cannabisnews.com: U.S. Puts Brake on 'Pot' Studies





U.S. Puts Brake on 'Pot' Studies
Posted by CN Staff on December 15, 2004 at 07:59:48 PT
By Holly Angelo
Source: Republican
Amherst -- Lyle E. Craker's plans to grow marijuana in his University of Massachusetts laboratory to be used for medicinal studies have been put on indefinite hold by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Craker filed an application with DEA in June 2001 to establish a facility on the Amherst campus to produce marijuana for U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved research.
Last July, he and two other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit demanding that the DEA respond to his request. Friday, he got his answer in a six-page "order to show cause" from the DEA denying his request. "What we're attempting to do is to test this plant to see if it actually has any clinical benefit," said Craker, director of the medicinal plant program and member of the department of plant, soil, and insect sciences at UMass, yesterday. "Many people may be suffering from medical problems who we may be able to help." He said he plans to seek a hearing at which he will show cause why the DEA should not deny his application. Under his plan, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies would fund the UMass cultivation. The association and Craker were plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in July. Currently, the National Institute on Drug Abuse is the only agency allowed to oversee the cultivation of research-grade marijuana on behalf of the government. But many scientists have questioned the quality and quantity of the marijuana produced at the University of Mississippi for the institute. In its order, the DEA said it found that the laboratory is producing a "sufficient quantity and quality" of marijuana to meet research needs. "What this decision does is effectively close the doors on any foreseeable prospect of the Federal Drug Administration considering marijuana as medicine," said Bruce E. Mirken, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project based in Washington, D.C. The order also says that an additional facility is not needed because marijuana research has not progressed to Phase 2 of clinical trials because "current research must utilize smoked marijuana, which ultimately cannot be the permitted delivery system for any potential marijuana medication due to the deleterious effects and the difficulty in monitoring the efficaciousness of smoked marijuana." Rick E. Doblin, president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, said the DEA is performing Phase 2 trials with marijuana. He said his group wants to study the medicinal benefits of marijuana in two forms, smoked and by vaporizer. "We want to develop marijuana into a prescription medicine, or have research that says it's too risky," Doblin said. "Our broader goal is to say we have a public health issue that is being addressed as a criminal justice issue." The DEA would not comment on the order to show cause, and said Craker has 30 days from receipt of the letter in which to respond and have a hearing date scheduled. Source: Republican, The (MA)Author: Holly AngeloPublished: Wednesday, December 15, 2004Copyright: 2004 The RepublicanContact: letters repub.comWebsite: http://www.masslive.com/republican/Related Articles & Web Sites:MAPShttp://www.maps.org/ Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/No Room To Growhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20033.shtmlDEA Rejects Professor's Bid To Grow Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20029.shtmlCollege Fails in Bid to Grow Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20028.shtml 
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Comment #9 posted by Sukoi on December 15, 2004 at 17:06:39 PT
Some interesting articles:
Federal role in medication wronghttp://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/news/opinion/10419981.htmNo toke! Pot-flavored candy for salehttp://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/262312p-224621c.html
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Comment #8 posted by tokenitallup4162 on December 15, 2004 at 13:05:39 PT:
    no offense here
no offense here, but EJ, one has to walk thru the darkness to get to the light sometimes, sacrafices, humiliation, and spit in your face at times is what it is all about, GODSPEED, times are a changing, and we got to start somewheres, be it C News, fox or whoever puts the issues out there for us all to see!!! just my opinions., EJ
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Comment #7 posted by Nuevo Mexican on December 15, 2004 at 12:28:50 PT
'It's just a Plant!', Who's been reading C-News?
Looks like C-News may have inspired this book! Who knows!Here's something that we should talk about! A portrait of 
Bush made up of monkeys in a marsh upon closer inspection has riled the manager of the Chelsea Market in Downtown New York City to the point where he had the whole exhibit taken down! Talk about the American Taliban!Let's get this portrait up all over America, if it breeds that much fear in a bushlover, just think of how fearful it will make other bushlovers! Panic attacks, sudden insights, remorse, who knows what will happen when people see this work of art. One so powerful, it could be a WMD!!!
