Filed under: Hemp&Law, HempTherapy, hemp in general | Tags: alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, drug, ganja, hashish, hemp, heroin, London, marijuana, NORML, Paul Armentano, pot, skunk, uk, weed
Survey: One In Five High Schools Drug Test Students
September 25, 2008 – Washington, DC
Washington, DC: An estimated one in five high schools and one in ten middle schools engage in some form of student drug testing – including random testing, according to survey data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and published in the fall issue of Strategies for Success, a newsletter of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
“Findings indicate that the number of schools conducting … drug testing may be [approximately] 4,000 – more than double the highest estimates cited previously,” the ONDCP reported.
In all, 14.6 percent of all public and private middle schools and high schools now conduct some type of student drug testing, the CDC’s School Health Policies and Programs study found. Slightly more than 50 percent of these schools reported conducted random drug testing among specific groups of students.
Of the schools that drug test, 84 percent utilize urinalysis – a method that detects the presence of inactive drug metabolites, but does not have the ability to determine recent drug use or impairment. Fifteen percent of schools employ hair follicle testing, the study reported. Eight percent use saliva testing, and three percent use sweat patch testing technology.
Of the drugs screened for, 86 percent of schools test for the presence of marijuana. By contrast, 75 percent of school drug testing programs screen for cocaine, 50 percent screen for alcohol, and fewer than 20 percent test for nicotine.
Last year the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on School Health resolved, “There is little evidence of the effectiveness of school-based drug testing,” and warned that students subjected to random testing programs may experience “an increase in known risk factors for drug use.” The Academy also warned that school-based drug testing programs could decrease student involvement in extracurricular activities and undermine trust between pupils and educators.
A 2003 cross-sectional study of national student drug testing programs previously reported, “Drug testing, as practiced in recent years in American secondary schools, does not prevent or inhibit student drug use.”
A 2007 prospective randomized clinical trial also reported that students who underwent random drug testing did not differ in their self-reported drug use compared to students at neighboring schools who were not enrolled in drug testing programs.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director.
DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7709
Text Messaging Impacts Psychomotor Skills Far More Than Cannabis, Study Says
September 25, 2008 – London, United Kingdom
London, United Kingdom: Sending text messages from one’s mobile phone impairs motorists’ ability to drive a car to a far greater degree than does smoking cannabis, according to the findings of a study published this week by Britain’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) and reported by Reuters news wire.
Seventeen volunteers age 18 to 24 years old participated in the driving simulator study.
“The reaction times of people texting as they drove fell by 35 percent, while those who had consumed the legal limit of alcohol, or taken cannabis, fell by 21 percent and 12 percent respectively,” Reuters reported.
The study also found that drivers’ ability to maintain lane position and headway with the vehicle in front of them was more adversely impacted by texting than by the influence of marijuana.
Currently, five US states have enacted laws prohibiting text messaging while driving. By contrast, fifteen states have enacted laws criminally prohibiting drivers from operating a vehicle with trace levels of cannabis or inactive cannabis metabolites in their blood or urine.
A study published earlier this year in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention reported that in terms of overall driving performance, subjects under the influence of cannabis performed in a manner comparable to motorists with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 percent.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director. NORML’s white paper, “Cannabis and Driving: A Scientific and Rational Review,” — http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7459
Filed under: HempTherapy, hemp in general | Tags: cannabinoids, cannabis, ganja, hashish, hemp, marijuana, medical cannabis, medical marijuana, multiple sclerosis, NORML, pot, research, skunk, therapeutic use, weed
Cannabis May Halt Progression Of Multiple Sclerosis, Study Says
September 18, 2008 – London, United Kingdom
London, United Kingdom: Cannabinoids possess neuroprotective properties and may modify the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a review published in the journal Current Pharmaceutical Design.
Investigators at the London School of Medicine, Neuroscience Center reported that cannabinoids likely hold therapeutic value for MS patients beyond providing temporary symptomatic relief.
