cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - November 30, 2006





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - November 30, 2006
Posted by CN Staff on November 30, 2006 at 13:03:12 PT
Weekly Press Release 
Source: NORML 
 Moderate Pot Use Positively Effects Treatment Outcomes For Cocaine Dependent Patients, Study SaysNovember 30, 2006 - New York, NY, USANew York, NY: Cocaine dependent patients are more likely to complete drug treatment if they use cannabis intermittently, according to clinical trial data to be published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.
Investigators at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University assessed the effects of marijuana smoking on treatment retention in a clinical trial of 90 subjects enrolled in a 14-week outpatient program for cocaine dependence and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Researchers reported that those volunteers who used moderate amounts of cannabis during treatment were more likely to complete the program than were abstainers and/or subjects who used pot chronically. "At week 14, retention rates were 24 percent among abstainers, 57 percent among intermittent/moderate users, and 39 percent among heavy/consistent users," investigators found. They noted that similar results also have been reported among subjects seeking treatment for opiate dependence.Cannabis use also was associated with higher rates of abstinence among cocaine users. Among those subjects in the study who reported using pot intermittently, 39 percent achieved two or more weeks of abstinence from cocaine, compared to only 26 percent of subjects who reported not using cannabis during treatment.The study is the first to assess the use of cannabis on treatment outcomes in patients diagnosed with cocaine dependence, investigators said.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the study, "Concurrent cannabis use during treatment for comorbid ADHD and cocaine dependence: Effects on outcome," will appear in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7112Patients With Out-Of-State Medi-Pot Docs Not Protected Under State's Marijuana Law, Washington Supreme Court Rules November 30, 2006 - Olympia, WA, USAOlympia, WA: Washington's Supreme Court ruled 6-3 last week that patients who possess a recommendation to use medical cannabis from an out-of-state doctor may not be afforded legal protections under the state's eight-year-old medical marijuana law.The decision upheld a lower court ruling convicting defendant Sharon Tracy on marijuana possession and manufacturing charges. Tracy was arrested in 2003 after police seized her California doctor's recommendation, four marijuana plants, and an ounce of marijuana from her home. Tracy had previously lived in California to take care of her terminally ill mother before returning to Washington in 2003.Writing for the majority, Justice Tom Chambers opined, "[Although] Tracy may have been exactly the kind of patient the voters of this state had in mind when they enacted the medical marijuana initiative, I-692, in 1999, ... only qualifying patients are entitled to use the defense." The Court determined that 'qualifying patients' are defined under the law as only those patients who have been authorized to use medical cannabis by an in-state physician."The initiative could have, but did not, define a qualifying doctor as one with a valid license from any state," Chambers wrote.In his dissent, Justice James Johnson argued that Washington voters clearly intended for citizens like Tracy to be protected under state law. "Initiatives susceptible to reasonable alternative interpretations, such as I-692, are to be construed in order to effectuate the intent of the electorate," he wrote. "The majority offers no persuasive rational for holding that the people of Washington understood, let alone intended, that an otherwise qualified patient would be excluded from protection by I-692 simply because the patient's treating physician was licensed in [a state other] than Washington."Tracy may be sentenced to up to 90 days in jail for violating the state's marijuana laws.For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500. A discussion of this decision is available online on the November 27, 2006 edition of NORML's daily AudioStash. Opinions in the case, State v. Tracy, are available online at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/index.cfmDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7111 US Criminal Justice Population Tops 7 MillionNovember 30, 2006 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: A record 7 million citizens approximately one out of every 32 American adults is either incarcerated, on probation, or on parole, according to statistics released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) this week.The DOJ Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that 2.2 million Americans are behind bars and more than 4.1 million Americans are on probation. Nearly 800,000 citizens are on parole.The report states that the incarceration of drug offenders is primarily responsible for the record growth of America's prison population, noting that from 1995 to 2003, federal drug inmates accounted for almost 50 percent of the total federal prison population growth. Drug offenders also represent the largest source of jail population growth, up nearly 40 percent since 1996. Among state prisoners, approximately 21 percent are behind bars for drug violations.In October, the BJS released data indicating that nearly one in eight drug prisoners in America are behind bars for marijuana-related offenses.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7113Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: November 30, 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 #19 posted by Hope on December 09, 2006 at 04:38:03 PT
PaulPeterson, comment 16
Thank you.
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Comment #18 posted by whig on December 08, 2006 at 17:01:50 PT
Paul Peterson
If I did it, I might have been crucified. But that is dangerous talk, and this time around we've had too many martyrs and we don't need any more.OJ is not a martyr, he is a man who does not know how to expiate his guilt without being punished, and indeed it is nearly impossible isn't it? He is punishing himself for sure, and it is a brutal existence for him now. No money can heal him.
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Comment #17 posted by paulpeterson on December 08, 2006 at 13:33:24 PT
OJ gave something to the world
   OJ Simpson gave something valuable to the world. No, I am not talking about Orange Juice, which did, of course give us something to chirp about also ie: now we know, of course, that "Orange juice-it is not just the for breakfast drink anymore" probably because people think it is so good for just about everything, just like cannabis, but that is a very good leadin, in fact, for what I really want to say.   The thing is, we need to find more metaphors, and cover for speaking about these very things so more and more "mainstream" people, that know nothing about these things, will hear more about this stuff. And when "US" guys are speaking on the subject, it appears we need to keep some "cover" overhead to avoid our words being used against us in a court of law or otherwise-like where some judge issues a warrant because our words have equated to some sort of guilt.   That is where OJ comes in. Although I just know that guy did a heinous crime, and I don't really like to see his picture or hear his words or think about him at all, I still have to thank him for his "effort" to invoke and in fact invent a genre in Americanna-the "if I did it, here is how it was done" device. This is also what is known in the legal system as a "fiction", whereby some sort of fictional setting is invented, herein, where the conditional sort of statement is granted some defensibility to allow for the statement to be given some value without equating to a distinct admission against guilt. Another such "fiction" is what the courts allow lawyers to do every day-so OJ doesn't get any real creative bonus for this invention-because lawyers have been doing it since the Garden of Edens (whether the garden was actually real or not has not been proven-but we do know that there already were lawyers in the garden for real). For lawyers this is the "pleading in the alternative" device. It goes like this: My client either pleads guilty, but claims necessity, or, in the alternative, if you don't buy that, he pleads innocent because he is insane, or, in the alternative, if you don't buy that, he pleads innocent and asks for a jury trial, da, da, da.   So people, if you ever need to discuss some details about usage or observations, please think of old OJ and put it like this: I never broke any law, but if I DID TRY to do something, this is how I might have used the stuff.   I think everybody has been close enough to a lawyer to where everybody would know what you mean, get it?   PAUL PETERSON
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Comment #16 posted by paulpeterson on December 06, 2006 at 13:13:02 PT
Hope
About that "12 step" program, I believe it was through the vaults of Erowien (sp) or some other historical site that might have been quoting some other fine source like the Emperor's New Clothes, etc. Sorry, no links. But I recall that once the syringe was invented around 1865 or so, soldiers in the Civil War on the Union side would be hit with morphine & leave the service with an addiction. That caused a movement to try to find addiction withdrawal success-that led to the advent of the 12 dose of cannabis method.In fact, the invention of the syringe was a damning blow against cannabis oils and such, specifically because it wasn't water-soluble-they wouldn't work with needles. All usable drug therapy research was geared towards needle delivery therapy.In the 20th Century, in fact, the only areas that remained in use & practice were for emphesemia, asthma, epilepsy (and perhaps a few others) where standard therapies & deliveries that had not already been found that were water soluble.Opiate addiction persisted at least until cocaine addiction came along-through some soft drinks and such.Then trans fatty acids were invented-in 1905-the first product being "Crisco" in 1911. It made the world "safe" for margarine, by adding hydrogen to vegetable oils, they will harden at room temperature. In 1982, food companies switched to TFA's to get the lard out-but 2006 saw the FDA wisely start to mandate strict disclosure of TFA's on packages-Now New York City has also banned the stuff!The thing is, the natural "endocannabinoids" were only found and studied in the 90's-since TFA's have been mucking up the works-people have almost universally lost the ability to absorb EFA's and to convert those into the end-stage products-the endocannabinoids-and to absorb them across their now clogged "blood-brain" barrier-meaning that we are all walking about without a "full deck of cards"-the endocannabinoids, which is why we all have "ECDS" (endocannabinoid deficiency syndrome) as postulated by Ethan Russo.That is why people typically "screened" for response to marijuana at a party, in school age bonding rituals right out of Animal House, etc., will then find such an affinity to same-because THC-9 is a strong enough "analog" of the EC's that it CAN cross the blood-brain barrier if clogged by TFA's, where the more subtle brain chemistry is blocked-the EC's as well as leptin, the stomach shutoff chemical switch messenger. People find cannabis fills an important gap, they feel better, what's the problem in that?Other groups, in fact, such as people that are prone to beome obese, because of a blocked blood-brain barrier, which blocks the leptin, recall, go on to further disease states such as diabetes, arthritis & Alzheimer's.Other groups find they are "addicted" to psychiatrists who prescribe drugs to mask depression or anxiety to fix the effects of ECDS. Perhaps another group becomes affixed to a bar stool for constant dosing of another water soluble drug known as ETOH or another efficient "narcotic" drug addiction chemical delivery system-nicotine, with that 20 fold increase in cancer risk (both which have given cannabis a bad name wrongfully).So now we have come full circle-because I have reproduced the endocannabinoids in TFA free meat products. And nobody else would have noticed (other than a chosen few that have already cleaned their blood-brain barriers of all TFA's for some time), even if someone other than me had reproduced this effect by livestock diet changes.Now, this is pivotal in that the endocannabinoids are supposed to be produced on demand to protect brain cells from dopamine surges or other toxins-but if a person cannot produce them because of TFA poisoning it is stroke time, or worse. Unless you have cannabis on hand and on deck at battle stations in time to do the same thing.And most addictive drugs have a strong dopamine surge effect, which triggers the "crave", "withdrawal" and "tolerance" effects. In other words, if THC & these other EC's buffer, moderate and modulate dopamine surges and CWT above, that is exactly how and why the first 12 step program worked in the first place.
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Comment #15 posted by ChristenMitchell on December 02, 2006 at 15:35:47 PT:
Probation's 51st State
It's no surprize to anyone who reads Cannabis News that the InJustice System has over 7 million Americans in it's grip.The load of 4 million on probation has it's fallout. Each morning I too must check in for random urinalysis to a private company. Outfits often use the names of the 50 states as an identifer. Now they need more and they come from an obvious source.Imagine my shock when the states were announced yesterday. They were Michigan, Alaska, Ohio, Illinois, and Chihuahua.
Hemptopia - Towards a Sustainable Future
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Comment #14 posted by ekim on December 02, 2006 at 12:37:26 PT
my mistake its 8% to 10% thc
Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 01, 2006 at 09:30:16 PT 
Andrew Sullivan: The Feds vs the Sick 
Nov. 30, 2006 People talk about the immorality of the government not funding experimental embryonic stem cell research to cure or treat certain diseases. And yet we already have a drug that requires no elaborate production, has no bad side-effects, that actually cures serious illness and helps the sick - and the federal government doesn't just not fund this; it bans anyone from using it, and throws sick people in jail for it. This policy is despicable; it's immoral; and it's a scandal that marijuana is not available for any sick person it could help. Here's riveting, intelligent first-person testimony from a medical marijuana user for 35 years. It saved his life. He testified in Michigan yesterday. How dare the government ban this substance? YouTube Video: http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/11/the_feds_vs_the.html 
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Comment #13 posted by ekim on December 02, 2006 at 12:21:59 PT
come on Paul write a book 
for all your efforts and hard work please put it down for those that will follow it will save much heartachefor those that missed it we had a Med Cannabis bill HB55470 Hearing in Lansing MI on Tues the 28.the jr deputy of ondcp Scott Burns was there. he kept sayen that smoked marijuana is not an approved medicine, and that the FDA has sole regulatory control over investigating, avaluating and approving medicines. Not State Legislatures and definitely not balot initiatives.the jr Burns gave a short reason for fed oversight of meds. He cited snake oil salesmen of old and told the committee that marijuana wa no different. Like users of 1880's patent nostrums, people smoking marijuana only think they feel better. 
But aside from their anecdotal reports there is no evidence that they really do. They just think they do. But they really don't. Deputy Burns continued his testimony by condemning at length smoking as a drug delivery system. He also induced the biggest laugh of the morning when he reminded the committee that marijuana was the most commonly abused drug by teenagers and in fact accounted for the lions share of rehabilitation center admissions. His concluding comment was to mention that the FDA had not approved smoked marijuana as medicine and FDA regulatory processed are there to protect the public.Rep Lemmons the sponsor of HB5470 first stated that the ONDCP was on record as saying Prohibition was apolitical in nature. Rep Lemmons challenged that assumption and opined that indeed it was all about politics, not souind public policy. He noted that alcohol continues to be a common ingredient in various OTC medications. He then took up the questions.
The Rep wanted to know that if smoking was not an optimal drug delivery system, what about vaporization-- what was the Deputys take on that delivery system.Deputy Burns responded to the Reps first comment . He insisted that alcohol use had brought down apon society a wide range of ills and that Prohibition, be it alcohol or other drugs, is not about politics, its about reducing that damage. He noted that there are an estimated 123 milion alcohol users in the US and less that 1.5 users of illegal drugs. With all the havoc alcohol had wroguth on our culture, "Do we really need pot"?Rep Lemmons noted that cocaine wa a Schedule II drug doctors could prescribe --why not marijuana-- Deputy Burns demurred, citing his lack of medical training or expertise to comment on that particular nuance of the law.The only med knowledge that he couild claim was that the FDA has not approved smoked marijuana.Chirmak Drolet asked what experience other states with med marijuana laws had regarding rising of falling rates of teen use. Deputy Burns replied that teen use was down 20% nationwide. Unfortunately the marijuana teens smoke today is not the marijuana their parents smoked in the 60s and 70s. That marijuana was 1%to 2%THC marijuana today is 8%to 190% BC bud can go a high as 30% Chairman Drolet again asked ho do rates of teen use compair in states that have legalized med use. Deputy Burns reported that simply in no data, any reports on the matter are strictly anecdotal. According to Deputy Burns there have been no studies nor did ne giv the impression tha he was particularly interested in doing any either.Prp Hoogindyk asked has the FDA done any testing on marijuana. Deputy Burns stated yes research had been done, and the Iowa Study concluded that the risks of smoked marijuana clearly outweigh any benefit. The FDA has a system for approving new drugs and smsoked marijuana simply does not beet the criteria.Again Rep Lemmons returned to the question about vaporization as a delivery system. He also said that by legalizing marijuana it would be possible to regulate THC content. Deputy Burns no longer able to dodge the question stated he had no knowledge of vaporization, had never heard of it ansd the bill didn't mention it anyway.after that Irvin Rosenfeld took the stand-- on youtube.commany thanks goes out to MID MI Norml Greg and Tim 
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Comment #12 posted by Hope on December 02, 2006 at 10:16:56 PT
Paul
Got some links to that information?
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Comment #11 posted by paulpeterson on December 02, 2006 at 10:10:25 PT:
1886-pot the first 12 step program
Surprise, surprise, marijuana usage formed the basis of the first 12 step program-in 1886. After the turn of the century, when the alcohol nuts started similar programs, they substituted 12 different cognitive "steps" for the 12 doses of you know what-why? Because with marijuana being demonized by then, they had to get another euphEmism-but they still kept the 12 step thingy, because it was so catchy by then. PAUL PETERSON
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Comment #10 posted by global_warming on November 30, 2006 at 17:30:57 PT
re: And the title could easily have read...
it could be my' namein this placein this filthy placesome unknown addictno names, I Am Addicted To Freedom
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Comment #9 posted by Toker00 on November 30, 2006 at 17:09:35 PT
And the title could easily have read...
Moderate Pot Use Positively Effects Treatment Outcomes For ALCOHOL Dependent Patients, Study Says.Yes, I Danced. Yes, I Inhaled. We are not at War, War is at Us.Toke.
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Comment #8 posted by global_warming on November 30, 2006 at 17:03:08 PT
re: war
My Bigger BombInvites you to a gentle picnicFree food and booze
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Comment #7 posted by global_warming on November 30, 2006 at 16:53:57 PT
are we at war?
who is my enemy?as I walk through the valley of death,may i look into the eyes of freedom
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Comment #6 posted by global_warming on November 30, 2006 at 16:44:39 PT
reaching for the door
to Eternitywhat is behind that door?this is a game,that has a winner.Global WarmingSin and the so many filled prisons,are lined up, so' ready to press that button of FreedomThe One Sun in the sky, rises over all of heads,Twinkle, you saw your eye in some mirror,It was your hand,Always, Here and ForeverTruth, Justice and HonorIf these ideas do not fill your eternal bellyThere is NO seconds, no re-fillscareful where you take a dumpAh yes, tomorrow, it will get better...
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Comment #5 posted by global_warming on November 30, 2006 at 16:19:05 PT
i have inhaled
my eye has been openedthe blood at the foot of that one crosswas my foolish buttonthat i pressed when today
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Comment #4 posted by global_warming on November 30, 2006 at 16:08:02 PT
can you dance ?
all the way, away from that infernal cross, good citizens,did you inhale?
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Comment #3 posted by global_warming on November 30, 2006 at 15:53:05 PT
Ah Yes
The perfect solution, today it is less costly,
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Comment #2 posted by global_warming on November 30, 2006 at 15:35:25 PT
still looking
Can you imagine some place in time, Where it will be crime, against the state' If you smell a flowerLook into some child's eyes
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Comment #1 posted by global_warming on November 30, 2006 at 15:22:31 PT
trying to make connection
This transmission is being broadcast from within these United States, where we have agreed to keep separate, matters of state and church. It is written in our constitution. Moderate Pot Use Positively Effects Treatment Outcomes For Cocaine Dependent Patients, Study SaysPatients With Out-Of-State Medi-Pot Docs Not Protected Under State's Marijuana Law, Washington Supreme Court Rules US Criminal Justice Population Tops 7 MillionBrought to you by NORML http://www.norml.org/How can so many human beings, be so wrong?
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