cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- October 6, 2005





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- October 6, 2005
Posted by CN Staff on October 06, 2005 at 15:18:13 PT
Weekly Press Release
Source: NORML
NORML Launches Cash Prize Video Blog ContestOctober 6, 2005 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Educate the public on the failure of cannabis prohibition and compete for up to $5,000 in cash prizes in NORML's first-ever Video Blog contest.
NORML is seeking original video content highlighting the need to reform America's cannabis laws. Contest submissions will be showcased in coming weeks on NORML's Video Blog, with monthly winners awarded cash prizes.Further details regarding contest rules and submissions are available at: http://normltv.blogspot.comNORML's Video Blog contest is sponsored in conjunction with the communication technology companies YOUTUBE.com and VEOH.com."NORML believes that the Internet's emerging peer-to-peer communication technology offers the organization a unique and effective way to build community and mobilize the tens of millions of US cannabis consumers to demand that the government stop arresting responsible marijuana smokers," NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said. "We are thrilled to launch this first-ever Video Blog contest and to be able showcase the talents and visions of the cannabis community as part of our long-standing efforts to end cannabis prohibition."For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Jack Olmstead, NORML Video Blog Coordinator.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6692Cannabis Now Top Canadian Cash CropOctober 6, 2005 - Ottawa, ON, CanadaOttawa, Ontario: Cannabis has surpassed wheat as Canada's most lucrative agricultural crop, Bloomberg News Wire reported last week. The report estimated Canada's illicit cannabis market to be worth $8.5 billion annually, approximately three times the size of Canada's largest legal crop."Only by enacting a system whereby cannabis is taxed and regulated in a manner similar to alcohol can Canada begin to capitalize on the revenue generated by this booming multi-billion dollar underground economy," NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said.Last year, a report published by the Vancouver-based economic think-tank The Fraser Institute estimated that taxing cannabis would generate $2 billion per year in federal revenues.More recently, a US economic analysis estimated that legalizing cannabis would yield $6.2 billion in annual revenue if it were taxed at rates comparable to those imposed upon alcohol and tobacco.A previous report by the NORML Foundation estimated the annual value of the US cannabis retail market at $25 billion.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6694Medical Cannabis Reduces Patients' Reliance On Other Medications, Study SaysOctober 6, 2005 - Sydney, AustraliaSydney, Australia: More than half of Australians who use cannabis medicinally use it to treat symptoms of chronic pain and depression, and more than 60 percent report that it has led to a decrease in their use of standard pharmaceuticals, according to survey data published in the October issue of the Harm Reduction Journal.One hundred and twenty-eight Australians with a long-term history of medical cannabis use participated in the survey, performed by the University of South Wales' National Drug and Alcohol Research Center. "[R]egular medical cannabis use was frequently reported for multiple medical conditions including chronic pain (57 percent), depression (56 percent), arthritis (35 percent), persistent nausea (27 percent) and weight loss (26 percent)," authors found. "Cannabis was perceived to provide 'great relief' overall (86 percent), and substantial relief of specific symptoms such as pain, nausea and insomnia. It was also typically perceived as superior to other medications in terms of undesirable effects, and the extent of relief provided."Researchers further noted: "Almost two-thirds (62 percent) of respondents claimed they decreased or discontinued their use of other medicines when they started using cannabis medicinally. ... For some people this was a substantial change, representing a shift away from chronic, high-dose medication use."Participants in the survey ranged from 24 to 88 years old, with more than half reporting having used cannabis medically for at least six years. Ten percent of respondents reported that they used cannabis on the recommendation of their physician.Overall, respondents considered cannabis inhalation to be the most "helpful" route of administration for symptom relief, though many expressed concerns regarding the potential health effects of smoking."Consistent with users elsewhere, ... Australian medical cannabis users ... claim moderate to substantial benefits from [the drug's] use in the management of their medical condition ... [and] show strong interest in clinical cannabis research, including the investigation of alternative delivery methods," authors concluded.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the study, "Survey of Australians using cannabis for medical purposes," is available online at: http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6693NORML's Weekly News in Audio: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6650Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: October 6, 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 #11 posted by unkat27 on October 08, 2005 at 11:47:43 PT