“Recent clinical trials may indeed suggest that cannabis has some potential to relieve, pain, spasms and spasticity in MS,” authors wrote. “In addition, CB(1) and CB(2) cannabinoid receptor stimulation may also have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective potential. Therefore cannabinoids may not only offer symptom control but may also slow the neurodegenerative disease progression that ultimately leads to the accumulation of disability.”
A recent expert opinion paper published by the US National Multiple Sclerosis Society concluded that cannabis possesses the potential to treat MS symptoms as well as moderate disease progression, but stopped short of recommending that patients use it therapeutically.
Survey data indicates that an estimated one in four patients with MS use medicinal cannabis.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org
Full text of the study, “The endocannabinoid system and multiple sclerosis,” appears in the journal Current Pharmaceutical Design.
Note: “Cannabinoids may not only offer symptom control but may also slow … disease progression”
DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7704
19th Annual Boston Freedom Rally Takes Place This Weekend
September 18, 2008 – Boston, MA, USA
Boston, MA: The Massachusetts chapter of NORML (MassCann) will hold the 19th annual Freedom Rally this Saturday, September 20, at the Boston Common in downtown Boston. The event is the largest marijuana law reform gathering on the east coast.
Speakers at this year’s event include NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre, NORML founder Keith Stroup, author Steve Bloom (Pot Culture), High Times Magazine associate publisher Rick Cusick, and Congressional candidate John Cunningham.
MassCann NORML will also be holding an awards banquet in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Friday, September 19.
This November, Massachusetts’ voters will decide on a statewide ballot measure that seeks to replace criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana with a civil fine of no more than $100.
For more information on the Freedom Rally, please visit: http://www.masscann.org
DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7706
Less Than One-Month Left To Register For NORML’s 2008 National Conference
September 18, 2008 – Washington, DC, USA
Washington, DC: NORML’s 37th annual national conference is less than one-month away, but attendees still have time to take advantage of discounted pricing by visiting:
http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7626
This year’s ‘extravaganja’ takes place in Berkeley, California on Friday, October 17 and Saturday, October 18 at the Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center.
Plenary sessions at this year’s conference include:
Getting the Story Wrong: How the Media Lie About Cannabis
The Legal Marijuana Generation: Growing Up In The Age of Legal Pot
The War On Pot Is a War On Young People
What If We Arrested 20 Million Americans And Nobody Noticed?
The Politics of Marijuana And Health
In addition, on Sunday, October 19, NORML’s Legal Committee and the faculty of Oaksterdam University will co-sponsor a special, third-day session, entitled “Cannabusiness 102.” This unique, one-day seminar will outline step-by-step how to establish a legally-compliant medical marijuana business in the state of California.
Mark your calendar now and plan to join us as we focus on the latest marijuana policy developments at the state and federal levels, celebrate our victories over the past year, and hear from the world’s leading activists and cannabis law reform organizations. Mingle with celebrities and members of NORML’s staff and Board of Directors in one of the most cannabis friendly cities in the world.
Additional details about this year’s national conference – including patient accommodations, vending and sponsorship opportunities, conference scheduling, and a guide to NORML social events – are now available online at NORML’s 2008 Conference Registration page here:
http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7626
For more information, please call (202) 483-5500. Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), about this year’s NORML Conference.
Filed under: Hemp&Law, HempTherapy, hemp in general | Tags: cannabis, Dea, drug, ganja, hashish, hemp, marijuana, NORML, pot, skunk, war on drug, weed
USA — If denial is the first sign of addiction, then Drug Czar John Walters is hooked to the gills. He’s addicted to targeting and arresting marijuana consumers, and he’ll do and say anything to keep this irrational and punitive policy in place.
Speaking earlier this month on C-Span, the reigning Czar stretched his usual deceit to outrageous new heights. Responding to a question from the Marijuana Policy Project’s Dan Bernath, Walters flatly denied the charge that over 800,000 Americans are arrested annually for violating pot laws.
“We didn’t arrest 800,000 marijuana users,” Walters proclaimed. “That’s [a] lie.”
If only it were.
According to data released yesterday in the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Report, police in 2007 arrested over 872,000 US citizens – that’s nearly one out of every two Americans busted for illicit drugs — for weed.
(The raw data is available from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation here and here.)
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/arrests/index.html
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/data/table_29.html
That figure is a five percent increase over the total number of Americans busted in 2006. It’s more than three times the number of citizens charged with pot violations sixteen years ago.
Of those arrested in 2007, 89 percent – some 775,000 Americans — were charged with simple pot possession, not trafficking, cultivation, or sale. (By comparison, 27 percent of those arrested for heroin and cocaine offenses were charged with sales.) Three out of four were under age 30; one in four were 18-years-old or younger.
The FBI’s tally is the highest marijuana arrest total ever-reported in law enforcement history. If this pace continues, annual arrests for pot will surpass one million per year by 2010.
But to hear America’s top drug cop tell it few, if any, citizens are ever arrested for pot possession, and absolutely no one goes to jail for breaking marijuana laws.
“The fact is today, people don’t go to jail for the possession of marijuana,” Walters alleged on C-Span. “Finding somebody in jail or prison for possession of marijuana is like finding a unicorn. It doesn’t exist.”
Not true says the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, which reported last year in black and white — perhaps the Drug Czar is reading impaired – that 12.7 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for drug abuse violations are serving time for marijuana offenses. Combining these percentages with separate U.S. Department of Justice statistics on the total number of state and federal drug prisoners suggests that, at a minimum, there are now about 33,655 state inmates and 10,785 federal inmates behind bars for marijuana offenses.
(The report failed to include estimates on the percentage of inmates incarcerated in county or local jails for pot-related offenses, nor did it take into account the number of inmates serving time for violating the terms of their marijuana-related probation, such as those who submitted a ‘dirty’ urine to their parole officer.)
No matter how one slices it, that’s a lot of unicorns.
It also begs the question: Why does the Drug Czar feel the need to go to such absurd lengths to hide this overt outgrowth of American drug policy? After all, the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy typically issue chest-thumping press releases when they achieve record busts for offenses involving cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine? Why then do they shy away from making similar proclamations for pot?
Perhaps it’s because, deep down, even the Drug Czar knows that the use of cannabis does not pose anywhere near the health and safety threat as does the use of other intoxicants, including alcohol, and that most Americans – rightly – would be outraged to learn that our nation’s so-called war on drugs is really just an assault on young adults caught with small bags of weed.
Paul Armentano is the Deputy Director of NORML and The NORML Foundation in Washington, DC.
Note: Cannabis arrests now comprise nearly 47.5 percent of all drug arrests in the United States, 89% of them for mere possession.
Source: AlterNet
Filed under: HempTherapy, hemp in general | Tags: anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, cannabis, ganja, hashish, hemp, malaria, marijuana, NORML, Paul Armentano, pot, skunk, weed
Oxford, MI: Non-cannabinoid constituents in marijuna possess anti-bacterial properties against malaria, methicillim-resistant Staphyloccus aureus (aka MRSA), and other potentially drug-resistant pathogens, according to findings to be published in the journal Phytochemistry.
Investigators at the University of Mississippi, National Center for Natural Products Research reported the discovery of eleven new non-cannabinoid constituents in cannabis, several of which possess strong “anti-microbial,” “anti-malarial,” and “anti-leishmanial” (a common skin parasite) activity. Scientists reported that several of the compounds also possessed anti-inflammatory properties and acted as potent anti-oxidants.
Commenting on the study, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, “Therapeutic cannabis means just that – the therapeutic prowess of the whole plant. We should not advocate for, or accept, anything less.”
A previous study published online in August by the Journal of Natural Products reported that at least five cannabinoids – THC, CBD (cannabidiol), CBG (cannabigerol), CBC (cannabichromine), and CBN (cannabinol) – possess germ-killing abilities against various strains of multidrug-resistant bacteria, including MRSA.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director. Full text of the study, “Non-cannabinoid constituents from a high potency Cannabis sativa strain,” will appear in Phytochemistry.
