cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- August 10, 2006 










  NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- August 10, 2006 

Posted by CN Staff on August 10, 2006 at 15:32:15 PT
Weekly Press Release  
Source: NORML  

Supporters Turn In 129,000 Signatures In Favor Of Colorado Pot Legalization Initiative August 10, 2006 - Denver, CO, USADenver, CO: Supporters of a proposed statewide initiative to eliminate all criminal and civil penalties for the possession of cannabis by adults turned in 129,000 signatures this week to the Colorado Secretary of State's Office to place the measure on the November 2006 ballot. State law requires proponents to collect valid signatures from 68,000 registered Colorado voters in order to qualify the initiative on the electoral ballot.
"The fact that we collected nearly twice as many signatures as are required under [state law] highlights the widespread support for ending the madness of marijuana prohibition in Colorado," said Mason Tvert, Campaign Director for Safer Alternatives For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) the organization sponsoring the initiative.If certified by state officials and approved by voters this November, the measure would make the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana legal in Colorado for those age 21 or older.Last year, voters in Denver approved a similar municipal measure by 54 percent.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or visit: http://www.saferchoice.orgDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6971 Heavy Cannabis Use Not Independently Associated With Cardiovascular RisksAugust 10, 2006 - San Francisco, CA, USASan Francisco, CA: Heavy marijuana use is not independently associated with high blood pressure or other cardiovascular risk factors, according the findings of a 15-year longitudinal study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.Investigators at the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, assessed the association between marijuana use and caloric intake, body mass index (BMI) and cardiovascular risk factors in 3,617 young adults participating in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults project (CARDIA). Though heavy self-reported use of cannabis was associated with higher caloric intake (3,365 calories per day in those who used cannabis 1,800 days over a 15 year period versus 2,746 calories per day in non-users), marijuana use alone was not associated with higher levels of triglycerides, atherosclerosis, or blood pressure among respondents.Investigators did note that the heavy use of cannabis and alcohol together was positively associated with cardiovascular risk factors. A previous review of cannabis use and cardiotoxicity published earlier this year in the journal Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology reported that moderate marijuana use likely poses little cardiovascular risk in humans.In human trials, cannabis smoking is typically associated with a dose-dependent increase in heart rate and blood pressure in marijuana-naive subjects, though users often become completely tolerant to these effects over time. By contrast, cannabinoid administration in animals is typically associated with vasodilation, transient bradycardia and hypotension. The administration of synthetic cannabinoids has also been shown to lower blood pressure in animals and has not been associated with cardiotoxicity in humans.In addition, recent studies demonstrate that anandamide and other endocannabinoids profoundly suppress cardiac contractility in hypertension and can normalize blood pressure.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the study, Marijuana use, diet, body mass index, and cardiovascular risk, appears in the August issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6972 NORML's Daily "AudioStash" Approaches 100,000 DownloadsAugust 10, 2006 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Nearly 100,000 listeners have downloaded episodes of NORML's daily podcast since the programıs launch in June. The original 30-minute programming, known as "NORML's Daily AudioStash: The Growing Truth About Marijuana," is available via podcast and direct MP3 download every weekday at 4:20pm at either http://www.normlaudiostash.com or http://www.norml.org Archived shows are also available online."In just two months, nearly 100,000 marijuana law reformers have tuned into NORML's daily programming to keep abreast of the latest pot-related science, news, and events information that they won't find anywhere else but on 'NORML's AudioStash,'" NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said. "The popularity of NORML's daily podcast illustrates that there are large numbers of Americans who desire fact-based, educational information about marijuana and marijuana law reform, and that this population is increasingly turning to NORML and away from the federal government and the mass media in order to obtain it."According to tabulations released by Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store, NORML's podcasts rank as one of the most popular political audio programs available on the Internet.Guests on NORML's "AudioStash" have included Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), noted travel author Rick Steves, Allen Hopper of the ACLU Drug Law Reform Litigation Project, NORML Advisory Board Member Mitch Earlywine, Burning Rainbow Farm author Dean Kuipers, comedian Tommy Chong, and many others.For more information, please visit: http://www.normlaudiostash.comDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6973Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: August 10, 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 #30 posted by whig on August 14, 2006 at 22:29:42 PT
I should have read more carefully
Looks like the Secretary of State already declared it legal.
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Comment #29 posted by whig on August 14, 2006 at 22:15:35 PT
The GCW
I don't think the SAFER campaign can win anonymity for its donors. Think about what it would mean if wealthy donors could finance a political campaign without ever being disclosed. It would make all campaign finance laws unenforceable and moot. Maybe there's an organization that thinks they should be mooted, but it would be a pretty big distraction for SAFER if they had to be an organization dedicated to campaign finance reform rather than one dedicated to changing the cannabis laws.
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Comment #28 posted by The GCW on August 14, 2006 at 19:27:09 PT
Pot supporters fear backlash 
...Pot supporters fear backlash ...Donations to the marijuana initiative have followed a similar path. In this case, leaders of the campaign formed their own nonprofit, the SAFER Voter Education Fund. It donated $62,400 in cash and paid $30,000 for the salaries of campaign director Mason Tvert and another campaign worker, rent and other forms of support, records show. Tvert said he and other campaign leaders formed the SAFER fund in January as a way to finance the issue committee that is running the campaign. And as a way to keep the names of donors confidential. That's necessary, he said, to protect donors from a possible backlash for supporting a sensitive issue. If a business contributes to the campaign, "they face the possibility of losing clients simply because of the issue," Tvert said. Without this cloak, he said, "tons of people" wouldn't give. Tvert showed the Rocky Mountain News a printout of the addresses and donation amounts from 377 people who gave between $1 and $250 through an online account to the SAFER Voter Education Fund. Tvert had removed the names. The online donations represent about 15 percent of the total amount the SAFER fund gave to the marijuana campaign. Steve Fox, executive director of the SAFER fund, would not say who gave the other 85 percent and he doesn't have to. The use of nonprofit groups to shield the names of donors to political issue campaigns is legal, said Dana Williams, spokeswoman for the Colorado Secretary of State's Office. Candidate campaigns must follow stricter rules. Sondermann called the technique "one more skirmish in the ongoing battle of campaign finance." "There's some campaigns that . . . because they seem to be paranoid . . . want to go through these extra shenanigans to keep the money secret. It's not the first time, and won't be the last." http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_4915761,00.html
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Comment #27 posted by The GCW on August 14, 2006 at 19:20:06 PT
US CO: LTE: Legalize marijuana 
Pubdate: Aug. 14, 2006
Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)Viewed at: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/letters/article/0,2777,DRMN_23966_4915013,00.html 
Legalize marijuana It's simply outrageous that people are being killed in Boulder County for suspicion of violating marijuana prohibition. Only recently, a young Lafayette man was TASERed to death by police for failing to cooperate during a garden variety pot-growing investigation ("Task force investigates Taser death," News Aug. 7). The fellow in question, unarmed, had the impudence to run away from approaching officers. But, when soon apprehended, police reports indicate he became upset and may have foolishly challenged the several officers at the scene. He died on the way to the hospital as a result of this mistake. Polite society is apparently comfortable with the status quo on cannabis policy, comfortable enough, that is, to be quiet about it. Therefore, it's difficult to say whether anything will be learned from this wasteful tragedy. Hopefully, however, we could have an opportunity to vote in favor of "legalizing" cannabis in Colorado, should the widely anticipated SAFER initiative be approved for the ballot in November. Surely, we must have learned by now that the only real danger surrounding cannabis is the remarkable fact that it's still illegal. Cord MacGuire
 
