cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - July 12, 2007





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - July 12, 2007
Posted by CN Staff on July 12, 2007 at 13:22:10 PT
Weekly Press Release 
Source: NORML 
NORML Television Ad Urges Viewers To "Discover A Whole New Outlook On Life" -- ‘No prisons for pot’ commercial now airing in MarylandJuly 12, 2007 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Life moving too fast? Perhaps "Posativa" can help.
That’s the message of a new television commercial sponsored by The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). The 30-second ad spot is modeled after several well-known pharmaceutical commercials, and urges viewers to become involved in the organization’s nationwide efforts to end the criminal prohibition of cannabis.The controversial new ad showcases two young couples enjoying the after-effects of "Posativa," while an off-camera narrator states:"Moving too fast to take the time for the things you really enjoy? ‘Posativa’ can help bring back the pleasure of activities you used to love.Some of the highlights of ‘Posativa’ may include increased appetite … and significantly lower stress.People who take ‘Posativa’ discover a whole new outlook on life.‘Posativa’ may not be right for everyone. Consult your physician today.‘Posativa’ – now you have a choice – a positive choice."The ad concludes with a banner stating "No prisons for pot" and encourages audiences to visit http://www.norml.org for more information.The commercial is running regionally on Antietam Cable (Washington County, MD), which airs in select markets in central Maryland, including Hagerstown and Sharpsburg. NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said that a "longtime NORML donor and businessman donated the resources for the ad buy in hopes of sparking a public debate regarding the need for cannabis law reform in his home state of Maryland – the Free State."Founded in 1970, NORML provides a voice in the public policy debate for those Americans who oppose marijuana prohibition and favor an end to the practice of arresting and prosecuting marijuana smokers.To view the ad, please visit: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7110For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500.Help Air a NORML Ad in Your Community: Donate Today DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7302Texas: Seventy Percent Of All ‘Marijuana Treatment’ Admissions Stem From Arrest, Study SaysJuly 12, 2007 - Austin, TX, USAAustin, TX: Nearly seventy percent of all adults referred to Texas drug treatment programs for cannabis are "legally coerced" into treatment, according to data published online in journal BMC Public Health. Investigators at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia) reported that of the 27,198 adults entered into drug treatment for cannabis between 2000 and 2005, 69 percent of them were referred by the criminal justice system. By contrast, authors reported that only 20 percent of adults voluntarily admitted themselves into treatment, and only six percent were referred to treatment by friends or by members of their family.Authors concluded, "Some 69% of cannabis admissions were involved with the criminal justice system, including those who had a legal status (awaiting trial, diverted to treatment, on probation, parole, or in jail) and those referred to treatment from a criminal justice source (probation, parole, police, or courts)."Investigators noted that adults legally coerced into treatment were "less impaired" upon entering the program than those who entered treatment voluntarily, and were also more likely to complete the program. The study’s state-specific data mimics national statistics indicating that the majority of individuals admitted to drug rehabilitation for marijuana are referred there by the criminal justice system. "Contrary to claims by the Drug Czar’s office, it is the dramatic rise in ‘potent’ marijuana law enforcement – not any increase in the prevalence or alleged dangers of so-called ‘potent’ pot – that is driving America’s rates of marijuana 'treatment' admissions to record levels," NORML Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano said. He added: "Few of the individuals in drug ‘treatment’ for cannabis are there because they or their families believe that their marijuana use is adversely impacting their lives. Rather, most of these individuals are arrested for possessing minor amounts of pot and are referred to drug treatment by the courts as either an alternative to jail or as a requirement of their probation. At a time when tens of thousands of Americans are being denied access to drug treatment due to a lack of bed space or federal funding, it is unconscionable that these clinics are bursting at the seams needlessly housing minor marijuana offenders."According to US FBI data, approximately 95 percent of all marijuana arrests in Texas are for misdemeanor possession.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at: paul norml.org Full text of the study, "Cannabis treatment outcomes among legally coerced and non-coerced adults," is available online from BioMed Central at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/7/111/abstractDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7303Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: July 12, 2007Copyright: 2007 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml 
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Comment #7 posted by rchandar on July 13, 2007 at 06:45:40 PT:
Ahh, yes...
