cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- November 22, 2005 NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- November 22, 2005 Posted by CN Staff on November 23, 2005 at 11:13:09 PT Weekly Press Release Source: NORML Join NORML Next Week For The 22nd Annual Key West Legal SeminarNovember 22, 2005 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Please join NORML next week to take part in our 22nd annual Key West Legal Seminar. NORML is still accepting registrations from criminal defense attorneys to attend this year's event, which will be held from Thursday, December 1 through Saturday, December 3 at the Pier House Resort and Caribbean Spa in Key West. NORML's annual legal seminar, now in its 22nd year, is fully accredited in every state that requires continuing legal education (CLE) for attorneys. Conference agenda and speaker bios are available online at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5679For more details, or to register for the conference online, please visit our website at -- http://www.norml.org/ -- or contact Kris Krane of NORML at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6736Cannabinoids Show Long-Term Benefits For MS Patients, Study SaysNovember 22, 2005 - Plymouth, United KingdomPlymouth, United Kingdom: Long-term administration of oral THC and/or natural cannabis extracts reduces MS-associated pain and improves mobility compared to placebo, according to clinical trial data to be published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry.The findings are based on the results of a 52-week follow-up trial of more than 500 multiple sclerosis patients. Results of the initial fifteen-week, double-blind, placebo controlled trial, appeared in the British medical journal The Lancet in 2003.Although investigators only found evidence of a "small treatment effect" in the control of patients' spasticity, they noted that subjects achieved greater symptomatic relief in other areas - including pain relief, sleep quality, and mobility - the longer they used cannabinoids. These results "suggest [a] wider symptomatic benefit with time," researchers concluded.British researchers are expected to begin recruiting patients this spring to participate in a three-year clinical trial to further investigate whether the long-term use of cannabinoids alters the progression of MS.Previous studies investigating the impact of cannabinoids on animal models of MS, Parkinson's disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) have found that the compounds inhibited the diseases' progression.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the study, "Cannabinoids in multiple sclerosis study: safety and efficacy data for 12 months follow up," will appear in the December issue of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6735Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: November 22, 2005Copyright: 2005 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Post Comment