the dispensary whose business license application inspired the last-minute "urgency ordinance". In 1996 California passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, which orders cities to set up a "plan

  September 12, 2006

• Fight the War Against the War on Drugs

  Protest the failing war on drugs at noon on Friday, Sept. 29, at the Federal Courthouse in Santa Ana. Yesterday in Modesto the DEA raided the California Healthcare Collective, a medicinal marijuana dispensary. From the Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a pro-medipot NPO: The Modesto medical cannabis dispensary California Healthcare Collective (CHC) was raided Wednesday by a task force made up of local and federal agents. Law enforcement conducting the raid included the Modesto Police Department

  September 28, 2006

• Healthcare and that Jolly Ol' Elf

  There's been a lot of talk about the governor's universal healthcare plan, but once you get past all the talk you discover… well, that plan may be too strong of a word. The governor's universal healthcare good intention may be more accurate. Anthony York explains in the Capitol Weekly. (emphasis added) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger received international attention when he unveiled his plan for universal health-care coverage. The plan made the front page of the New York Times and the Washin

  February 2, 2007

• MoveOn vs. Rohrabacher

  This just in, from MoveOn.org: Rep. Rohrabacher Accepts $40,785.00 From Drug Companies; Puts Drug Company Profits Ahead of Seniors Huntington Beach MoveOn Members Urge Rep. Dana Rohrabacher to Cancel May 15th Medicare Sign-Up Deadline Constituents will hold "Caught Red-Handed Check Deliveries" outside Rep. Rohrabacher's office HUNTINGTON BEACH - On Thursday, May 11, residents of Huntington Beach and coastal cities will hold a "Caught Red-Handed Check Delivery" outside Rep. Dana Rohrabacher's

  May 10, 2006

• Dude, Here's Your Pot!

  The all-Republican Orange County Supervisors voted 4-1 today in favor of allowing county residents who suffer from a variety of ailments to smoke and possess medical marijuana without being harassed by cops. And yes, OC cops do harass medical cannabis smokers, folks: You read it here first in "Dude, Where's My Pot?" Or was it here? Or here? Or here? Now, Orange County residents who have doctors' notes under Proposition 215, the 1996 state law legalizing pot smoking for medical reasons, can o

  July 17, 2007

• Beach Break: Cheap drugs

  Who doesn't like cheap drugs? Nobody that's who! So lets all jump up and click our heels together in glee because the city of Long Beach has introduced a drug card program that will reduce prescription medication costs by up to 75 percent for its residents! Oh the joy of it all! The UNA Rx Card is valid at over 50,000 national and regional pharmacies! Rapture! It can also be used to cover prescriptions not covered by personal health insurance! Gaiety! It counts toward some pet meds, too!

  August 20, 2007

• Police Chief Operates Surf City's Only Medical Marijuana Dispensary

  Cops around here have developed a nasty habit: bogarting joints. That is, they illegally confiscate medical marijuana, get dragged into court for violating state law, lollygag in chambers for years, and have the local verdict kicked up to appellate court, where they ultimately lose and have to give the Devil's weed back, seeing as how state law protects legitimate medical marijuana patients like the ones cops around here keep busting. (Knit beanies off to Newport Beach artist michaelm for having

  September 17, 2008

• Man of the Year: Marvin Chavez

  January 7, 1999

• Sssssmokin!

  July 8, 1999

• Letters

  November 11, 1999

• Redemption Song

  December 23, 1999

• Whose Poop Is It Anyway?

  December 30, 1999

• Ready to Inhale

  May 3, 2001

• Marvins Garden

  October 4, 2001

• Diary of a Mad County

  June 20, 2002

• We Respond To Register Letters

  December 18, 2003

• FOR THE BENEFIT OF MRS. ROHRABACHER

  December 25, 2003

• It's a Wonderful Life

  December 18, 2008

• Letters

  'Dude, what were you thinking?'

  June 7, 2007

• Anthrax Schmanthrax

  November 1, 2001

• Dude, Where's My Pot?

  Ten years after California legalized medical marijuana, OCs war on cannabis continues

  May 17, 2007

• Right of Passage

  January 13, 2005

• Chronic Tension

  August 26, 2004

• The presidents conservative critics

  June 17, 2004

• After This, Tomatoes

  March 4, 2004

• Chronic Mess

  August 8, 2002

• A Second Chance

  May 11, 2000

• 'I Am a Harvard Man'

  March 9, 2000

• Send Lawyers, Guns and Cigarettes

  August 26, 1999

• Jailbird or Lab Rat?

  February 25, 1999

• Criminal Prosecution

  February 11, 1999

• January-March

  January 7, 1999

• Can You Smell the *^@#?

  August 27, 1998

• State Beaches May Not Be Ashtrays Much Longer

  California could become the first state in the nation to ban smoking at state parks and beaches after the state Senate today passed legislation it says protects the marine environment and reduces fire danger. Introduced by Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach), Senate Bill 4 now moves to the Assembly, where no hearing has been scheduled. In its current form, the bill would establish a $100 fine for smoking at parks or beaches.Already in Orange County, Seal Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Hunting

  May 14, 2009

• Taking the High Road With One of OC's Burgeoning Medical-Marijuana Delivery Services

  June 11, 2009

• Tax-Pot-to-Save-Teachers Ad is Too Hot for TV

  Every two-bit party hack, corporate lobbying group and, yes, of course, The Chosen One can get TV airtime to sway the masses this way and that, to and fro, the hot issue du jour. But make that issue the legalization of marijuana so that it may be taxed to save our state from going into the shitter and, by golly, it's as if you were suggesting NAMBLA take over day cares.Take this ad . . . please! 

