NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- April 6, 2006 |
Posted by CN Staff on April 06, 2006 at 15:31:14 PT Weekly Press Release Source: NORML Only Two Weeks Left Until the 2006 NORML Conference and High Times Cannabis Comedy Night April 6, 2006 - Washington, DC, USA Washington, DC: Only two weeks left until the 2006 Annual NORML Conference in San Francisco. If you haven't already done so, sign up today! The three-day "extravaganja" will take place April 20-22 at the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway in downtown San Francisco. Discussion panels at this year's event include: - Grassroots to Grasstops: Activists Effectively Working Together at All Levels - Race, The War on Drugs and Effective Legal Advocacy - Reefer, Rhetoric and Retorts: Winning Ways to Frame The Marijuana Debate - A Look Ahead at This Fall's Pot Initiatives - Cannabis Dispensaries and Their Carrying Capacities - Marijuana and Health: Myths, Facts and Mysteries - Religion, Sacrament and Marijuana - Big Brother Is Watching: Drugged Driving, Student Drug Testing and Dog Searches - Emerging Clinical Applications For Cannabis - American History, Marijuana and Marijuana Prohibition But that's not all! Tickets are still available for the High Times Cannabis Comedy Night, a special benefit for NORML. Featured comedians include Doug Benson of Best Week Ever, Greg Proops of Whose Line Is It Anyway, Rick Overton of The Aristocrats and many more! The NORML benefit show is at 8pm on Saturday, April 22 at Cobb's Comedy Club. Network with the nation's top marijuana activists and advocates, mingle with celebrities and members of High Times magazine, as well as NORML's staff and board of directors, and enjoy a one-of-a-kind Cannabis Comedy Night! The National NORML Conference is the most respected and well-attended marijuana law reform conference in the US. Join us for the widest range of panels and speakers on topics of interests to cannabis consumers, and law reform activists! For more information, contact NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre at (202) 483-5500. DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6865 Ohio Legislature Passes Per Se "Drugged Driving" Bill April 6, 2006 - Columbus, OH, USA Columbus, OH: The state House and Senate gave final approval last week to per se legislation sanctioning motorists who operate a motor vehicle with trace levels of marijuana or non-psychoactive marijuana metabolites (compounds produced from chemical changes of a drug in the body) in their blood or urine. Once signed into law, the measure will go into effect in 90 days. Senate Bill 8 criminally penalizes motorists who drive with levels of THC above 2 ng/ml in their blood and/or levels of the inactive marijuana metabolite THC-COOH in their urine above 35 ng/ml. Ohio is only the third state to pass per se DUID (driving under the influence of drugs) legislation for motorists with trace levels of THC in their blood, and it is the sixth to criminalize motorists who drive with levels of non-psychoactive marijuana metabolites in their bodily fluid. NORML Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano called SB 8 an "all out assault on Ohio's marijuana smoking community." He said: "THC may remain detectable in the blood at low levels long after the intoxicating effects of the drug have worn off. In addition, marijuana's main metabolite remains detectable in urine for days and sometimes weeks after past use. As a result, this legislation may potentially and improperly define sober drivers as if they were intoxicated. Someone who smokes marijuana is impaired as a driver at most for a few hours, certainly not for days or weeks. To treat all marijuana smokers as if they are impaired, even when the drug's effects have long worn off, is illogical and unfair." Armentano added, "Ohio already has effect-based laws on the books targeting and prosecuting drivers who operate a motor vehicle 'under the influence' of illicit drugs. Under Section 4511.19 of Ohio's Revised Code, motorists face up to six months in jail if they drive 'while under the influence of a drug of abuse.' By contrast, SB 8 creates a separate crime of 'drugged driving' that is, potentially, divorced from impairment. This troubling bill looks to be nothing more than an attempt by the legislature to misuse the traffic safety laws to target the state¹s cannabis community." A similar legislative effort was rejected by members of the California Assembly earlier this week. For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Additional information on state DUID laws and penalties is available online at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6492 DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6866 No More Decrim Debate In Canada, New PM Says April 6, 2006 - Ottawa, ON, Canada Ottawa, Ontario: Proposed legislation to depenalize the possession of minor amounts of cannabis will not be introduced in Parliament, according to public statements made this week by Canada's new Conservative Party Prime Minister Stephen Harper. While campaigning, Harper had vowed to enact tougher penalties for drug offenses. Harper's position marks a sharp contrast to that of the previous administration, which had on several occasions endorsed decriminalizing marijuana, but had failed to act on a number of depenalization proposals. In 2002, a Canadian Senate inquiry recommended legalizing and regulating marijuana for those 16 years and older, while a House inquiry recommended decriminalizing the possession of up to 30 grams (approximately one ounce) of marijuana. However, neither recommendation ever gained significant support from members of Parliament. For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500. DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6867 Source: NORML Foundation (DC) CannabisNews NORML Archives Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
