cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- June 22, 2006 NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- June 22, 2006 Posted by CN Staff on June 22, 2006 at 15:10:00 PT Weekly Press Release Source: NORML Michigan Supreme Court Upholds 'Zero Tolerance' Per Se DUID LawJune 22, 2006 - Traverse City, MI, USA"It is irrelevant that a person who is no longer 'under the influence' of marijuana could be prosecuted under the statute," Court Rules Traverse City: MI: The Michigan Supreme Court ruled 4-3 this week that the state's 'zero tolerance per se DUID (driving under the influence of drugs) law is constitutional, even if the statute might apply to drivers who are not under the influence of illegal substances. The majority held also that motorists could be prosecuted under the state's DUID law for having detectable levels of non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in their blood - even though the presence of such metabolites are not associated with driver impairment, and are not defined under the statute as an illicit substance.The ruling reverses a prior Appellate Court ruling that determined that the state had to demonstrate that the presence of a controlled substance in a driver's body was the proximate cause of an accident to move forward with a DUID prosecution.Michigan's DUID law "does not require [driver] intoxication, impairment, or knowledge of that one might be intoxicated; it simply requires that the person have 'any amount' of a schedule I substance in his or her body when operating a motor vehicle," the Court opined. "It is irrelevant that an 'ordinary' marijuana smoker does not know that [cannabis metabolites] could last in his or her body for weeks. ... That the statute might apply to some persons who are not actually 'under the influence' of marijuana does not render the statute unconstitutional."The Court further found that cannabis metabolites may be defined under the law as a Schedule I controlled substance with a "high potential for abuse," even though they have "no pharmacological effect on the body."Michigan is one of 13 states that have enacted either per se or 'zero tolerance' per se DUID laws making it a criminal offense to operate a motor vehicle with trace levels of illicit drugs and/or drug metabolites in a driver's blood, saliva or urine.Writing for the dissent, Judge Michael Cavanaugh opined: "Today's holding now makes criminals out of numerous Michigan citizens who, before today, were considered law-abiding, productive members of our community. Now, if a person has ever actively or passively ingested marijuana and drives ... he is [unknowingly] breaking the law, because if any amount of [cannabis metabolites] can be detected - no matter when [the marijuana] was previously ingested - he is committing a crime. The majority's interpretation, which has no rational relationship to the Legislature's genuine concerns about operating a motor vehicle while impaired, violates the United States Constitution and the Michigan Constitution."The consolidated cases are Michigan v Derror and Michigan v Kurts.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, or Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500. Additional information on cannabis and DUID is available online in NORML's report, "You Are Going Directly to Jail: DUID Legislation: What It Means, Who's Behind It, and Strategies to Prevent It," available online at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6492DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6936Clinical Trial: THC Reduces Pain In Fibromyalgia Patients June 22, 2006 - Mannheim, GermanyMannheim, Germany: Oral administration of THC significantly reduces both chronic and experimentally induced pain in patients with fibromyalgia, according to clinical trial data to be published in the forthcoming issue of the journal Current Medical Research and Opinion. The study is the first-ever clinical trial assessing the efficacy of cannabinoids in the treatment of fibromyalgia.Investigators at Germany's University of Heidelberg assessed the analgesic effects of oral THC in nine patients with fibromyalgia over a 3-month period. Subjects in the trial were administered daily doses of 2.5 to 15 mg of THC, but received no other pain medication during the trial. Among those participants who completed the trial, all reported a significant reduction in daily recorded pain and electronically induced pain, investigators found."All patients who completed the delta-9-THC therapy ... experienced pain relief of more than 50 percent," authors concluded. Investigators recommended that follow up placebo-control trials be conducted assessing the use of cannabinoids on fibromyalgia.Previous trials have shown that both naturally occurring and endogenous cannabinoids hold analgesic qualities, particularly in the treatment of cancer pain and neuropathic pain, both of which are poorly treated by conventional opiates.Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and multiple tender points in the neck, spine, shoulders, and hips. An estimated 3 to 6 million Americans are afflicted by the disease, which is often poorly controlled by standard pain medications.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the study, "Delta-9-THC based monotherapy in fibromyalgia patients on experimentally induced pain, axon reflex flare, and pain relief," will be available in the forthcoming issue of Current Medical Research and Opinion.