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| NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- February 24, 2005 |
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Posted by CN Staff on February 24, 2005 at 16:03:36 PT Weekly Press Release Source: NORML 
Cannabinoids Stave Off Alzheimer's Decline, Study SaysFebruary 24, 2005 - Madrid, Spain Madrid, Spain: Cannabinoids prevent the neurodegenerative decline associated with Alzheimer's disease in animals and in human brain tissue, according to clinical trial data published in the current issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. Researchers at Madrid's Complutense University and the Cajal Institute reported that the intracerebroventricular administration of synthetic cannabinoids prevented cognitive impairment and decreased neurotoxicity in rats, and reduced the inflammation associated with Alzheimer's disease in human brain tissue. "Our results indicate that cannabinoid receptors are important in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease and that cannabinoids succeed in preventing the neurodegenerative process occurring in the disease," authors concluded. Findings published last summer by Complutense researchers reported that cannabinoids inhibit malignant brain tumor growth in animals, and may provide a potential therapy for human glioma patients. Recent reviews published by the Society for Neuroscience and in the journal Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America have noted that cannabinoids may be clinically useful in the treatment of several neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimers, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Parkinson's disease. Previous human trials on synthetic THC (Marinol) and Alzheimer's found that administration of the drug reduced agitation and stimulated weight gain in patients suffering from the disease. For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6459 Cannabis May Help Prevent Alzheimer's Memory Marijuana Ingredient May Help Alzheimer's Marijuana May Block Alzheimer's Former Ogilvy & Mather Execs Found Guilty Of Overbilling Drug Czar's Office For Anti-Pot Ads February 24, 2005 - Washington, DC, USA Washington, DC: Former Ogilvy & Mather executives Shona Seifert and Thomas Early each face up to five years in prison after being found guilty this week on 10 counts that they defrauded the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). While at Ogilvy & Mather, the ad firm hired by the Drug Czar's Office to create ad spots for the $1.2 billion "National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign," the duo conspired to doctor time-sheets to fraudulently increase the number of hours billed to the ONDCP, prosecutors charged. A 2001 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that time-sheets for 28 Ogilvy & Mather employees were altered to reflect more than 3,100 hours worth of work that had not taken place. The firm had previously agreed to a civil settlement with the US Justice Department in 2002 regarding the overbilling. The White House had continued to pay Ogilvy & Mather to produce anti-drug public service announcements until last year. For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500. D: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6460 Senate Bill Would Strip Ogilvy of Drug Account Senators Join Critics Of ONDCP Program Ogilvy Faces Anti-Drug Challenge in Senate Efficacy Of Student Drug Testing Not Backed By Evidence, Study Says February 24, 2005 - Layerthorpe, United Kingdom Layerthorpe, United Kingdom: There exists little "high-quality evidence" to support the premise that student drug testing deters drug use, and there are indications that the procedure may be "potentially damaging" to youth drug prevention efforts, according to a study released this week in Britain by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. "Whilst the theory behind [random student] drug testing is plausible enough, the evidence for it is remarkably thin," says the report. It notes that "very few independent and rigorous evaluations have been conducted to identify the impact of drug testing programs in school," and that among those studies that have taken place, "The evidence that programs lead to a reduction in use is far from conclusive." For example, a 2004 US federal study of 76,000 students by the University of Michigan's Institute of Social Research found no difference in illegal drug use among students in schools that drug test versus those that do not. The Rowntree report further warns that imposing suspicionless, random drug testing upon students could be a "potentially damaging" approach to drug prevention because the program "could undermine trust between pupils and staff," and "encourage some pupils to switch from [the] use of cannabis ... that can be traced a relatively long time after use, to drugs that are cleared from the body much more quickly, including heroin." The report concluded that UK government officials should "avoid the ad hoc proliferation of random [student] drug testing programs until such time as there are clear data on effectiveness." The publication of the Rowntree study came on the same day that the White House released its 2005 "National Drug Strategy," which calls for a record $25.4 million in federal tax dollars to be spent "supporting schools in the design and implementation of [drug testing] programs designed to screen selected students randomly." The White House report further states that the US government had previously funded the implementation of suspicionless student drug testing programs in 79 middle school and high schools, and hopes to greatly increase the number of schools that employ drug testing - calling it "powerful, safe, and effective." Responding to the White House's support for student drug testing, the Rowntree report commented, "Testing programs have been developed in the United States in advance of the research needed to assess their efficacy." For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, entitled "Random Drug Testing of Schoolchildren: A shot in the arm or a shot in the foot for drug prevention," is available online at: http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/1859352839.pdf DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6458 CannabisNews Drug Testing Archives Source: NORML Foundation (DC) NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- Feb. 17, 2005 NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- Feb. 10, 2005 NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- Feb. 03, 2005 Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #9 posted by FoM on February 25, 2005 at 13:36:31 PT |
