cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- March 18, 2004










  NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- March 18, 2004

Posted by CN Staff on March 18, 2004 at 15:37:07 PT
Weekly Press Release 
Source: NORML 

Congress Seeking To Mandate States Pass Per Se "Drugged Driving" Laws March 18, 2004 - Washington, DC, USAModel law would sanction anyone driving with "any detectable amount of a controlled substance in the person's body, as measured in the person's blood, urine, saliva, or other bodily substance"
Washington, DC: Members of Congress introduced legislation last week demanding states enact criminal statutes sanctioning anyone who operates a motor vehicle "while any detectable amount of a controlled substance is present in the person's body, as measured in the person's blood, urine, saliva, or other bodily substance." The bipartisan bill, H.R. 3922, comes five days after the introduction of a measure (H.R. 3907) seeking to withhold highway funding from state legislatures that do not amend their DUID (driving under the influence of drugs) laws to enact mandatory minimum penalties for anyone convicted of driving under the influence of illegal drugs."These bills represent an all out federal assault on the marijuana smoking community," NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup said. "Marijuana smokers - notably state-sanctioned medicinal marijuana patients - stand to be unfairly and disproportionately targeted by this type of legislation because inert traces of marijuana metabolites remain detectable in certain bodily fluids for days and sometimes even weeks after marijuana use."He added, "While driving impaired by marijuana or other illicit and licit drugs is never acceptable, neither is it acceptable to treat sober drivers as if they are impaired simply because they have trace levels of inactive marijuana metabolites in their blood or urine."While virtually all states already have DUID statutes on the books, most are "effect-based" laws which forbid drivers to operate a motor vehicle if they are either "under the influence" of a controlled substance, or if they have been rendered "incapable of driving safely" because of their use of an illicit drug. To be convicted under such a statute, a prosecutor must prove that the driver's observed impairment and/or incapacity is directly associated with drug ingestion.By contrast, per se DUID laws presume a driver is impaired simply if he or she operates a motor vehicle while a certain level of an illicit drug or drug metabolite (inert compounds indicative of past drug use) are detectable in their body. However, no scientific consensus exists determining per se impairment levels for controlled substances. As a result, ten states have recently adopted so-called "zero tolerance" per se laws, that make it a criminal offense to operate a motor vehicle while having any amount of a drug or drug metabolite in one's body or bodily fluids - even if the individual is neither under the influence nor impaired to drive.NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup worries that the current federal crackdown on drugged driving will be used to coerce state legislatures to universally adopt "zero tolerance" per se laws, which he called unfair and bad public policy. "These 'zero tolerance' laws are neither a safe nor sensible way to identify impaired drivers; they are an attempt to misuse the traffic safety laws in order to identify and prosecute marijuana smokers per se."We all support the goal of keeping impaired drivers off the road, regardless of whether the driver is impaired from alcohol or other drugs. However, this proposal would unfairly define as 'impaired' an individual who had not smoked marijuana for several days, long after any intoxicating effects had worn off."Stroup added that, at a minimum, laws targeting drug drivers should identify "parent drugs" (i.e., THC), not simply drug metabolites. He also said that DUID per se laws must be based on scientifically accepted criteria for determining impairment, just as blood alcohol content levels are set at .08. "Drunk driving laws have scientifically sound cut-off levels, and punish individuals for driving while impaired, not simply for having consumed alcohol. Politicians should apply similar standards to DUID legislation."For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500. To learn more about H.R. 3922, please visit: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=5384696A state-by-state summary of DUID laws is available online at: http://www.walshgroup.org/DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5985Congress Targets Drugged Drivinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18510.shtmlLegislation Says No To Driving While on Drugs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18504.shtmlBill Would Penalize People for Being Highhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18475.shtmlPorter To Push for States To Punish Drug DUIshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18471.shtmlNORML Criticizes Drug Czar's Student Drug Testing TourMarch 18, 2004 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: NORML Foundation Executive Director Allen St. Pierre blasted a White House sponsored series of nationwide "Student Drug Testing Regional Summits," noting that suspicionless student drug testing in schools is invasive and fails to curb adolescent drug use."Suspicionless student drug testing is a humiliating, invasive practice that runs contrary to the principles of due process," St. Pierre said. "Rather than presuming our school children innocent of illicit activity - as statistically, the overwhelming majority of them are - until proven guilty, this policy presumes them guilty until they prove themselves innocent. Is this truly the message the Bush administration wishes to send America's young people?"St. Pierre further noted that the only federally-commissioned study to examine the effectiveness of student drug testing programs found the policy to have no discernible impact on youth drug use. According to the study of 76,000 students by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research: "Drug testing of students in schools does not deter use. At each grade level studies - 8, 10, and 12 - the investigators found virtually identical rates of drug use in schools that have drug testing and the schools that do not."Despite this poor performance, approximately one out of five American secondary schools carry out some form of drug testing among its student population. Recently, President George Bush recommended Congress appropriate $25 million dollars to help additional schools pay for student drug testing programs.The "Student Drug Testing Regional Summits," which began this week in Chicago, IL and Fresno, CA are being sponsored to promote the Bush plan.The final two summits, which are free to the public, take place in Atlanta, GA on March 25, and in Denver, CO on April 8, 2004.For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano at (202) 483-5500. Summit scheduling information is available at: http://www.cadca.org/DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5986CannabisNews Drug Testing Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/drug_testing.shtmlSource: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: March 18, 2004Copyright: 2004 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- Mar. 11, 2004http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18489.shtmlNORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- Mar. 04, 2004http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18443.shtml

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Comment #19 posted by cloud7 on March 19, 2004 at 19:34:32 PT
kaptinemo post #10
Thanks, what a great comment.
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on March 19, 2004 at 18:51:59 PT
ekim
That's important to know. I remember seeing Dr. Andrew Weil on TV and he mentioned not to use plastic but glass in a microwave. I don't always listen but I'll pay better attention now. Thanks!
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Comment #17 posted by ekim on March 19, 2004 at 18:35:08 PT
FoM i just got this e-mail from Lee
Microwaving in plastics - addendahttp://www.snopes.com/toxins/plastic.htm
http://www.hashbash.com
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on March 19, 2004 at 18:06:21 PT
mayan 
I agree. I get my news from the Net. I watch the tv news because it's all there is but I don't believe what they are saying most times. TV news is like entertainment. It can be fun at times to watch but it doesn't have any substance.
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Comment #15 posted by mayan on March 19, 2004 at 17:49:16 PT
FoM...
Let the mainstream media try to shove their rubbish on us. They are going the way of the dinosaur!More Turning To The Net For News - Traditional Media Declining:
http://www.rense.com/general50/netfornews.htm
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on March 19, 2004 at 14:53:27 PT
Thanks afterburner
Biodegradable plastic would be such a good thing. Hemp could really help in that area.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by afterburner on March 19, 2004 at 14:30:05 PT:
FoM & ekim
Mirabilis.caMaking plastic from food scraps http://www.mirabilis.ca/archives/000256.htmlA biological reactor that converts a slurry of food waste into a biodegradable plastic has been developed by scientists in Hawaii, providing a use for the obscene quantities of food rich countries throw away every year.The polymer created could be used to make greener packaging, disposable products such as bottles, or even pills that dissolve slowly to release drugs in the body.From: Food scraps make perfect plastic, http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993087 an article at New Scientist.com.Posted on November 23, 2002 01:22 PM Besides, plastic can also be made from hemp hurds.Plastics: 
Conventional plastic are not biodegradable and are currently filling our land fills. However, once plastics were made from plant cellulose. The hemp hurd is one of the richest sources of plant cellulose, a building block of modern industry. Plastics made from hemp instead of petroleum would be biodegradable. `Bio-plastics' have already been used though out history - way back in the 1930's Henry Ford had already made a whole car body out of them - but the processes for making them needs more research and development. Besides being biodegradable, bio-plastics can be made without much pollution. The addition of hemp fibers enables the reduction of the amount of plastic required. In addition to a reduction of pollution during production, the widespread use of hemp plastics has the potential to dramatically reduce the consumption of unsustainable and environmentally negative petro-chemical plastics. --Troubled Times: Hemp
http://www.zetatalk.com/shelter/tshlx029.htm
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on March 19, 2004 at 13:19:17 PT
ekim 
You always have been so kind and thoughtful. I have a problem with plastic in general. Plastic is toxic and won't decompose. Plastic has made our lives much easier but I wonder about the long term effects on us and the planet from it's creation. Time will tell.
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Comment #11 posted by ekim on March 19, 2004 at 13:13:38 PT
Thank you Fom 
I thought that this is such a important site i do not have the right to add other info to the mix.
http://www.mmdetroit.org
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Comment #10 posted by kaptinemo on March 19, 2004 at 11:15:52 PT:
You have to ask: WHY?
Namely, why do antis believe that kids are inherently stupid?Really, that's the only conclusion that you can arrive at when antis try to justify their action regarding universal piss-testing for public school kids.Since many kids who normally would try out for extracurricular activities are turning away in silent protest against this disgusting procedure, the antis have decided they'd end-run around that quiet expression of dignity and abuse the aforementioned diginity of the entire student body.I keep repeating: kids aren't stupid. They see what's being done. Kids, not having yet had to veneer their raw observations of life with adult sophistries about it's justifications, see this for what it is: naked subjugation.But the question remains: WHY? The answer is just as ugly as the act itself: The antis wish to maintain the power