Boulder 
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Comment #26 posted by Hope on August 11, 2006 at 21:04:32 PT
Your friend 
is very blessed to have you and Stick for friends.
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on August 11, 2006 at 20:44:29 PT
Hope
It is very sad. His wife is strong. They never were able to have any children but she has her family. My husband tries to help him with things that he can't do anymore. He went in to see him today. We just want him to be as happy as he can while he can and so does his wife. 
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Comment #24 posted by Hope on August 11, 2006 at 20:40:48 PT
Kinky for Governor!!!!
I was surprised by my Republican, too. And happy.
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Comment #23 posted by Hope on August 11, 2006 at 20:38:50 PT
"floating blood clot"
That is so scary. So scary.What a horrible strain, on top of everything else that's happened to him, that knowledge must be to carry around.I'm so sad for him and all the people who love and need him.
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on August 11, 2006 at 20:37:03 PT
Go Kinky
Cigar and all! LOL! That's really good news about your husband.
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Comment #21 posted by Hope on August 11, 2006 at 20:35:42 PT
My Republican is regaining some of his senses.
He may even vote for Kinky Friedman with me!Lots of people are planning on voting for Kinky! Lots of them.
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on August 11, 2006 at 20:16:29 PT

Whig
Thank you. He had to have a Liver Transplant from years of cocaine use and drinking. He is the generation that got into Coke after the 60s generation. He still speaks ok but very softly and as far as pain we have always tried to make him feel better. That is a sort of a mission. His wife said he could die anytime when that blood clot breaks loose. He still can walk but drags his leg and his paralyzed arm is very swollen. 
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Comment #19 posted by whig on August 11, 2006 at 20:01:26 PT

FoM
I'm sorry about your friend. Is he in much pain?
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on August 11, 2006 at 19:57:07 PT

Whig
I'm sure people who like the show see it that way but when I see anything that even remotely makes a republican look good or superior even in jest I can't handle it. I have seen Republicans wreck many people's lives over these last 6 years. I need to not make it harder on myself and I watch the Discovery Channel. I don't want to have a stroke or heart attack. We have a friend way younger then we are who had a stroke. He is partially paralyzed. He has a floating blood clot that they can't fix. It is going to kill him. 
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Comment #17 posted by whig on August 11, 2006 at 19:46:45 PT

FoM
I don't actually think Colbert is playing a Republican because it's funny -- but because he also thinks it is not at all funny and he is trying to ridicule them to deprive them of status and authority. It's a huge thing he's doing for America. His anger runs through his performance, too.
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on August 11, 2006 at 19:36:31 PT

Whig
I know he is just acting but since I don't find any humor associated with a Republican funny it isn't something me or my husband want to watch. I love to laugh but I have too much pent up frustration from all these years of doing CNews and hoping to see the laws changed. My anger is quiet but very deep.
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Comment #15 posted by whig on August 11, 2006 at 19:21:15 PT

FoM
Colbert is very much a liberal, FoM. The whole conservative schtick is an act he does, and he even tells some of his guests before he interviews him, "I play a complete idiot."
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on August 11, 2006 at 18:57:26 PT

Dankhank About The Colbert Report
I am going to watch it one more time on August 17th. Neil Young is his guest! Yippie! I hope Neil does that piercing look that he does and it sets Colbert back some. http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/rust/message/167145
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Comment #13 posted by Dankhank on August 11, 2006 at 15:08:13 PT

emails ...
I've always been suspicious of those bulk-mails, too.I always try to add some personal stuff, to ... personalize it.For the moveon.org email, as it introduced Falsieness, I observed that "we said falsie" as an indication of the gravity with which I viewed the campaign.
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Comment #12 posted by Toker00 on August 11, 2006 at 14:33:03 PT

Mayan(Truth is SO much fun!)
Yeah, baby! Like honey Dijon on a ham and Swiss on rye! Truth spreads so smoothly. And it tastes sooo GOOD!I was so busy today, I didn't have much a chance to witness, but I did give a DVD of 9-11 Truth Scholars Symposium to a very good friend of mine. This man is not completely ready to admit or acknowledge the full message this cover-up implies, but he has had others talk to him about their suspicions, so he will watch it tonight. Maybe we will have another convert tomorrow. Thank you, God. May I have another?Toke. 
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Comment #11 posted by mayan on August 11, 2006 at 05:13:40 PT

Misc.
Way to spread the truth, Toker00!EDITORIAL: Reefer madness:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Aug-11-Fri-2006/opinion/9002257.htmlExtension granted for advocate of legalized pot:
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/3013702.shtmlThe sh*t has met the fan...The tipping point is here:
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1090.shtmlFake Terror Obfuscates Lebanon and Iraq Failures: 
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/August2006/100806_b_Obfuscates.htmTHE WAY OUT...Big church publisher buys 9-11 Bush plot:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51463Movie prompts protester at Rockville theater:
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyid=51318Dave at Rockville Regal 13:
http://911courage.org/article.php?story=2006081013051925Gandhian "WTC" Protest Makes Nonviolent Waves in Florida Media:
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20060811031431473Leafleting Stone's 'World Trade Center' film:
http://www.total411.info/2006/08/leafleting-stones-world-trade-center.html
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Comment #10 posted by afterburner on August 11, 2006 at 04:46:50 PT

FoM #8 & Dankhank #7 RE Colbert 
"A few days ago there was that purported move-on.org campaign against the Steven Colbert show. Visitors to the site were invited to send a form email, similar to the many Norml or MPP and whoever email campaigns, decrying the overt Conservative tone of his show." Here is an old news story, but relevant to strategizers in the cannabis regulation campaign!:PM gets Afghan mail.
Afghanistan mission prompting flood of letters, emails and calls from Canadians.
Aug. 7, 2006. 07:30 AM.
DEAN BEEBY.
CANADIAN PRESS.
http://tinyurl.com/h3r3hExcerpts:"Records of telephone calls, letters and emails to the Prime Minister in the four months since he took office Feb. 6 suggest the military mission is turning into a political quagmire for the minority government. In May, for example, Harper's office received 1,453 letters and emails about Canada's Afghan deployment, two-thirds of them calling on the government to pull out and get the troops home. Another 114 telephone callers said the same. ..."The Prime Minister's mailbag and phone logs are decidedly unscientific samples of opinion, though three dozen bureaucrats are employed full time to wade through some 2 million items each year and categorize them by subject."Their analyses carefully exclude so-called write-in campaigns, which use form letters and email templates to flood politicians with standardized messages."Instead, staff focus on emails, letters and telephone calls that appear to be spontaneous and individual."Note to NORML, MPP, and DPA supporters, moveon.org and environmental groups: your form letters and email templates might be ignored by neo-con governments. Strive for individuality to crack the feedback blockade!
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Comment #9 posted by Toker00 on August 11, 2006 at 03:35:27 PT

Thanks dankhank
Yours is on it's way.Two more workers yesterday. Mouths fell open, denial set in, and 9-11 Truth took over. It was splendid. Also, the local Black community is being enlightened. This is very important, at least to me. I love Black people. And Red people. And Brown people. And Yellow people. And some White people! Just kidding! I love White people, too.My new bumper sticker: 9-11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB!Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 22:18:01 PT

Dankhank 
I don't know how to laugh at them. I didn't know there was anything about moveon.org happening but I don't watch his show and I haven't watched the Daily Show very often. I usually am watching something on one of the Discovery Channels. I like shows like that.
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Comment #7 posted by Dankhank on August 10, 2006 at 22:12:45 PT

Colbert
A few days ago there was that purported move-on.org campaign against the Steven Colbert show. Visitors to the site were invited to send a form email, similar to the many Norml or MPP and whoever email campaigns, decrying the overt Conservative tone of his show.We have to laugh or cry at the antics of neo-cons, their lackies and supporters and brain-dead sheep.sometimes I have to laugh at them, but, what if we laughed at them every time they opened their mealy mouths ... ?
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 21:06:04 PT

Dankhank
I really have tried to watch the Colbert Report. I liked him when he was on the Daily Show and I know he is kidding about the Republican view but I just don't think it's funny. I don't think there is anything funny about how the Republicans think. If I never see a Republican speak again it won't upset me. 
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 21:02:05 PT

Mayan
World War III is going to happen. It's very close now. You can only push countries around so much and all hell will break loose and that's what is happening. We are big bullys and that isn't how you live in a complicated world with other people with different cultures and religions. It just might be too late now. The news doesn't shock me anymore. I don't think much of anything could shock me anymore. Now that is really sad.
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Comment #4 posted by Dankhank on August 10, 2006 at 20:57:19 PT

move on.org head
on Colbert report, now, and replayed later
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on August 10, 2006 at 18:25:35 PT

FoM,JR
Thanks for those links. FoM, I believe the masses have already figured out that they've been lied to about cannabis for a long time. In fact, all of the government's lies are becoming exposed thanks to the internet. That is why the fascist neo-cons need to start WWIII and bring an end to this global forum. The truth is an enemy of the state. Red Alert For Staged Government Terror Attack: Terror alert a trial balloon for invasion of Iran, World War III:
http://infowars.com/articles/sept11/red_alert_for_staged_terror_attack.htmNew Terror Alert: The Repuglican Homestretch Scare Campaign Begins:
http://www.ostroyreport.blogspot.com/#81006MI-5 in ludicrous Heathrow terror stunt:
http://www.total411.info/2006/08/mi-5-in-ludicrous-heathrow-terror.htmlTerror Plot Mirrors Bojinka: Run By US Government Agent: 
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/august2006/100806terrorplot.htmTHE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN... Horatio Sans of SNL fame is 9/11 Aware:
http://www.911blogger.com/2006/08/horatio-sans-of-snl-fame-is-911-aware.htmlDebunking Popular Mechanics' 9/11 Lies:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/august2006/100806popularmechanics.htmAdvance Review of Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" by a 9/11 Truth Activist:
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2006/07/343242.shtml9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB - OUR NATION IS IN PERIL:
http://www.911sharethetruth.com/
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 18:09:55 PT

Huffington Post: Get Off The Pot, George
If you want to help spread the word about America’s unjustified war on a plant -- and the people who use it -- please share the link at the bottom of the page with everyone you know.Get more insight into the ancient cannabis hemp plant and the dark origins of its prohibition by visiting: http://www.emperorofhemp.comhttp://cf.huffingtonpost.com/http://getoffthepotgeorge.cf.huffingtonpost.com/
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Comment #1 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on August 10, 2006 at 17:23:56 PT

Another pro-reform podcast
The Drug Policy Alliance also has a semi-regular podcast available from the URL below. NORML's gets way more publicity, but the DPA one is good too. And they're all free, of course.
Drug Policy Alliance podcast
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