WHAT: Medical Marijuana Bill To Receive A Second Hearing Monday! WHERE: New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee State Capitol Santa Fe, NM 87501 WHEN: Monday, February 28, 2005 NORML is pleased to announce that SB 785, a medical marijuana bill in the New Mexico Senate, passed the Senate Public Affairs Committee last week in a unanimous vote! This result is due in large part to the phone calls, letters and support that New Mexico State Senators received from concerned citizens such as yourself. But there is still much work to be done. This Monday, February 28, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Senate Bill 785, which would enact statewide legal protections shielding seriously ill patients who use marijuana therapeutically from state prosecution. If you have not done so already, please take a moment today to write your Senator and tell him or her to support Senate Bill 785. Pre-written letters are available online from NORML at: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=6953171&type=ST In addition, if your Senator serves on the Judiciary Committee, it is vital that you call him or her TODAY, and voice your support for medical marijuana. The committee is expected to vote on this proposal immediately following the hearing. The following Senators serve on the Judiciary Committee: Cisco McSorley (D-NM 16th), Chair - (505) 986-4485 Richard C. Martinez (D-NM 5th), Vice-Chair - (505) 986-4389 Rod Adair (R-NM 33rd) - (505) 986-4385 Kent L. Cravens (R-NM 21st) - (505) 986-4391 John T.L. Grubesic (D-NM 25th) - (505) 986-4260 Clinton D. Harden (R-NM 7th) - (505) 986-4369 Linda M. Lopez (D-NM 11th) - (505) 986-4737 William H. Payne (R-NM 20th) - (505) 986-4276 Lidio G. Rainaldi (D-NM 4th) - (505) 986-4310 Michael S. Sanchez (D-NM 29th) - (505) 986-4727 The large outpouring of support from people like yourself was largely responsible for the bill passing unanimously in the Senate Public Affairs Committee. We hope that we can count on your support once again as the bill faces a vote in the Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Committee features more undecided Senators, so it is vital that you call them and register your support for SB795. Thank you again for your support of NORML's legislative efforts in New Mexico. Regards, Kris Krane, Associate Director NORML [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by siege on February 25, 2005 at 08:50:48 PT |
| Eat Herbs/Hemp and be healthy GENESIS 1/29 said it all. For 70 years, medical research has consistently shown with increasing clarity that diabetes is a degenerative disease directly caused by an (engineered food supply) that is focused on profit instead of health. Although the diligent can readily glean this information from a wealth of medical research literature, it is generally otherwise unavailable. Certainly this information has been, and remains, largely unavailable in the medical schools that train our retail doctors. Prominent among the causative agents in our modern diabetes epidemic are the (engineered fats and oils) that are sold in today's supermarkets. A great deal was learned about the relationship between diet and diabetes in the 1930s and 1940s. Diabetes, which had a per-capita incidence of 0.0028% at the turn of the century, had by 1933 zoomed 1,000% in the United States to become a disease seen by many doctors. This disease, under a variety of aliases, was destined to go on to wreck the health of over half the American population and incapacitate almost 20% by the 1990s At one time, strokes, both ischaemic and haemorrhagic, heart failure due to neuropathy as well as both ischaemic and haemorrhagic coronary events, obesity, atherosclerosis, elevated blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, impotence, retinopathy, renal failure, liver failure, polycystic ovary syndrome, elevated blood sugar, systemic candida, impaired carbohydrate metabolism, poor wound healing, impaired fat metabolism, peripheral neuropathy as well as many more of today's disgraceful epidemic disorders were once well understood often to be but symptoms of diabetes.[ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by Dankhank on February 25, 2005 at 07:38:40 PT |
| we had a comatose inmate here in OK for a while, too, gaurded 24/7 in the hospital. Think someone finally made the prison system see sense ... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by JustGetnBy on February 25, 2005 at 05:52:33 PT |
| Does anyone remember the news story about the brain dead California inmate who was being guarded 24 hours a day by prison guards, on overtime? That appeard here on C=News briefly then never to be heard from again. I can't help but wonder they aren't still guarding this man somewhere at time and a half. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 24, 2005 at 20:38:57 PT |
| We just found a movie playing on USA Today on Direct TV. It's called How High and I thought others might want to know it's on now. So far it is really funny. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by mayan on February 24, 2005 at 19:37:16 PT |
| This is an incredible moment in human history! The mainstream media is currently working overtime to spin 9/11,cannabis,Iraq,social security and everything else under the sun. They are really going after the blogs lately! This means that the mainstreamers are threatened by the alternative media. They can no longer afford to ignore us - they must now attack us but their efforts will prove futile. They just can't kill the truth. "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mahatma Ghandi THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN... Hunter S. Thompson thought 9/11 an inside job: http://www.libertythink.com/2005/02/hunter-s-thompson-thought-911-inside.html CNN 'DEBUNKS' 911 THEORIES: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2005/02/312074.shtml Debunking Popular Mechanics’ “9/11 Myths,The Pentagon: http://letsroll911.org/ipw-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5505 'Popular Mechanics' & Other CIA Front Organizations: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread119094/pg1 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 24, 2005 at 19:36:44 PT |
| Here it is. It might not be on their web site anymore but the link still works. That's why we archive because just like tv news the stories come and are gone in no time. How can people learn if they can't put things together? That's why I feel it is so very important to archive articles. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,148518,00.html [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by Hope on February 24, 2005 at 19:23:30 PT |
| It's a travesty and hideous disrespect of the American people in several different ways. What sort of media do we have that the people of the United States aren't being made aware of this and the other breakthrough studies like the tumor shrinking, the seizure stopping, and muscle spasm relief, and the posttraumatic stress syndrome studies? They really do treat us like mushrooms. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by potpal on February 24, 2005 at 18:46:43 PT |
| Saw the cannabis/alzhiemers piece only once on cnn (tv) this morning, hasn't made their website. Didn't make api, reuters or usa today. Surprised it made fox which I saw posted here but a (just now) search of their web site didn't have it, was it removed? What a crock. [ Post Comment ] |
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