More DEAland Fascism in Canada
http://marijuananews.com/news.php3?sid=856Shortly before two AM, I received the phone call that I have been dreading for years. Steve, who was taken away from his Vancouver ER bed in handcuffs almost exactly twelve hours earlier, called me from the Whatcom County Jail in Bellingham, WA.He said that he is being denied the use of morphine and being given only a minor pain reliever, so he is in agony from the pain, full-blown morphine withdrawal and terrified.He said that he had been taken to the hospital, and they said that there was “nothing wrong” with him, and he did not need more pain medication. The Canadian Border Service officers who took him from the ER were given copies of letters from his American doctors, one three page letter described his history of back surgeries, and others emphasized his need for proper pain medication. One also described his need for cannabis. --- More at link ---
Marijuana News
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Comment #10 posted by ekim on October 07, 2005 at 06:54:23 PT
debate debate ---------- you are all first rate
i would like to thank all of the posters at Pete's site for the hard work. do hope that Jake will keep the readers posted as to what was learned, maybe even share the Paper. 
http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #9 posted by The GCW on October 07, 2005 at 06:14:24 PT
Let this sink in.
 US PA: "Police Stress How War On Drugs Begins In Classroom"(Sounds like SWATSTIKA tactics... calculated...)POLICE STRESS HOW WAR ON DRUGS BEGINS IN CLASSROOM http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1585/a07.html?397 (Perhaps they didn't mean it, but it IS a bulls-EYE.
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Comment #8 posted by The GCW on October 06, 2005 at 22:00:20 PT
Where does the media come in?
CN AB: PUB LTE: Drug Stories Need More Objectivityhttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1584/a07.html?397The Media Has Dropped All Pretense Of Objectivity And Has Become A Worthless Tool Of The State Alan Randell Edmonton, Alta. Mayerthorpe Freelancer -- Re Mayerthorpe grow-op busted, Sept. 28 Please, I'm begging you, please make these drug stories more objective and thus less akin to government propaganda by including the comments of those like me who oppose our unjust and shameful drug prohibition law. Alternatively, you could simply append at the end of these items a statement like, "Many feel that drug prohibition ( 1 ) is illogical because other harmful drugs are allowed, ( 2 ) is an abuse of the right of free adults to ingest any drug, ( 3 ) causes more harm because of adulterated drugs and crime than the drugs themselves, or ( 4 ) is ineffective and a waste of law enforcement resources because human beings will always want drugs." Who am I kidding? You won't make these changes because formerly independent media are now submerged into corporate chains where focus on advertising revenues means zero tolerance for controversy. In fact, the mainstream media has dropped all pretense of objectivity and has become a worthless tool of the state. -0-THAT STORY RELATES TO THIS STORY:0-0Under corporate controlScripps buys the Colorado Daily, and adds to its Denver-Boulder fiefdom. http://www.boulderweekly.com/coverstory.htmlIf you didn't know what you were looking for, you may have missed last Tuesday's announcement that E.W. Scripps purchased the Colorado Daily. The announcement landed on Page 7 of the Daily, buried underneath a full-page Liquor Mart ad and the stories "Parties gone wrong" and "Students without academic requirements having a tough time getting into CU." Boulder's other daily newspapers, the Daily Camera and its offshoot Dirt, both Scripps-owned, took a similarly disinterested approach to the news event. The Camera published a small news blurb on the first page of the business section, while Dirt buried the same news write-up in its paper. Media experts are raising concerns about the lack of competition in the Boulder and Denver media markets. Boulder's dailies are now 100 percent owned by Scripps, a $2.2-billion corporation operated out of Cincinnati, Ohio. In Denver, Scripps owns the Rocky Mountain News and is associated with the Denver Post through the jointly operated Denver Newspaper Agency. The only publications in the Boulder/Denver market not owned by or affiliated with Scripps are Boulder Weekly, which is independently owned, and Westword, which is owned by News Times Inc. The death of independent daily publications is not unique to Colorado. At the end of WWII about 80 percent of American daily newspapers were locally owned and 20 percent of newspapers were group-owned, according to media critic Richard McCord. By 1996, the numbers were reversed, and they are growing toward corporate domination. In theory, media critics agree that corporate media ownership diminishes the quality of the news due to factors like decreasing newsroom resources. However, some observers say that the independent spirit of the Colorado Daily was gone long before Scripps entered the picture. With talk of increased health benefits and deeper pockets, perhaps Scripps' ownership of the Daily won't have as much of a negative impact as some fear. At what cost? cont.IN SIGHT FOR ACTIVISTS
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Comment #7 posted by siege on October 06, 2005 at 21:28:01 PT
OT "President Bush said to all of us:
'I'm driven with a mission from God.God would tell me, George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan. And I did, and then God would tell me, George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq... And I did."'And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East. And by God I'm gonna do it.'" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4317498.stm
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Comment #6 posted by mayan on October 06, 2005 at 18:01:14 PT
Competition
From the last article on the bulletin:More than half of Australians who use cannabis medicinally use it to treat symptoms of chronic pain and depression, and more than 60 percent report that it has led to a decrease in their use of standard pharmaceuticals, according to survey data published in the October issue of the Harm Reduction Journal.More validation of what we've been saying all along! Furthermore, if we would all make hemp seed a staple of our diets we wouldn't get sick and depressed nearly as much! It's no wonder the greedhead pharmaceutical companies hate medicinal and industrial cannabis! It just occured to me that the tons of money they spend buying politicians to keep cannabis illegal is likely a factor as to why their drugs cost so damned much! SHADOW OF THE SWASTIKA: The Real Reason the Government Won't Debate Medical Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Re-legalization:
http://www.sumeria.net/politics/shadv3.htmlTHE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Clearing the Baffles for 9/11:
http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/Baffles.htmOfficials Won't Be Disciplined for Actions Before 9/11: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/06/politics/06intel.html?ex=1129262400&en=1d35278781230c2c&ei=5070&emc=eta1H.MIERS NOMINATION AND THE 9/11 FOREKNOWLEDGE:
http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=79668The Truth Behind 9/11 and American Empire: A Christian Theologian Speaks Out - Dr. David Ray Griffin to Tour Vermont!
http://www.svfeep.net/Griffin_4in1.jpg
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Comment #5 posted by runruff on October 06, 2005 at 17:58:51 PT:
Hi Ya'll
My friend who is coping my video to dvd had to buy a new mother board. His old one burned up. He is now installing the new one and will be up and running real soon. Thanks for your patience.Namaste
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Comment #4 posted by MikeC on October 06, 2005 at 17:44:18 PT
OverwhelmSam...
I've been saying it for several years now: The internet is what is going to set us free! Communication!!! No longer do we sit and wonder if we are alone in this fight for our rights. The internet has given me tremendous hope.
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Comment #3 posted by The GCW on October 06, 2005 at 17:16:43 PT
Another cat's out of the bag.
With cannabis people use / need less pharmisuticals.The pharmers addiction... doesn't want to lose market share... the cat's in the corner...&The more pharmer jon charges for cocktails, the more cannabis becomes of interest. 
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 06, 2005 at 17:03:25 PT
About NORML
I've been going thru NORML's web site and I really like what they are doing. Keep up the good work NORML!
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Comment #1 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 06, 2005 at 16:23:52 PT
Oops! Cat's Out of the Bag.
"NORML believes that the Internet's emerging peer-to-peer communication technology offers the organization a unique and effective way to build community and mobilize the tens of millions of US cannabis consumers to demand that the government stop arresting responsible marijuana smokers,"How can this be? Pot smoking organizations can't be successful. Marijuana users are not failures at life because they use marijuana, they fail because of the laws written to make the fail. 
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