Comment #12 posted by FoM on April 06, 2006 at 17:58:20 PT |
I don't think people in Ohio take the driving law seriously because most people don't even know about it. People where I live aren't on the Internet. If they are on the Internet it isn't used in any activist way. Not one of my friends have a computer. My sister is a retired police woman and she was shocked when I told her about the law. She said why would they do that in a state that treats marijuana in a light way? See what I mean? [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #11 posted by Taylor121 on April 06, 2006 at 17:50:34 PT |
Don't get me wrong. Ohio has some great marijuana laws, that's why I'm so disappointed whenever they pass a law like this that is a back door to persecute marijuana users. Yes it is decriminalized to possess less than 100 grams, but at the same time they can charge you with intoxication while driving for smoking over a week ago with this new law. Not to mention in one Ohio city, they made possession a criminal offense with jail time. For such a progressive state, I just find it disappointing that they are taking steps backwards instead of looking at medical marijuana and outright legalization for adults. I don't think enough people are taking these new Driving while intoxicated laws serious enough. NORML understands that if enough of these pass, and then a new detection system comes into play such as rapid saliva testing, it could mean a new way of criminalizing thousands of responsible adult marijuana consumers. That is why we need to really focus on making sure they don't gain ground in this manner. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #10 posted by ekim on April 06, 2006 at 17:40:19 PT |
Apr 6 06 The Power Hour-Let's Get Busy, WGNU 920AM Radio 09:00 PM Howard Wooldridge St. Louis Missouri USA
The power person for The Power Hour on WGNU 920AM Radio, St. Louis, MO, is Board Member Howard Wooldridge. Howard will be interviewed by host Zaki Baruti in regards to the failures of drug prohibition. Call in Numbers: (314) 454-0400, 1-877-920-9468. Web site: www.wgnu.net Apr 7 06 Former Narc Says: "Legalize Drugs!" Come Ask Him: "Why?" 07:00 PM Jack Cole Newton Kansas USA Executive Director Jack Cole presents: Former Narc Says: "Legalize Drugs!" Come Ask Him: "Why?" to members of the public and media at the Fox Theater. Apr 7 06 WGNU 920AM Radio 10:00 AM Howard Wooldridge St. Louis Missouri USA Board Member Howard Wooldridge is an in studio guest at WGNU 920AM Radio, St. Louis, MO. Howard will be interviewed by Gary Weigert, President of the St. Louis City Police Officers' Association. Visit http://www.wgnu.net/gary.htm or http://www.geocities.com/policevoice/ to learn more about Gary. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #9 posted by FoM on April 06, 2006 at 17:02:41 PT |
Louie Armstrong ~ What a Wonderful World MP3: http://tinyurl.com/erce9 [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #8 posted by FoM on April 06, 2006 at 16:51:04 PT |
It has been in Washington DC a couple times but it always winds up back in San Francisco. DC is such an oppressive place and San Francisco is well San Francisco. The heartbeat of the counter culture is still there I believe. Spirits don't leave. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #7 posted by whig on April 06, 2006 at 16:40:55 PT |
Is the NORML conference in the Bay area every year? [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #6 posted by FoM on April 06, 2006 at 16:28:34 PT |
Maybe you will get to go next year. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #5 posted by FoM on April 06, 2006 at 16:21:23 PT |
I am not disappointed with Ohio. We have one of the best laws in the whole USA concerning possession. It's like a traffic ticket for under 100 grams. If we can vote out Republicans in my state we will be ok. Then maybe those that are fighting for a medical marijuana law might make some progress. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #4 posted by whig on April 06, 2006 at 16:20:46 PT |
Wish I could be there, but we won't be in SF until July. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #3 posted by FoM on April 06, 2006 at 16:16:43 PT |
http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/wish.htm [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #2 posted by whig on April 06, 2006 at 16:05:28 PT |
http://tinyurl.com/j95rg [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #1 posted by Taylor121 on April 06, 2006 at 15:42:16 PT |
Ohio has been a huge disappointment this year. [ Post Comment ] |
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