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6937National MS Society To Fund Clinical Cannabis Trial June 22, 2006 - New York, NY, USANew York, NY: The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has announced that it will provide funding to complete an ongoing clinical trial by the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research investigating the use of cannabis to treat symptoms of MS. The clinical trial is the first study in the United States in almost 20 years investigating the use of cannabinoids in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis, and is the first such trial funded by the MS Society.Investigators in the study will assess the efficacy of inhaled cannabis and/or oral THC in reducing MS-associated spasticity compared to placebo. Previous preclinical and clinical data indicate that cannabinoids can alleviate MS-associated spasticity, pain, muscle stiffness, and incontinence, as well as potentially moderate the progression of the disease.The trial is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2008.Unlike the MS Societies of Canada and the United Kingdom, the US Society has not taken a public stance in support of the therapeutic use of cannabis for MS. According to survey data, some 15 to 40 percent of MS patients use cannabis to treat symptoms of the disease.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6938Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: June 22, 2006Copyright: 2006 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 Comment #23 posted by FoM on June 26, 2006 at 17:46:10 PT Poll: Lingering High? Motorists can be prosecuted for driving under the influence of drugs if they test positive for any trace of marijuana, even weeks after they smoked it, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled. Do you agree with the ruling? Current Results: Yes -- 17.89% No -- 82.11%Please Vote: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=METRO Poll Results: http://info.detnews.com/poll/result.cfm?topic=Lingering_high&c=o [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by b4daylight on June 25, 2006 at 16:55:59 PT: 111f user123 better yet just bycott motor driving all together. Feel great and it is alot harder to get a DUI. Plus you will save a ton of money. My transportation is like 500 bucks a year, I even have unlimited bus if needed. If anyone needs assistance or encouragement using less motor-vehicle email me. Good Idea unless you have family in a state, how you get around that? [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by user123 on June 24, 2006 at 16:43:38 PT: 10 States to Boycott Several times a year I leave California and go on vacation. I do not "carry" when I fly, but THC would still be in my system. Therefore, I will take my tourist dollars, and spend them in a state that doesn't have zero tolerance. We drop at least 2 grand getting to Myrtle Beach in SC every other year. Think I'll be flying into Atlanta? Never again. Charlotte or Raleigh are closer, and NC doesn't have its head up its behind with zero tolerance. So much for visitng Atlanta's new aquarium & spending money on hotels & restaurants. Bud smokers unite, and boycott these states! AZ, GA, IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, RI, UT & WI (unless you live there & in that case, be careful) [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by Hope on June 23, 2006 at 08:13:39 PT "No more desperation, I hope." Toker, I hope so for you, too. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by afterburner on June 23, 2006 at 07:22:18 PT Judges Are Supposed to Be above Politics... A convenient fiction, like reporters are supposed to be objective. These Michigan judges have politicized themselves and the good people of Michigan *will* remember their names when they seek re-election!Pete Guither at Drug WarRant is putting together a 2006 State by State Voting Guide based on drug policy reform issues, with your help.Voting_Guide - 2006 State by State Voting Guide based on drug policy reform issues http://www.drugwarrant.net/wiki/tiki-index.php?page=Voting_Guide [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by Toker00 on June 23, 2006 at 04:53:16 PT Hope Cops usually have Public fund raisers (BBQ's, picnics) when one of their own go down, although they do hire phone solicitors to collect for the entire agency, not just an individual family.(Such as Texas Peace Officers Assoc.) That's been my experience from knowing those who have close family members on the pd., and from actually being a driver who drove around picking up the donations that were solicited by phone. ( I did that for about two months one time. When I found myself unemployed, I took whatever came along until I could get back into my trade. Thank God the job I have now will be where I retire. No more desperation, I hope.) Toke. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by OverwhelmSam on June 23, 2006 at 04:42:08 PT Thomas Jefferson's Predictions Coming True But Thomas also said that the people have the power to take back control of their government by voting out the bad, and jury nullifications on unjust laws. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by Hope on June 22, 2006 at 21:22:43 PT Whig. I definitely agree. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by whig on June 22, 2006 at 20:20:17 PT Hope #12 Horrible. Totally unnecessary. The 1-year old child will be traumatized for the rest of his life.You want to serve a warrant, knock on the door. This home invasion tactic is not policing, it is warfare. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by Hope on June 22, 2006 at 20:06:16 PT Got a call today from a man who claimed to be a Highway Patrolman and he was asking for money for the family of a "Local Highway Patrolman who was killed last week in a drug bust."He said he would send me some stickers for my car if I donated. I said, "No". And he said, "Not even ten or fifteen dollars?" I said, "No". He sounded miffed...that's a nice way to put it.Did some checking and, of course, it was an outright lie. I knew it was, though. A family friend and relative by marriage, who lost her trooper husband in the line of duty several years ago, was assisted by about three million dollars worth of insurance. It's probably pretty much the same with all real situations like that. They don't need to gather extra money from average citizens.It's a scam. Be cautious.Calls like that happen every few months or so, it seems like, here...but this was the first time they ever said it was to help an officer's family that was "killed" in a recent "drug bust".Aargh. More scammers and con-men using the war on drugs.Corruption. Corruption. Corruption. Fraud of all sorts. The WoD sure spawns it's share of it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by Hope on June 22, 2006 at 19:41:18 PT Excerpt from Judge Cavanagh's disent To say that driving while a person’s system contains any amount of a substance that has no pharmacological effect is a crime—given that under the most conservative estimates offered by the prosecution, the current scientific testing can find evidence of the substance for at least four weeks—is not permissible under the Constitution.http://hammeroftruth.com/2006/06/22/michigan-high-court-should-put-down-the-bong/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by Hope on June 22, 2006 at 19:30:39 PT It's a war on people. It's horrible. http://www.reason.com/hod/rb062106.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by mayan on June 22, 2006 at 18:25:16 PT THE TRUTH That's what is scaring the fascists. More specifically, 9/11 TRUTH! They are terrified of this hitting the mainstream and getting extremely desperate...9/11 Essays Disappearing from Web: http://www.911blogger.com/2006/06/911-essays-disappearing-from-web.htmlHere's a great piece on the Miami Herald's site!9/11 ATTACKS: Avoiding the hard questions: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/columnists/robert_steinback/13760721.htmHere is the web site of a U.S. Congressional candidate who is pursuing 9/11 truth...http://www.sendmeabuck.com/The only way the fascists can win is by taking down the internet and sewing all of our mouths shut. But don't be surprised if they try. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by billos on June 22, 2006 at 18:07:10 PT Well...DEA...guess what... Screw you and all your beliefs........we will not go away..and you will not make us go away....persistance will prevail and I for one don't give one damn anymore what you people do or dictate....we will march on, "Till the end" of this country's time..Which will be sooner than you all think should you "keep poking the bear with the stick" [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on June 22, 2006 at 17:44:31 PT Something Else It was a beautiful day. Sunny and warm and then dark clouds rolled in and lightning was striking all around our place. I watched the clouds do dances in the sky that were dark but beautiful. The sky looked like it wanted to touch down and form a tornado but it didn't. I think we are in a storm like I stood on the porch and watched for a little while today. When the storm passes for good the sun will be bright and the trees will look happy. Soon maybe our storm will be over. That's my wish. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on June 22, 2006 at 17:38:15 PT Hope This link is from The Hill in DC. It is a paper for the political people there. There is something stirring. I really do believe something is happening. Maybe because I let Woodstock play thru the day and stopped and watched it now and then I am reminded of the impact that Woodstock had on society. They thought those hippies pulled it off. It worked. Oh my now what? Maybe it was Living With War that is waking up so many people. Maybe it's the Dixie Chicks. I don't know but we are scaring them again. We are getting too close for comfort. That's my opinion.http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21930.shtml#17 [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Hope on June 22, 2006 at 17:27:50 PT Threatened ...Intimidated Arrested. Robbed. Beaten. Mistreated. Loathed. Imprisoned. Killed. For smoking! For smoking!What kind of hideous, horrible government have we got? Why are they doing this to people? Why?Oh, Lord.Again...God help us! Please!Please. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Hope on June 22, 2006 at 17:23:39 PT "DEA is working concerts"! What the heck for? Kingpins?Intimidation of the citizens is likely the answer. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Hope on June 22, 2006 at 17:21:13 PT I thought we'd realized "Zero Tolerance" is stupid, idiotic, and hideously wrong. "Zero Tolerance"? We aren't talking about murderers and rapists here. What vengeful, spiteful denizons of hell those judges that made this unrighteous decision! Very unrighteous decision. Very. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 22, 2006 at 17:20:27 PT I Read Something I read on a list about Neil Young that the DEA is working concerts this summer. I don't know if it's true but I thought I'd mention it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Hope on June 22, 2006 at 17:14:09 PT Tied to the Whipping Post Sometimes I feel like we're tied to a whipping post. For sure. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by mayan on June 22, 2006 at 17:13:29 PT REMEMBER THEM Chief Justice Clifford TaylorJustice Maura CorriganJustice Robert Young Jr. Justice Stephen Markman We must never forget who the enemies of freedom are! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on June 22, 2006 at 16:23:35 PT Court's Marijuana Ruling a Victory for Authorities By Steven Hepkershepker citpat.com Thursday, June 22, 2006Marijuana users can be arrested for drugged driving weeks after they toast a joint, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a Jackson County appeal. A veteran prosecutor hailed the ruling as a correct interpretation of the zero-tolerance law that will make enforcement easier. A longtime defense attorney said the high court has opened the floodgates on overreaching government. "This goes to show the Supreme Court does not seem to care about individual rights," Jackson attorney Jerry Engle said. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-17/115099236535720.xml&coll=3 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment