cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- January 19, 2006





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- January 19, 2006
Posted by CN Staff on January 19, 2006 at 17:30:33 PT
Weekly Press Release
Source: NORML
Britain: No Reversal On Cannabis ClassificationJanuary 19, 2006 - London, UKLondon, United Kingdom: British officials have rejected an appeal to reclassify cannabis as a Class B prohibited substance. Their rejection is in accordance with the recommendations of the British Advisory Council on the Misuses of Drugs (ACMD) which determined that marijuana's relative health risks do not warrant increasing penalties for those who use it.
"The harmfulness of cannabis to the individual remains substantially less than the harmfulness caused by substances currently controlled under the [law] as Class B," such as amphetamines, the ACMD concluded. The agency further added that cannabis presented only a "very small risk" to users' mental health, including the onset of schizophrenia.Britain amended its drug laws in 2004 to downgrade cannabis from a Class B drug to a Class C "soft" drug. Under the reclassification scheme, individuals found possessing minor amounts of cannabis are typically cautioned by police, but no longer arrested.To date, there has been no documented increase in cannabis use following the downgrade.Preliminary data released by the Home Office last year indicated that law enforcement saved an estimated 200,000 hours of police time as a result of the reclassification.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6785Endocannabinoid Production Elevates Mood, Study SaysJanuary 19, 2006 - Montreal, CanadaMontreal, Quebec: Raising the level of endocannabinoids released by the brain elevates mood, according to preclinical trial data published last month in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. Endocannabinoids are marijuana-like chemicals produced naturally in humans and animals that bind to the same receptors as do plant-derived cannabinoids such as THC. Researchers at the McGill University Health Center in Montreal found that the administration of the synthetic agent URB579 exerted "potent anti-depressant-like effects" in animals by blocking the degradation of endocannabinoids."This is the first time it has been shown that a drug that increases cannabinoids in the brain can improve your mood," lead investigator Gabriella Gobbi stated.Research published last year in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggested that cannabis and cannabinoids exert anxiolytic and antidepressant effects, and recommended clinical trials investigating their use in the treatment of bipolar effective disorder.Survey data published last summer in the journal Addictive Behaviors found that adults who use cannabis report suffering from less severe incidents and/or symptoms of depression than non-users. Previous research on endocannabinoids and the endocannabinoid receptor system indicates that cannabinoids may play a role in maintaining homeostasis (metabolic equilibrium) in humans and other living organisms. Biological functions regulated by endocannabinoids include appetite, body temperature, blood pressure, bone density, reproductive activity, learning capacity, and motor coordination.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the study, "Antidepressant-like activity and modulation of brain monoaminergic transmission by blockade of anandamide hydrolysis," appears in the December 2005 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6787Heavy Alcohol Use Associated With Greater Risk Of Cannabis Dependence, Study SaysJanuary 19, 2006 - Albany, NY, USAAlbany, NY: Heavy use of alcohol in conjunction with marijuana use may increase the likelihood of an individual developing symptoms of cannabis dependence, according to survey data to be published in the journal Addictive Behaviors. Use of alcohol and cannabis together is more often associated with greater problems for the user than the use of cannabis alone, researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Albany concluded."Comorbid frequent or heavy alcohol consumption may place cannabis users at greater risk for symptoms of cannabis dependence," authors wrote. "Recommendations for cannabis drug safety should now include limiting the consumption of alcohol in an effort to avoid cannabis dependence symptoms."According to the US National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, less than ten percent of cannabis users ever exhibit signs of dependence (as defined by the American Psychiatric Associationšs DSM-IV criteria). By comparison, 15 percent of alcohol drinkers, 17 percent of cocaine users, and 32 percent of cigarette smokers exhibit symptoms of drug dependence.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the study, "Confirming alcohol-moderated links between cannabis use and dependence in a national sample," will appear in the forthcoming issue of Addictive Behaviors.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6786Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: January 19, 2006Copyright: 2006 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by whig on January 21, 2006 at 02:01:16 PT
Wayback Machine
"I believe each state can choose that decision as they so choose."http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush102299.htm
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Comment #5 posted by potpal on January 20, 2006 at 06:22:32 PT
Hmmmm...ot
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4630958.stm Wonder what their (CPSI) take is on the total prohibition of the cannabis plant despite all its known benefits (medicinal, agricultural, industrial, recreational) to humanity? Surely an issue needing support... in the public interest.(Pretty much like the prohibition of science itself really.)
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Comment #4 posted by The GCW on January 19, 2006 at 22:08:39 PT
Prohibit the elevated mood.
About:"Endocannabinoid Production Elevates Mood, Study Says"I have not been using cannabis (with THC) lately.I have been eating various hemp foods (with out THC) almost daily, as I always do for years.hemp bread (only recently);
hemp seeds;
Hemp seed oil;
hemp butter;
hemp bar etc.Those foods, with out THC,,,, DO THEY STILL HAVE THE CANNABINOIDS? They don't have the THC, but the rest is there, isn't it?The news states:"cannabinoids in the brain can improve your mood,"Do We still get those cannabinoids in hemp?Today, I felt higher than ever, and I ate hemp seeds and hemp bread with breakfast.Other factors in My life is worship time with Christ God Our Father, receiving the Spirit of Truth, which makes Me feel superhuman also.  This morning though My mood was extra elevated. I was in Ephesians 5, which in part is subtitled: "Be Imitators of God" and I think it is part of it. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=56&chapter=5&version=49 If I was any higher I would have flown. It was beautiful; I want to stay there.I also had My 2 Esspressooos; which I increase by getting a second, third and fourth soak off those beans, by pushing the on button extra. (expresso) But that is NORML, although I have actually cut down from 3.With din din, I also had hemp butter with garlic, cucumber and red onion and then some Green chile salsa (tasted like Quacamole) on hemp bread...It is hard to say if hemp with out THC (and maybe still having cannabinoids) did this or did its part of helping elevate My mood... Let's not forget the old term used for bipolar is manic-depressive and seems more descriptive... which some of My family has. Mania may make one feel high...My wife also makes Me high; real high.Life makes Me high.Perhaps the government should just prohibit life and be done with it; it seems like that is what they are trying sometimes.Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; -Ephesians 5:11. (doing that, makes Me the highest!)420And then there's this:Jerusalem syndromehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_syndrome
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Comment #3 posted by ekim on January 19, 2006 at 19:34:14 PT
mayan --switching off the same brain circuits 
Comment #2 posted by ekim on January 18, 2006 at 18:17:11 PT 
wonder what the side effects are or will be 
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n081/a08.html Newshawk: http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm Votes: 0 Pubdate: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 Source: Metro (CN BC) Copyright: Metro 2006 Contact: vancouverletters metronews.ca Website: http://www.metronews.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3775 Author: Reuters
MARIJUANA POINTS WAY TO ANTI-OBESITY DRUG A marijuana joint might seem an odd starting point in the search for weight-loss solutions. Yet a new compound switching off the same brain circuits that make people hungry when they smoke cannabis looks set to become the world's first blockbuster anti-obesity medicine, with sales tipped by analysts to top $3 billion US a year. Sanofi-Aventis SA's Acomplia, or rimonabant, which could be approved by U.S. regulators as early as next month, is the first of a new wave of treatments that may spell fat profits for some pharmaceutical companies. Another two experimental drugs from Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Alizyme Plc. have also produced promising clinical results in recent weeks, prompting some investors to start laying big bets on weight-loss medicine. It is a risky area, however. Slimming pills have had a chequered history, due to modest effectiveness and adverse side effects -- most notoriously with the diet drug combination "fen-phen," which was linked to heartvalve problems and has cost Wyeth more than $21 billion in provisions related to patient claims. But past upsets have not deterred drug manufacturers from investing heavily in a new generation of possible winners. Jonathan de Pass, chief executive of specialist consultancy Evaluate, calculates there are now 26 new drugs in clinical trials for obesity and a further 32 in early-stage development. 
http://www.minorml.org
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Comment #2 posted by mayan on January 19, 2006 at 18:24:42 PT
Mood Enhancer
Endocannabinoid Production Elevates Mood, Study SaysA depressed population is an unhealthy population and a population that can be kept in a state of fear. More reasons for the prohibition of cannabis.
If they lose their precious prohibition they lose control!Regarding the new recording...Osama bin Laden: A dead nemesis perpetuated by the US government: http://whatreallyhappened.com/osama_dead.htmlTHE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN..."MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT" 9/11 WAS AN "INSIDE JOB":
http://www.voxfux.com/archives/00000076.htm"The American public have not heard who is the real culprit behind 9/11":
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2006/190106Edmonds.htmLiars present 'Loose Change 911':
http://www.timeout.com/film/news/866.html
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Comment #1 posted by Bhicks on January 19, 2006 at 17:40:52 PT:
PARKER: 'LEGALISE CANNABIS'
Mary Louise Parker: 'legalise Cannabis'.Golden Globe winner MARY LOUISE PARKER has urged the US Government to legalise marijuana, after playing a cannabis-selling mother in her hit comedy WEEDS.The 41-year-old actress, who won her second Golden Globe for her portrayal of drug-dealing NANCY BOTWIN on Monday night (16JAN06), has been surprised by the public and critical response to the show, and admits she expected her character's controversial job to offend a lot of US TV viewers."I thought people would be more offended by this than they are. I'm surprised they weren't."Parker adds she was stunned she beat DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES stars MARCIA CROSS, TERI HATCHER, FELICITY HUFFMAN and EVA LONGORIA to win Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy last night.She adds, "I thought Felicity would win. I think we're all desperate housewives. My character is just a little bit more desperate than theirs."
PARKER: 'LEGALISE CANNABIS'
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