  July 8, 2009

• A Medical-Pot Activist Spends a Night in Jail for Talking Back to Deputies at the OC Fair

  July 23, 2009

• Letters From OC Weekly Readers

  July 30, 2009

• Orange County Clergy Goes Hollywood for Obamacare

  Yes, the people popping up everywhere to disrupt explanations of Obamacare by congress people and administration folk seldom get covered these days. A favorite was two days ago on CNN, when the anchorwoman cut to such a town hall where a U.S. senator was detailing the plan. Without hanging in long enough so viewers could figure out what the senator was explaining about the plan, CNN cut back to the doe-eyed newscaster, who said she'd check back in should "something happe

  August 11, 2009

• The Other Side of the Health-Care Debate Strikes Back

  The other side of the health-care debate (think opposite of Fox News' town hall criers) has come out swinging of late.California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee just issued a statement with the provocative title, "California's Real Death Panels: Insurers Deny 21% of Claims." The CNA/NNOC has compiled data that shows one in five requests for medical claims for insured patients, even when recommended by a patient's physician, are rejected by California's largest private in

  September 2, 2009

• Letters From OC Weekly Readers

  September 3, 2009

• Crime Time: Boozy Mom, Asshole Cop, Thieving Aliens, Fast-Acting Pharmacist and Lotsa Stabbers

  It's the Weekly's weekly round-up of local police calls--now with more boozy moms, asshole cops, fast-acting pharmacists, apartments full of thieving aliens and loads of stabbings!Courtesy of Costa Mesa Police DepartmentCraig Anthony McVay, 48, of Garden Grove, was in the midst of three years probation on a 2007 drug conviction when Costa Mesa Police was notified that he was selling one of the department's old SWAT uniforms on Craigslist.com. McVay then sweetened the offer to undercover officers

  September 9, 2009

• UC Irvine Seeks to Cut Through Healthcare Reform Bullshit

  The AFL-CIO convention in Pittrburgh voted last night to endorse single-payer, universal healthcare for all Americans, and rU.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) just trotted out to reporters his bill to provide non-single-payer, non-universal healthcare for not-quite-all Americans. Coincidence?  With healthcare premiums expected to rise 94 percent by 2020, everyone agrees something must be done. Well, everyone except town-hall criers. And Fox News. And Republicans. The main stic

  September 16, 2009

• Medical Cannabis Supporters Light Up City Council Meeting

  Photo by Christopher Victorio Ready for face time with the Lake Forest City Council Tuesday night. ​Medical marijuana advocates offered 1,000 free hamburgers to draw supporters to Tuesday night's Lake Forest City Council meeting, but only 300 showed up to plead with city officials to reconsider their attempts to shut down 14 cannabis dispensaries around town. (See photographer Christopher Victorio's slideshow.) With stomachs swelled and munchies satisfied by the burgers, that was

  October 7, 2009

• Feds Finally Lighten Up on Those Who Light Up

  Flickr user theskywatcher​In a move that will likely increase President Obama's favorable rating even here in conservative Orange County, Attorney General Eric Holder ordered federal drug agents to stop prosecuting cases involving medical marijuana users and providers who obey state laws legalizing the drug for medical purposes. In other words, if you've got a doctor's license and a state medical marijuana ID card, you're not going to get fucked with by the feds. It's about time: California vo

  October 19, 2009

• Court Slams LAPD For Illegally Seizing Medical Marijuana Profits

  ​In a remarkable opinion issued today with potential Orange County implications, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit blasted the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) for committing "highly objectionable," "tainted," "reckless," "misleading" and "illegal" conduct in a 2005 attempt to seize more than $186,400 from a legally compliant Southern California medical marijuana distributorship.The justices showed no patience for LAPD's efforts to keep the cash for itself and then l

  October 20, 2009

• Santa Ana-Based Street Gang Implicated in $25 Million Medicare Fraud Cases

  ​A Long Beach man and a Santa Ana street gang have been implicated in an alleged Medicare fraud schemes that resulted in approximately $25 million in fraudulent bills to the Medicare program, various federal authorities announced this morning. In all, 18 defendants, most of whom reside in the Los Angeles area, have been charged in five indictments for allegedly participating in the fraud schemes, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer, Act

  October 21, 2009

• Spend Halloween Fighting for Obama's Spoooky Healthcare Plan

  Violentz / Flickr / Creative CommonsGrandma after death panel​Objectively, health-care reform is "scary." As in, it scares people. Some people. And even if many of those people also think that FOX News will soon be made illegal and the swing flu vaccine comes with a mind-control chip, well... they're still people.So it's not totally crazy to want to spend Halloween advocating for health-care reform. Instead of further freaking out those people who are already scared, though, you might want to

  October 30, 2009