Filed under: Hemp&Law, hemp in general | Tags: cannabis, congress, ganja, hashish, hemp, hemp laws, marijuana, NORML, pot, prohibition, weed
Washington, DC – On July 30 something rather historic on a number of counts occurred in the nation’s capital. Firstly, Congress is for the first time in a generation ( 1978 ) taking a serious look at reforming components of cannabis prohibition laws. In today’s Congress, the support of the Congressional Black Caucus is pivotal to passing any substantive cannabis law reform. So I was so very heartened that Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and William Lacy Clay (D-MO) joined us on this very hot and oppressively humid day in DC, along with the always jocose Barney Frank (D-MA), the bill’s primary sponsor (along with Rep. Ron Paul, R-TX).
Second, the media attending the press conference on HR 5843, a bill that would decriminalize marijuana possession and use for responsible adults, fairly captured the event’s narrative, i.e., ‘it makes no sense to treat cannabis consumers like criminals’ and ‘why not start controlling cannabis in the same way society (and government agencies) already control alcohol products?’ with no double entendre or goofy ’stoner stupidisms’. You can view a CNN video of the press conference here.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/30/frank.marijuana/#cnnSTCVideo
Also, you can check out some YouTube footage here of my opening remarks.
Bill Piper from the Drug Policy Alliance spoke about the collateral effects that happen to citizens arrested for minor amounts of cannabis including, but not limited to: loss of student loans; denial to public housing, food stamps and job training; and denial of entry into the military and some government service jobs.
Rob Kampia from the Marijuana Policy Project discussed the broader implications of the federal government passing decriminalization legislation and how it could affect state efforts to reform cannabis laws, notably this November’s decriminalization initiative on the ballot in Massachusetts.
As has been noted by others who attended today’s press conference, there was a certain air of desperation coming from the part of the government who is responsible for supposedly ‘controlling’ currently illicit drugs. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)chief propagandist David Murray attended the press conference, making himself available for questions afterwards and handing out his latest anti-cannabis handywork, and he seemed absolutely befuddled that anyone on the face of the planet could possibly compare cannabis and alcohol policies, and that there is no such thing as the responsible use of cannabis. Period. Even for medical purposes with a physician’s recommendation. Period.
Wow. Can you say, ‘flat earth’?
Indeed, there is much work to be done in cannabis law reform in the Executive Branch (which, astonishingly, is where ONDCP resides) and so-called anti-drug agencies. The tale Hercules and the cleansing of the Augean stables immediately comes to mind
As Chairman Frank noted in his prepared remarks, HR 5843 (and similar legislation HR 5842, which regards medical marijuana rescheduling) are not likely to come a full committee for vote until well into 2009. Given this candid assessment by Rep. Frank, for NORML members and advocates of cannabis law reform, there are still important phases that we can all help accomplish that will hasten passage of these important and reform-minded bills.
Rep. Frank and the other current co-sponsors of HR 5843 will be sending around a ‘Dear Colleague” letter soon encouraging other members of the House to join them early on in support of their bill for the decriminalization of cannabis for responsible adult use and, therefore, like all legislation in the Congress, the more co-sponsors of a legislative bill, the better chance the bill’s chance of passage.
With the change of presidency in the wings and a likely increase in the number of Democratic members being elected to the House of Representatives, NORML’s expectations for HR 5843 is for there to be both subcommittee and full committee votes on Judiciary regarding this important legislation late into 2009.
Importantly, NORML members and advocates of cannabis law reform, for the next six months, need to truly concentrate their advocacy efforts on actively recruiting each of our elected members of Congress to become co-sponsors of HR 5843. Of the many lobbying and advocacy efforts one can employ to advance cannabis law reforms in America, getting a federal cannabis decriminalization bill passed and signed into law is the single most politically achievable public policy advance that is likely to happen in Congress in the next few years.
As our democracy prescribes, states will continue to largely serve as the catalyst of change and innovation in public policy making regarding cannabis, and this is very likely going to continue to happen with more and more municipalities and states passing progressive cannabis laws–at some point, ultimately, positively affecting the federal government.
At least that is how it is supposed to work, right?
Complete Title: Finally, Congress Starts Moving on Reforming Pot Prohibition
Allen St. Pierre is the executive director of NORML.
Source: AlterNet (US)
Filed under: Hemp&Law, HempTherapy | Tags: cannabis, ganja, hemp, marijuana, NORML, pot
Mississippi — The response of marijuana advocacy groups concerning the steady increase of the drug’s potency has revealed an underground debate of whether marijuana is a harmful narcotic or a recreational drug, and the groups involved vary from the U.S. federal government and local law enforcement organizations to college students and scientists.
Founded in 1970, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has provided a voice in the public policy debate for those Americans who oppose marijuana prohibition and favor an end to the practice of arresting marijuana smokers, the NORML Web site said.
NORML claims to represent the interests of millions of Americans who smoke marijuana responsibly, the Web site said.
“Even by the University of Mississippi’s own admission, the average THC in domestically grown marijuana – which comprises the bulk of the US market – is less than five percent, a figure that’s remained unchanged for nearly a decade,” NORML deputy director Paul Armentano wrote in a letter sent to the editorial staff in the Tuesday issue of The Daily Mississippian.
The deputy director did not address the alleged connection between mental illness and marijuana use in his letter, but did later in a phone interview.
“Nobody really knows the answer,” Armentano said. “We know those who suffer from depression and anxiety sometimes abuse substances like alcohol and cigarettes.”
Armentano said although he has not seen any research directly linking marijuana use and mental illness, he would not advise those with mental illness or a family history of mental illness to use marijuana.
“Use of any intoxicant has a risk,” Armentano said.
NORML supports regulation and education, he said.
A “targeted education campaign” similar to that of the recent alcohol campaigns would allow the general public to be educated about marijuana and its effects; regulation would ensure the product being sold was taxed and safe for the public to consume, he said.
The argument for regulation is that the government currently has no control over the drug market, Armentano said.
Regulation could end the “anarchy” that exists within the system, he said.
Source: Daily Mississippian (U of MS Edu)
Website: http://www.thedmonline.com
Allen St. Pierre (Norml) on C-SPAN part 1
Allen St. Pierre (Norml) on C-SPAN part 2
The medical records will show that he died due to complications associated with massive liver failure. He would have likely survived longer if he received a timely organ transplant but was denied access because he followed his physician’s recommendation, used medical cannabis during his treatments for liver disease, therefore testing positive for THC metabolites and rather than receive the gift of a potentially longer life—instead doctors at the University of Washington deferred to federal prohibition laws and mores, handing Tim a death sentence.
There are no pharmacological or physiological reasons why Tim Garon, or any medical marijuana patient, should logically be denied access to life-saving or life-enhancing organ transplants.
In my view, commonsense and humanity were completely lacking here on the part of the doctors who denied Tim and his family a chance at a continued life together.
For the better part of ten years NORML (and the ACLU’s Drug Litigation Project) have been 1) monitoring increasing numbers of medical patients denied access to organ transplants for the singular reason that they test positive for cannabis and 2) researching litigation and legislative options to compel organ banks to stop discriminating against medical patients who use cannabis, most especially in states where medical marijuana patients are supposed to be protected by state laws.
Today’s weather in Seattle calls for cloudy and dark weather. That is hardly unusual for this time of year up there, but on this day, the clouds will be particular dark…notably the ones hanging over the doctors at the University of Washington who decided earlier this week to sacrifice Timothy Garon on the altar of pot prohibition rather than treat him like an ailing brother or a sister, wife or child.
Would these doctors really deny organ transplants to a loved one that tested positive for cannabis? I think not.
Read a previous article about Tim Garon’s plight. View a moving news account of Tim and his family. Finally, go to NORML’s online advocacy system and send a prewritten letter to your member of Congress in favor of HR 5842, a bill that would end the federal government’s war on patients.
References: NORML Blog