Yes, I can remember the treatment days. I was staying at a halfway house in Missouri, waiting for my sentence.I walked in to one of the "classes," where an old geezer prick was talking about the movie he was going to show about "marijuana and all the bad things it does to you." There were about fourteen clients, and two of them had arranged the chairs together so that they could sleep through it. Amidst the gossiping and loud talking, and some jeering of the broadcast, I watched. Apparently marijuana damages your lungs by "turning them black." It was a very inconclusive and meaningless video; i think it was called "Marijuana in the 90s." A lot of times people come to treatment simply because they've been arrested and the program was mandated. Sometimes the "lectures" are a complete joke, with one "teacher" lecturing students on how MJ turns off receptors, encourages smokers to eat bad food, and "turns them into turkeys." Some counselors are sincere, but most of them are either condescending or completely comical in their very free interpretations of human physiology.I read once on CN about a guy herded into treatment in Michigan, where he was offered the only rehab in the county--a Pentecostal institution. Being Catholic, he complained to his probation officer about the religious difference, but was instructed that the treatment was "his only way" out of jail. Definitely the current state of treatment and rehabilitation is not very good; it's noticeably tone-deaf to the tremendous diversity of souls that "need help."One time, we got a Native American who was there for alcoholism. Man, he was a gas; he was constantly telling the rehab counselor that he was "proud" to say he had been smoking pot "for 20 years" and had "no problems whatsoever." Meanwhile, an African-American woman used the rehab facility to fall in love with someone (and I was miffed because I had hit on her too), and came back one day swearing that MJ "was a medicinal plant." Turnover rates and relapsing at many drug rehabs are very high, and many participants are looking for people to hook up with and hear about detox kits which will allow them to keep on smokin'. It was an eye-opening experience for me.They did do a few good things, though, like play us tapes of former addicts; a few times they even administered acupuncture. Treatment can work, yet it's obvious that they're way underfunded for the kinds of problems that these people have. At every cigarette break, you could see the police cars driving by, slowly, lights on to effect that glowing sneer. Not to say they were glad we were there, but a waiting, menacing threat from the lawmen.--rchandar
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 06:31:32 PT
 ripit
Thank you for your comment. I really can't imagine anyone feeling a need to go to re-hab for cannabis since it isn't a drug that causes physical withdrawal pain when they stop smoking it.
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Comment #5 posted by ripit on July 13, 2007 at 05:25:43 PT:
here in idaho
i am currently being forced to attend rehab and over half the ppl there r in for cannabis and the rest are there for meth and all r court ordered.and so far in the last 5 months not a single 1 was there voluntarily!
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Comment #4 posted by ekim on July 12, 2007 at 18:40:55 PT
public comment in three US cities
http://www.miagbiz.org/index.aspx?ascxid=fpQfStory&fpsid=29115&fpstid=1
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced the availability Thursday of a draft environmental impact statement that evaluates potential revisions to existing regulations regarding the importation, interstate movement and environmental release of genetically engineered organisms. 
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on July 12, 2007 at 18:14:10 PT
70% Coerced
From the last article on the bulletin...Nearly seventy percent of all adults referred to Texas drug treatment programs for cannabis are "legally coerced" into treatment, according to data published online in journal BMC Public Health.But...Johnny Pee wouldn't mislead us, would he? THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Want To Win This Information War Fast? Here's How:
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http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/11415.html9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB - OUR NATION IS IN PERIL:
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Comment #2 posted by Sukoi on July 12, 2007 at 17:11:23 PT
Whoops...
That would be the History International Channel; Direct TV channel 271...
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Comment #1 posted by Sukoi on July 12, 2007 at 17:04:19 PT
"Drugs at the Border"
For those interested, "Drugs at the Border" is on right now on the History channel... 
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