cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - July 19, 2007 NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - July 19, 2007 Posted by CN Staff on July 20, 2007 at 07:48:33 PT Weekly Press Release Source: NORML Landlords of Los Angeles Medi-Pot Dispensaries Threatened With Forfeiture, 20 Years in PrisonJuly 19, 2007 - Los Angeles, CA, USALos Angeles, CA: The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has sent letters to the landlords of several medical cannabis facilities in Los Angeles warning owners that they risk arrest and the loss of their property if they continue renting to cannabis dispensaries. A spokeswoman for the DEA told the Los Angeles Times that the letters were intended to "educate" property owners that they could face federal prosecution for housing medical marijuana dispensaries. It is estimated that approximately 180 dispensaries are operating in the Los Angeles area."This letter shall serve as notice that, after a thorough investigation, the DEA has determined there is a marijuana dispensary operating on the above described property," the letter states. "Federal law allows for the seizure of assets, including real property, which have been used in conjunction with the distribution of controlled substances. … It is not a defense to this crime or to the seizure of the property that the facility operating on the property is providing ‘medical marijuana’ under California law including the provisions of California Prop. 215. Violation of this law is a felony crime, and carries with it a penalty of up to 20 years in prison."California NORML Coordinator Dale Gieringer called the DEA’s threat a "a serious attack on patients' access to medical marijuana under California law," and noted that the letters were mailed just days before the federal House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on an amendment limiting the US Justice Department’s ability to federally prosecute patients and caregivers who are compliant with state medical marijuana laws.For more information, please contact Dale Gieringer, California NORML Coordinator, at (415) 563-5858 or visit: http://www.canorml.orgDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7309Willie Nelson To Headline August 10, 2007 NORML Benefit Concert -- Join NORML at the Austin Freedom Fest in Texas to Help End Marijuana ProhibitionJuly 19, 2007 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Country music legend and NORML Advisory Board Co-Chair Willie Nelson will be headlining the 2007 Austin Freedom Fest – a benefit concert to help end marijuana prohibition in America. Tickets for this special event – which takes place on Friday, August 10, at The Backyard Amphitheater in Austin, Texas – are available for purchase online at: www.gettix.net. Also performing at the Freedom Fest will be veteran country music artists Asleep at the Wheel, blues guitarist Carolyn Wonderland, and comedian Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling.The event will be hosted by NFL pro-bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion (with the Dallas Cowboys) Mark Stepnoski. Mr. Stepnoski also serves on NORML’s Advisory Board. Additional members of NORML’s staff and board of directors – including Advisory Board member Valerie Corral-Leveroni – co-founder of the Wo/mens Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Santa Cruz, California – will also be in attendance."Willie Nelson has been the most prominent proponent for legalizing marijuana in America for several decades, and he has never wavered from his commitment," said NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre. "The 2007 Austin Freedom Fest is a wonderful opportunity for NORML supporters to gather for a celebration in a unique, and to demonstrate their support for ending America’s laws criminalizing cannabis." The Backyard Amphitheater has been called the "Best Open Air Venue" by The Austin Chronicle, and the "Best Place to Hear Live Music" by Citysearch.com. Proceeds from the benefit will be used to assist the educational and legislative reform activities of NORML and the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). One-third of the night’s proceeds will also be used to support WAMM’s hospice and support services.Additional event and ticket information may be found online at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5602 & http://www.austinfreedomfest.comNORML is holding a few rooms for our out-of-town guests at the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown. The hotel can be reached at 512-476-3700. Please ask for the NORML room block.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7307Oral Pill Arrests Marijuana ‘High,’ Study SaysJuly 19, 2007 - Baltimore, MD, USABaltimore, MD: Daily administration of the oral cannabinoid receptor antagonist Rimonabant (also known as Acomplia) significantly decreases subjective effects of smoked cannabis, according to clinical trial data to be published in the journal Psychopharmacology.Investigators with the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) reported that the administration of 40-mg oral doses of Rimonabant once daily for eight days reduced subjective measures of intoxication after cannabis inhalation, as measured by subjects’ responses to the questions: "How high do you feel right now?" and "How stoned on marijuana are you now?" By contrast, daily administration of the drug for 15 days was not associated with an attenuation of cannabis’ subjective effects, researchers found.Nevertheless, authors speculated that the drug may have "therapeutic potential for a wide range of addictions, including cannabis dependence … via modulation of the endocannabinoid system." Rimonabant blocks the binding of endogenous and exogenous cannabinoids to the neuronal CB1 receptors. The pill, marketed in Europe by pharmaceutical manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis as a prescription dietary aid, was recently determined by an independent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel to be unsafe for human consumption. Panelists for the FDA reported that patients prescribed 20-mg daily doses of Rimonabant in clinical trials experienced increased incidences of depression, nausea, vomiting, and suicidal tendencies. Adverse neurological symptoms, including multiple sclerosis, have also been documented in subjects administered the drug. For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at: paul norml.org Full text of the study, "Single and multiple doses of rimonabant antagonize acute effects of smoked cannabis in male volunteers," will appear in the journal Psychopharmacology.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7308Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: July 19, 2007Copyright: 2007 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 #16 posted by Hope on July 21, 2007 at 07:21:09 PT Oh My Lord. I just realized who the ONDCP will be treating with Rimonabant. Prisoners, parolees, and probationers and those forced into rehab. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by Hope on July 21, 2007 at 07:17:07 PT Wayne Your idea about putting them to work at the border has some merits. A lot, in fact.But the longer this goes on, the more I'd like to see each of them receive a really good beating and then imprisoned in their own gulags for ten or fifteen, or more, years each.I'm running out of tolerance for their meanness and impudence and the blight and expense that they are. They kill even children, innocent children, and get away with it. They're such monsters I tend to think they would even make dangerous border guards. They would think they were there to destroy, maim, and kill...not just to turn people back.They probably need to be re-educated or rehabilitated before they can do anything worthwhile.If we could post pictures here, I'd like to end this comment with a small portrait of Ashley Villareal. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by Wayne on July 20, 2007 at 21:30:56 PT p.s. And if that turns out not to be a popular idea, then I'm all for sending them to Iraq. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by Wayne on July 20, 2007 at 21:30:16 PT Re: Hope #12 Here's a wild idea I had today, Hope... I don't know if it will be entirely popular among this crowd, but it's my two cents:Everyone these days seems to be screaming about illegal immigrants flooding across our borders, and our lovely Congress has decided not to touch the issue with a 10-foot pole for the next 2 years. Why not put all of the DEA agents in the country down there? They're so gung-ho about stopping drugs, why not put them on the front lines stopping the source of all the ill-willed traffickers? That would bolster the border patrol by about 4,000-5,000 guards or so (which is EXACTLY what they need), it would stop all of the harmful stuff like cocaine & crack, cheese heroin, and meth from coming across (so that we could concentrate on growing cannabis on our own), and...most importantly...it would get them out of OUR hair and out of the lives of the AIDS and cancer patients and dispensary owners and caretakers, and start tackling real problems.It's not an ideal situation (i.e., getting rid of them altogether), but it would be, I think, a widely popular proposal that would kill two birds with one stone. It would at least give the DEA something constructive to do while we figure out a way to be rid of them.Personally I hate the DEA with a passion, but I believe that illegal immigration is a problem that needs solving, and soon. Again, it's not an ideal situation, but it's more constructive than what we have now.I would welcome any comments or criticism regarding this idea, and that goes for everyone. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by Hope on July 20, 2007 at 13:27:29 PT End marijuana prohibition in America! Now! Before prohibition kills or destroys someone else!Send the DEA and the ONDCP to war in Iraq. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Hope on July 20, 2007 at 13:23:15 PT Perhaps first... They should take it themselves...just to be sure they don't get a trace of that cannabinoid euphoric effect from even within their own bodies. Seems they'd rather a person have Multiple Sclerosis than a little euphoria. How intelligent is that? Every time I think they can't be more stupid and more cruel... they do something else...like this.What is their obsession with wanting to destroy people who enjoy or need cannabis? They'd cover themselves in scorpions to protect themselves from a lamb, I'm sure. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on July 20, 2007 at 13:13:41 PT Hope Maybe he cancelled his tour and will concentrate on Farm-Aid and benefit concerts instead. At Farm Aid he gets a lot of support by the other musicians and he is really loved. If you do good in life, life will treat you good when you need it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Hope on July 20, 2007 at 13:13:03 PT ONDCP and Rimonabant If they try to force anyone to take that stuff...or even approve of it...they're through.Worthless, evil, wicked prohibitionists! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Hope on July 20, 2007 at 13:09:38 PT Willie Nelson! Thank you! Such good news! "Country music legend and NORML Advisory Board Co-Chair Willie Nelson will be headlining the 2007 Austin Freedom Fest – a benefit concert to help end marijuana prohibition in America."So good! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by whig on July 20, 2007 at 11:54:39 PT Calling Doctor Mengele White courtesy telephone. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by whig on July 20, 2007 at 11:53:57 PT unbelievable "Panelists for the FDA reported that patients prescribed 20-mg daily doses of Rimonabant in clinical trials experienced increased incidences of depression, nausea, vomiting, and suicidal tendencies. Adverse neurological symptoms, including multiple sclerosis, have also been documented in subjects administered the drug."This should never have been administered to humans. Where are the animal safety studies? Are you telling me they are deliberately giving people MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS and someone isn't being prosecuted for crimes against humanity? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by PatrioticDissension on July 20, 2007 at 08:47:45 PT ms treatment IF blocking endogenous cannibinoids can CAUSE MS, would it not be fair to assume that doing the opposite - taking cannibinoids by smoking marijuana would treat or even potentially cure MS. I think this could be used to prove marijuana's efficacy in treating MS. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by PatrioticDissension on July 20, 2007 at 08:38:31 PT scientists Being a scientists today is no longer about proving whats true regardless if you like it, it's about proving what you WANT to be true. Either the government or (corrupt) scientists will manipulate the data to have the outcome they wish it to. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by sam adams on July 20, 2007 at 08:28:46 PT Evil afoot Why is someone still publishing on Rimonabant? I thought we all just found out it was too toxic to ever be used in humans.Oh, here sonny, you seem to keep getting high - take some of this, you might get MS, don't worry about it.The sad thing about humanity is that evil has money - lots of money. How else could you explain the millions that must have been spent researching & developing what can only be called a monstrous drug. Imagine the poor bastards lured into doing the study, who now have MS or are at risk for it. Looks like Dr. Mengele is alive and well today, in the form of hundreds and thousands of greedy and corrupt "scientists" [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by PatrioticDissension on July 20, 2007 at 08:11:28 PT: rimonabant Thank you Rimonabant for PROVING that cannabinoids are not only beneficial to the body but NECESSARY. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by afterburner on July 20, 2007 at 08:06:49 PT 2 from the Great White North CN ON: Marijuana Possession Ruling May Cause Some 'Confusion', Metro, (17 Jul 2007) http://www.mapinc.org/newstcl/v07/n864/a10.html?176Canada: PUB LTE: Stupid Pot Laws (II), National Post, (19 Jul 2007) http://www.mapinc.org/newstcl/v07/n868/a03.html?176 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment