cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- September 8, 2005





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- September 8, 2005
Posted by CN Staff on September 08, 2005 at 16:38:59 PT
Weekly Press Release
Source: NORML
Medical Cannabis Laws Have No Negative Impact On Teen Use, Study SaysSeptember 8, 2005 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: The passage of state laws authorizing the use of medical cannabis has not led to an increase in the drug's recreational use among young people, according to a report issued this week by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).
State and federal survey data reveals, "No state with a medical marijuana law has experienced an overall increase in youth marijuana use since the law's enactment," authors write. "All have reported overall decreases - in some cases exceeding 50 percent in specific age groups - strongly suggesting that the enactment of state medical marijuana laws does not increase teen marijuana use."The report further found that states with medical cannabis laws have experienced greater declines in teen marijuana use than the national average.Since 1996, ten states - Alaska, Colorado, California, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington - have enacted laws permitting the use of cannabis by qualified patients.Full text of the report, "Marijuana Use By Young People: The Impact of State Medical Marijuana Laws," is available online at: http://www.mpp.org/pdf/2005TeenUseReport.pdfDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6664Body's Natural "Cannabis" Provides Pain ReliefSeptember 8, 2005 - Vancouver, ON, CanadaVancouver, Canada: Naturally occurring chemicals in the body that mimic the effects of cannabis suppress stress-induced pain, according to pre-clinical data summarized in the August issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).Researchers at the University of Georgia Neuroscience and Behavior Program demonstrated that brains in rats release endocannabinoids as a response to painful stimuli. Researchers reported an increase in the concentration of endocannabinoids two minutes after the introduction of painful stimuli, and again 15 minutes later.The animals experienced greater pain when administered a chemical that blocked the effect of endocannabinoids, scientists noted.Previous research on endocannabinoids has found the chemicals to play a role in appetite, motor coordination, blood pressure regulation, and combating cancer.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the CMAJ synopsis, "Analgesia through endogenous cannabinoids," available at: http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/173/4/357DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6665Firing Medical Pot Users Not A Violation Of State Law, California Appeals Court RulesSeptember 8, 2005 - Sacramento, CA, USASacramento, CA: California employees who use cannabis medicinally in compliance with state law may be fired for failing a workplace drug test, the Third District Court of Appeals ruled this week.The ruling upheld a Superior Court decision to dismiss a suit brought by a medical cannabis patient who was fired by his employer after testing positive for THC on a workplace drug screen. The patient brought suit, arguing that his dismissal was discriminatory on the basis of disability and violated the state's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)."Because the possession and use of marijuana is illegal under federal law, a court has no legitimate authority to require an employer to accommodate an employee's use of marijuana, even if it is for medicinal purposes and thus legal under California law," Presiding Justice Arthur Scotland determined. "If FEHA is to be extended to compel such an accommodation, that is a public policy decision that must be made by the Legislature, or by the electorate via initiative, and not by the courts."The case is Ross v. Ragingwire Telecommunications, Inc. 05 S.O.S. 4364.For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6667Britain: Pot Reclassification Associated With Decline In Teen UseSeptember 8, 2005 - London, United KingdomLondon, United Kingdom: The downgrading of cannabis to a non-arrestable offense has not been associated with an increase in adolescents' use of the drug, according to survey data published by the United Kingdom's Department of Health.The Department found that the number of young people who admitted having consumed cannabis in the past year fell from 13 percent to 11 percent in 2004 - the first reported dip in four years.In January of 2004, Britain downgraded marijuana from a Class B to a Class C scheduled drug. Under this reclassification, individuals found in possession of personal use amounts of marijuana are cautioned by police, but, in general, are no longer arrested. (Police do retain the discretion to make an arrest under special "aggravated" circumstances, such as if marijuana is smoked on school grounds.)Preliminary data published last year by the British Home Office indicated that far fewer Britons have been arrested for minor marijuana offenses since the drug's reclassification.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6666Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: September 8, 2005Copyright: 2005 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by mayan on September 09, 2005 at 17:10:06 PT
GCW
Thanks for that awesome article! The Boulder Weekly might have opened the floodgates. People will argue until the end of time about Katrina and the response...or lack thereof. 9/11 was done by man and we still don't know what happened. The first thing that came to my mind after reading your link was the fact that most of the physical evidence from the WTC was destroyed as fast as possible. Most of the steel from the WTC was quickly shipped overseas and melted down. One might think that any evidence remaining from the biggest crime in recent history would be analyzed a tad. The last paragraph from the following link tells a little. Scroll down to the paragraph that begins with "While steel"...NEW SEISMIC DATA REFUTES OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:
http://www.americanfreepress.net/09_03_02/NEW_SEISMIC_/new_seismic_.html
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Comment #4 posted by b4daylight on September 09, 2005 at 16:06:23 PT
WoW
I guess they will have to come up with another claim of value. Cause the whole lets do it for the children just failed like all the other claims of value. I wish one the people would call them out on their claims of value and ask why and how they can rule people on their own values. Second if it is an imeadiite danger to us then where are the claims of fact which will allow a logical decion. . 
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Comment #3 posted by potpal on September 09, 2005 at 13:12:02 PT
a thought
It has recently occurred to me that the incompetence that we've just witnessed re: nola catastrophe, cannot be blamed on cannabis users since our government does every thing in its power to relegate cannabis users to second class citizenship. I for one, who lead my company for 2 years setting up unclassified projects (web-enabled training courses in flash and webmentor) was let go for being truthful about my cannabis use (35 years of it) and thus denied a security clearance by the NSA. If I lied, I could of been president.As a result of the war on cannabis our nation is deprieving itself of the cream of the crop, imo. The bozos rule and the sheeple follow. 
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Comment #2 posted by The GCW on September 08, 2005 at 18:28:13 PT
mayan, 
COVER STORY9/11: Cold CaseA former Bush-appointed official is calling for a new, independent, scientific investigation into 9/11 By Daniel Boniface (editorial boulderweekly.com) http://www.boulderweekly.com/coverstory.html... And now a former Bush appointee is asking why this forensic science has not been used to its fullest in solving what was arguably the greatest crime in American history. Morgan Reynolds, Bush's chief economist for the Department of Labor from 2001-02, is an outspoken leader in a movement calling for a full-scale, unbiased, independent scientific study into the events of Sept. 11, 2001. He claims the story the government wants Americans to believe is riddled with inconsistencies and untruths, and he recently penned a comprehensive paper detailing those oversights. He thinks the collapse of the World Trade Center, the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Penn., and the attack on the Pentagon were all weaved together as an elaborate inside job, a claim that only forensics can prove. Cont.
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Comment #1 posted by runruff on September 08, 2005 at 18:19:11 PT:
Oscifer, oscifer!
We have a marijuana problem in Ol' London Town.
I can't find any! Across the Channel see.
Amsterdam is calling to me! Just a boat ride and a taxi downtown. Fine chocolate some coffee or tea. Some fine Dutch skunk, The smiles and hellos. Lights dancing on the waters of the ancient canal. People glide by sparkly and bristling with cheer. All dressed mighty fine. Oh this is great. Oh this is great. Verily I don't want to leave. While the evening air carries it's autumn chill the leaves pale in pastel colors of red, orange, yellow, tan and green. 
Makes me ever so glad they were out of the herb in Ol' London Town. 
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