structure being formed in such a way as to prohibit the VERY IDEA of resistance by acclimating America's youth to fascistic methods guaranteed to literally 'weed out' those most likely to rebel. Because, ultimately, the antis are afraid. And for the same reason they fear to debate us. Any direct challenge to their power base by way of resistance of any form casts light upon their shaky rationales. They MUST give the impression of absolute unassailability and (seemingly) unchallengable power, presenting a monolithic bloc to the outside world, lest they be 'outed' as being the classic 'Emperors' without pants.So, for all their bluster, and talking over the heads of the kids as if they weren't there, the antis are definitely sweating bullets. Because, when the civil liberties pendulum finally swings back from the far right where it's been pegged the last 24 years, there will literally be Hell to pay. And guess what? Those kids will have fresh memories of how antis made their lives even more miserable than school normally is. Just as today's "DARE Generation" has offered example after example of how that particular program has proven a boondoggle, the latest victims of fetishist DrugWarriors (As E_J has pointed out, there has to be something sicko about someone who seeks a job watching people tinkle) will have ample reason to remember *which political party* made them pee in a cup in front of a stranger. Today's embarrassed and humiliated student will become tomorrow's vengefully motivated voter. The antis are forgeting that at their peril. A new generation of social activists will, after escaping from school, turn their ire towards those who oppressed them. The results won't be pleasent.
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Comment #9 posted by jose melendez on March 19, 2004 at 07:16:43 PT
wage peace
Still almost no coverage of studies anywhere in the media that long disproved the "any cannabis use is abuse" driving theory. Meanwhile, the same groups that support drug testing for kids strongly resist BSE testing for all cows. The FDA plastic microwave carcinogen story (#4, below) makes me wonder if a similar issue also exists in the recent popcorn lung damage lawsuit. I'm guessing cannabis based plastics would yield similar results, although the tree hugger in me hopes I'm wrong. It occurs to me that having the "Justice" Department crack down on glass pipes instead of the more prolific plastic tubed bongs is more evidence that the opposition wants us dead at any cost, in the name of their profits, pensions, pay and firepower. Whatever. They'll go down when existing antitrust and Constitutional laws are applied. All the more reason to avoid pleading out, and make them read the very books they throw at us or make us swear by.I get the impression John Kerry DOES read newspapers, and encourage everyone to vote for whoever you honestly feel will restore world confidence and peace. I think Dennis Kucinich and the others should all be offered cabinet or advisory positions, as their skills and strengths dictate.Has there been a study on marijuana smokers who were exposed to the dust at ground zero?Or would that not receive N.I.D.A. funding? 
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Comment #8 posted by afterburner on March 19, 2004 at 06:34:37 PT:
P*ssing All Their Money Away
'St. Pierre further noted that the only federally-commissioned study to examine the effectiveness of student drug testing programs found the policy to have no discernible impact on youth drug use. According to the study of 76,000 students by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research: "Drug testing of students in schools does not deter use. At each grade level studies - 8, 10, and 12 - the investigators found virtually identical rates of drug use in schools that have drug testing and the schools that do not."'Despite this poor performance, approximately one out of five American secondary schools carry out some form of drug testing among its student population. Recently, President George Bush recommended Congress appropriate $25 million dollars to help additional schools pay for student drug testing programs.'No wonder the states, the cities, the schools, and the federal government are all near bankruptcy: they are p*ssing all their money away on invasive, futile, and ineffective drug-testing. They are in fact "addicted" to drug-testing, continuing to apply it and promote its "virtues" despite the proven lack of success and despite record deficits. These institutions are all public servants and as such have a fiduciary responsibility to the voters. Can you say, "fiscal mismanagement"? Wake up and mend your ways: the voters are lining up to judge you for your blind obsession to disproven and expensive methods of over-control and micro-management!
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on March 18, 2004 at 22:43:23 PT