Send far and wide! New York Art Shuttered After Bush Monkey Portrait 
by Larry Fine 
 
NEW YORK - A portrait of President Bush using monkeys to form his image led to the closure of a New York art exhibition over the weekend and anguished protests on Monday over freedom of expression. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1214-03.htm
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Comment #6 posted by E_Johnson on December 15, 2004 at 11:47:17 PT
This is going to be held against us
We have enough trouble educating adults, and a book for children is only going to make THAT trouble worse. Someone's been drinking too much Koolaid, that's my opinion.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on December 15, 2004 at 10:30:54 PT
tokenitallup4162 
You're welcome. I'm very happy to see books being written that put this in the proper light.
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Comment #4 posted by tokenitallup4162 on December 15, 2004 at 10:28:36 PT:
thanks fom
  thanks fom for the info on the book, very good!
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on December 15, 2004 at 09:08:17 PT
New Book: Just a Plant
It's Just A Plant, A Children's Story Of MarijuanaPress Releasehttp://www.JUSTAPLANT.com/ (NEW YORK, NY) "It's Just a Plant," an illustrated children's story about marijuana, is the highly-anticipated book debut from the pop-art collective Magic Propaganda Mill. Parents with young children should consider this book when they want to discuss marijuana –but don't quite know how. As entertaining as it is educational, "It’s Just a Plant" is a wonderful read-aloud picture book that tells the story, through beautiful color illustrations, of a young girl who late one night finds her parents smoking a marijuana cigarette in their bedroom. With a typical eight-year-old curiosity, she asks what it is they are smoking… Mother and daughter visit a gardener, who shows Jackie his cannabis plants and talks about its history and various agricultural properties. Next, they visit a local health center, where a doctor tells Jackie about ailments for which she recommends the medical use of marijuana. Finally, Jackie spots some men smoking a joint on the street and sees them confronted by police officers. The police gently explain to Jackie that using marijuana is illegal. They summarize why it is, the effects of its criminalization on otherwise law-abiding people, and express a hope for change in prohibition laws. Marijuana is the most widely used illegal plant in the world. Over 6 million parents admit to smoking it in the last year. "It's Just a Plant" is a unique vehicle for these parents, and/or those who are troubled by the lack of accurate and reliable information that exists for children about the plant. The book discusses marijuana use with a responsible message that a child can easily understand. It's been a while since a children's story has had quite this much potential to educate and to provoke uproar at the same time. "This is an impressive book that provides unbiased information about marijuana, which is important and understandable to young people... I will make sure my grandchildren get a copy." -Jack Cole, Executive Director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Written and Illustrated by Ricardo Cortes with an epilogue by Dr. Marsha Rosenbaum. Contributing artists include Futura, SMARCUS, Jose Parla and Tillamook Cheddar. 
"'It's Just A Plant' is a delightful book. It gives a glimpse of what enlightened drug education could be." -Dr. Andrew Weil Written and Illustrated by MPM with an afterward by Dr. Marsha Rosenbaum. Contributing artists include FUTURA, SMARCUS, José Parla, Che Jen, and Tillamook Cheddar. It's Just a Plant ISBN 0-9760117-0-0 / January 2005 / Hardcover, 48 pages, $17.95 http://www.manhunt.com/news/stories/1103127905.html
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Comment #2 posted by Kroeme on December 15, 2004 at 09:01:34 PT:
DEA
When the DEA says it found that their laboratory is producing a "sufficient quantity and quality" of marijuana to meet research needs, it really means that less of horribly unpotent cannabis will further their needs to let sick people suffer and die.
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Comment #1 posted by potpal on December 15, 2004 at 08:59:10 PT
deleterious effects
Is ED a disease? Is Viagra a 'medicine'?  The common side effects of V are:
headache
facial flushing
upset stomach
bluish or blurred vision
sensitivity to light
chest pain
nausea
potential for a 4 hour long w**dy that requires immediate medical attention...Are you allowed to drive while taking V? Any prescription drug for that matter?I'll take the deleterious effects of cannabis any day...
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