NEWS >> continued from page 1 Marijuana also relieves overall stress associated with HIV. “The mere fact that it is not legal only adds to the stress of using it and the fear of being caught,” Larabee continued. “The last thing we need when we are ill is to be made a criminal!” Larabee himself has been diagnosed with AIDS since 1995. “I have‘ received verbal acknowledgement from ALL of my HIV specialists for the medic- inal use of marijuana, [including] doctors from Massachusetts Mecal Marijuan about one minute do not burn.” Bruno Borowski is a program specialist with Vermont Cares who also thinks that med- ical marijuana should be legally available to those who need it. “It would be very helpful for those that have such pain to receive this for comfort without the side I efiects and addiction that follow long term use of narcotics” that would otherwise be used for sim- ilar purposes, he wrote. “It also increases the appetite for those who are wasting, and have no desire for food. As this is an ille- gal drug at this time, a person is “if medica! marijuana can improve an ill person’s quaiity of Iife, or help a person in short term medical crisis get through their crisis, I am in support of this type of use.” matters tterseasreettte, General, Beth Israel in Boston and even Dartmouth,” he wrote, “They have even gone as far as to warn me to be aware of certain bacteria that are found in the plant from its cultivation that may cause bronchial infection. They advise micro waving it for either suffering or committing an illegal act.” The Science According to a report on the medical uses of marijuana issued by the Institute of Medicine at the behest of the White House and Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey, “The accumulated data indicate a potential therapeutic value for cannabinoid drugs, particularly for symptoms such as pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation. The effects of cannabinoids on the symptoms studied are generally modest, and in most cases there are more effective medications. However, people vary in their responses to medications, and there will likely always be a sub- population of patients who do not respondwell to other medica- tions. The combination of cannabinoid drug effects (anxiety reduction, appetite stimulation, nausea reduction, and pain relief) suggests that cannabinoids would be moderately well suited for par- ticular conditions, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and AIDS wasting. “Marijuana smoking is associated with abnormalities of cells lining the human respiratory tract. Marijuana smoke, like tobacco smoke, is associated with increased risk of cancer, lung damage, and poor pregnancy out- comes. Although cellular, genetic, and human studies all suggest that marijuana smoke is an important risk factor for the development of respiratory can- cer, proof that habitual marijuana smoking does or does not cause cancer awaits the results of well- designed studies.” In other words, the jury is still out, and in the meantime, patients wait, suffer or break the law. V To read the full report by the Institute of Medicine or an execu- tive summary, go to http://www. nap. edu/readin- groom/books/marimed. VT Tax Dept. Reinterprets Civil Union Tax Procedure BY EUAN BEAR . fyou are a partner in a civil union, filing as “civil union separate” and you figured your taxes using the federal tax rate for singles as outlined in our story last month, the Vermont Tax Department has news for you: you must file an amend- ed tax return by April 15. Independent Tax Service Inc. co-owner Martha Abbott said that she called Tax Department Policy Analyst Robert Gross on another matter and reviewed the procedure as outlined in a Vermont Tax Department seminar on how to prepare taxes for partners in a civil union. She was informed that the procedure as outlined was wrong and would give gay couples an “unfair advantage.” Taxpayer Advocate Gloria Hobson, a 23-year tax department veteran, co-pre- sented the seminar at which the Tax Department’s inter- pretation was conveyed to tax preparers. Asked about the prior interpretation and whether there had been a change in policy, she said, “It hasn’t changed. If that’s the Gay United Way >> continued from page 1 campaign ends, Lippert main- tained. “Our well-being is essentially their well-being. They know us as gay or lesbian or transgender members of their families or as co-workers. Or they become allies because we are a part of their political or eth- ical agenda with regard to fair- ness and justice,” Lippert said. An advisory committee has been formed to “assess” the community’s needs, primarily through questionnaires given to organizations and selected indi- viduals. “There really has not been a broad community needs assessment until now,” Lippert said. The Vermont Community Fund is essentially already an umbrella organization, managing the application process for about 60 separate funds, including the Vermont Women’s Fund, and has a permanent endowment of over $70 million. It granted $6 million in 1999 to Vermont projects. The Vermont Community Fund and the Samara Foundation have both awarded small grants to Mountain Pride Media, the publisher of Out in the Mountains: VCF a challenge grant of $2000 (requiring match- ing funds to be raised by June) for the electronic archives of OITM; Samara a general grant of $4000. ‘ According to the National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership, less than 0.3 percent of all chari- table dollars are given to gay and lesbian issues each year. The way it came out it was inar- ticulate on my part. For tax purposes, partners in a civil union must file as if married, whether filingjointly or sep- arately, and therefore must recompute their federal return as if married.” The correct proce- dure is to calculate your fed- eral income taxes twice: once as a single person or head of household, since the IRS does not validate civil unions as equivalent to marriages for taxepurposes; and a sec- ond time, essentially as a worksheet for your Vermont object is to make other major philanthropic organizations aware of the needs of the LGBT com- munity that meet their criteria. To date, 29 local partnerships have joined the NLGCF Partnership since it began, most in large cities, although there’s a Maine Community Foundation partner sponsoring the Maine Equity Fund. The Vennont Unity Project Advisory Committee includes lesbian and gay mem- bers and members from the straight “ally” community. The Advisory Committee members are committing time and energy to raising $200,000 in Vermont, as well as to guiding the applica- tion and selection process when the funds are released. Current members are Tiffany Bluemle, John Crane, Ellen Dorsch, Barb Dozetos, Kevin Ellis, Penrose Jackson, Nat Kinney. Bennett Law, Deb Schoenberg, Sondra Solomon, Don Vickers, and Suzi Wizowaty. Lippert made clear sev- eral times during an interview that the new partnership is not competing with Samara or other LGBT groups for monies that members of our community have traditionally donated to local groups. The committee will work very hard, he declared, to dis- courage any diversion of annual giving from current projects and organizations to the new funding entity. “The object is to -increase giving, not to re-direct it,” he said. In addition, Lippert said that Samara is committed to con- tinue granting funds to projects, organizations and scholarships during the lifetime of the Vermont Unity Project. Samara will award up to $40,000 in grants and scholarships this year.V return, as if married filing jointly or married filing sepa- rately. Your Vermont tax lia- bility will be based on your federal income tax liability. “Civil union filing jointly is probably the better deal for most people,” said Abbott, the exact opposite of the conclusion she had reached based on the Tax Department seminar. “There are-lots of ways that you can amend your tax return where the deadline is later, but for this, you have to file an amended return by April 15.” V