ekim
Why do you want me to delete it? That's important to know.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on March 18, 2004 at 22:41:50 PT

Mayan Check This Out
Since the news has been slow for the last few months I've spent time trying to see how Greendale fits into current news. I told you that it was understood or it wasn't. We have a serious culture war happening. Maybe that's the reason I am following Greendale so closely. I wasn't a Neil fan before Greendale so it isn't that I just like his music but of course I do. What a time we live in. We shouldn't be denied anymore.Washington Times:Left-Leaning 'Greendale' Offers Little That's Right: http://www.washtimes.com/entertainment/20040318-083523-8479r.htmNew York Times:Neil Young Pits Idealism Against Powerco: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/radio.htm
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Comment #5 posted by ekim on March 18, 2004 at 18:58:22 PT

FoM please delete last post
thank you 
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Comment #4 posted by ekim on March 18, 2004 at 18:51:56 PT

off topic but hope will inform 
Subject: Re: Microwaves and Plastics
Date: Tues: Mar. 16, 2004Something to think about.....Sort of unnerving that a high schooler had to 
discover this problem......MarieAs a seventh grade student, Claire Nelson learned that 
di(ethylhexyl)adepate (DEHA), considered a carcinogen, is found in plastic 
wrap. She also learned that the FDA had never studied the effect of 
microwave cooking on plastic-wrapped food.Claire began to wonder: "Can cancer-causing particles seep into food 
covered with household plastic wrap while it is being microwaved?"Three years later, with encouragement from her high school science teacher, 
Claire set out to test what the FDA had not. Although she had an idea for 
studying the effect of microwave radiation on plastic-wrapped food, she did 
not have the equipment. Eventually, Jon Wilkes at the National Center for 
Toxicological Research in Jefferson, Arkansas, agreed to help her. The 
research center, which is affiliated with the FDA, let her use its 
facilities to perform her experiments, which involved microwaving plastic 
wrap in virgin olive oil. Claire tested four different plastic wraps and 
found not just the carcinogens but also xenoestrogen was migrating into the 
oil...." Xenoestrogens are linked to low sperm counts in men and to breast 
cancer in women.Throughout her junior and senior years, Claire made a couple of trips each 
week to the research center, which was 25 miles from her home,to work on 
her experiment.An article in Options reported that "her analysis found that DEHA was 
migrating into the oil at between 200 parts and 500 parts per million. The 
FDA standard is 0.05 parts per billion."Her summarized results have been published in science journals. Claire 
Nelson received the American Chemical Society's top science prize for 
students during her junior year and fourth place at the International 
Science and Engineering Fair (Fort Worth, Texas) as a senior. 
"Carcinogens-- At 10,000,000 Times FDA Limits" Options May 2000. Published 
by People Against Cancer, 5-972-4444.On Channel 2 (Huntsville, AL) this morning they had a Dr. Edward Fujimoto 
from Castle Hospital on the program. He is the manager of the Wellness 
Program at the hospital. He was talking about dioxins and how bad they are 
for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave 
using plastic containers. This applies to foods that contain fat.He said that the combination of fat, high heat and plastics releases 
dioxins into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Dioxins 
are carcinogens and highly toxic to the cells of our bodies. Instead, he 
recommends using glass, Corning Ware, or ceramic containers for heating 
food. You get the same results without the dioxins. So such things as TV 
dinners, instantsaimin and soups, etc. should be removed from the container 
and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in 
paper. Just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc..He said we might remember when some of the fast food restaurants moved away 
from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.To add to this: Saran wrap placed over foods as they are nuked, with the 
high heat, actually drips poisonous toxins into the food. Use a paper towel 
http://www.mmdetroit.org
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on March 18, 2004 at 18:21:50 PT

Cool!
Here's another hemp-related piece from rense...Hemp Plastics - CD Cases To Be Made From Hemp:
http://rense.com/general50/cd.htm
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Comment #2 posted by mayan on March 18, 2004 at 18:17:16 PT

Get Active...
C,mon folks. We've got to let our voices be heard regarding this "drugged driving" bill!Take Action...http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=5384696Also, get active or get drafted...US Preparing for Military Draft in Spring 2005:
http://www.vancouver.indymedia.org/news/2004/01/105146.phpThe way out is the way in...9/11 Panel Still Discussing Bush Subpoena: 
http://tomflocco.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=43&mode=&order=0&thold=09/11 Prior Knowledge/Government Involvement Archive:
http://www.propagandamatrix.com/archiveprior_knowledge9/11 International Inquiry - San Francisco, March 26-28th: 
http://www.deceptiondollar.com/Inquiry911.htm
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on March 18, 2004 at 17:11:39 PT

There will be blowback
There will be blowback from any such calling to do all this testing. There are plenty of laws already concerning driving and they cannot even enforce the most deadly violation of driving which is speeding. The heavy-handed tactics envisioned are going to have blowback too from a populous wakening to the fact that the federal government has long exceed its Constitutional authority. There is a civil war coming over the concentrations of wealth pushing the common man down and sometimes out. The date the removal of the overtime laws take effect should come in a week or maybe two. People that had no clue of plutocratic rule will now join the civil war to restore freedom and right in an imperialistic America gone alienated and broke.The supply lines of this advance of insanity are going to get this thing torn all to hell. From the standpoint of preserving prohibition, this is stupid as it calls for battle from everyone against an advance that is totally misconceived. It is stupid insanity.
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