cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - September 20, 2007





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - September 20, 2007
Posted by CN Staff on September 20, 2007 at 12:06:01 PT
Weekly Press Release 
Source: NORML 
Members Of Congress Demand DEA Allow For The Private Production Of PotSeptember 20, 2007 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Forty-five members of Congress signed a letter this week demanding that the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) allow private sources to manufacture cannabis for FDA-approved clinical research.
The bipartisan letter, addressed to DEA Administrator Karen Tandy, urges the agency to abide by a February 2007 ruling by DEA Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner that found that the private production of pot is "in the public interest." Bittner’s ruling was in response to the DEA’s rejection of a 2001 application by the University of Massachusetts (UMass) at Amherst that sought permission to manufacture cannabis for FDA-approved clinical protocols. Because Judge Bittner’s 2007 ruling is non-binding, the DEA has no deadline to act on it.Under current policy, all federally approved research on marijuana must utilize cannabis supplied by and grown under contract with the US†National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). By contrast, other controlled substances – including LSD, heroin, and MDMA (Ecstasy) – are available to researchers from multiple private manufacturers.In 2004, the agency's director, Nora Volkow, stated that it is "not NIDA's mission to study the medical uses of marijuana." NIDA’s "monopoly [is] unjustified, since federal law clearly requires adequate competition in the manufacture of Schedule I and Schedule II [controlled] substances," the Congressional letter states. "The University of Massachusetts-Amherst is one of the most distinguished research universities, and it is highly qualified to manufacture marijuana for legitimate medical and research purposes. … We urge you to accept Judge Bittner’s recommendation … so that … legitimate and privately-funded scientific research will be conducted."Representatives John Olver (D-MA) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) co-sponsored the letter. Massachusetts Senators John Kerry (D) and Edward Kennedy (D) have previously written the DEA in support of the UMass proposal. For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500 or visit: http://www.maps.orgText of the Olver/Rohrabacher letter is available online at: http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/31861leg20070918.htmlDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7366Defense Contractors Awarded Billions To Assist Drug WarSeptember 20, 2007 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Federal contracts totaling $15 billion dollars have been awarded to five US defense contractors – including Raytheon and Lockheed Martin – to pay for counter-narcotics efforts overseas, according to a recent report published online by GovernmentExecutive.com. "Contractors shall provide security and related services in support of counter-narcoterrorism," the article states. "Due to the rapid adaptability of the counter-narcoterrorist threat, special federal government spending authorities are [now] available" on behalf on the Pentagon’s Counter-Narcoterrorism Technology Program Office.The contractors will provide equipment, material and services to the Pentagon’s counter-narcotics program, a separate Washington Post article states. The program develops and deploys "technology that aids in disrupting, deterring, and denying the flow of [illegal] drugs, people, information, money, and weapons related to illegal drug trafficking and narcoterrorism."The size and scope of the contracts highlight the expanded role private contractors are now playing in federal anti-drug efforts, reports GovernmentExecutive.com.Contract awardees include Raytheon Technical Services Company, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Arinc Inc., and Blackwater USA."The awarding of these contracts illustrates once again that the federal government’s so-called ‘war on drugs’ is not rhetorical," NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said. "To politicians and federal bureaucrats, the drug war is just as ‘real’ as America’s current military efforts in Iraq or Afghanistan – though most Americans remain unaware that billions of their hard-earned dollars are being siphoned to pay for these so-called ‘anti-drug’ operations conducted by corporate mercenaries."For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the GovernmentExecutive.com story is available online at: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0907/091207kp1.htmDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7367Cannabis May Offer Alzheimer’s Hope, Study SaysSeptember 20, 2007 - Dublin, , IrelandDublin, Ireland: Marijuana compounds offer an alternative approach for treating the neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to a forthcoming review in the British Journal of Pharmacology.Investigators at the Trinity College, Institute for Neuroscience in Dublin report that cannabinoids have been shown to protect neurons from the deleterious effects of amyloid plaque – the primary pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s. Cannabinoids also demonstrate a propensity to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, while also promoting neurogenesis (the birth of new neuronal cells), authors report. Authors write: "In recent years the proclivity of cannabinoids to exert a neuroprotective influence has received substantial interest as a means to mitigate the symptoms of neurodegenerative conditions. … [C]annabinoids offer a multi-faceted approach for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease by providing neuroprotection and reducing neuroinflammation, whilst simultaneously supporting the brain's intrinsic repair mechanisms by augmenting neurotrophin expression and enhancing neurogenesis. … Manipulation of the cannabinoid pathway offers a pharmacological approach for the treatment of AD that may be efficacious than current treatment regimens."Preclinical studies have demonstrated that cannabinoids can delay disease progression in animal models of several neurodegenerative diseases, including multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease).For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at: paul norml.org Full text of the study, "Alzheimer's disease: taking the edge off with cannabinoids?" will appear in the British Journal of Pharmacology. Full text of the study appears online at: http://www.nature.com/bjp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/0707446a.html.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7368Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: September 20, 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 Toker00 on September 21, 2007 at 19:04:55 PT
Greenspan confronted and exposed.
This is a very good video.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5wfNnV6vTUToke.
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Comment #6 posted by Toker00 on September 21, 2007 at 18:19:13 PT
runruff
Rest. Relax. Peace. Comfort. Home. Sanity. Linda. SLEEP.Toke.
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Comment #5 posted by Toker00 on September 21, 2007 at 18:08:08 PT
Related
Supplying weapons to the enemy?http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070922/ap_on_go_co/us_blackwater_probe_2Toke.
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Comment #4 posted by mayan on September 20, 2007 at 17:59:37 PT
Relative
180,000 private contractors flood Iraq:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070919/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_outsourcing_the_war_1Blackwater Banned In Iraq; See The Short Film That Exposes These War Profiteers:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cliff-schecter/blackwater-banned-in-iraq_b_64730.html
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on September 20, 2007 at 16:38:43 PT
Defense Contractors
Since most of our military is bogged down in illegal wars, private defense contractors may soon be responsible for policing the streets of America in the event of an emergency or another inside job. These mercenaries are nothing but hateful,trigger happy lemmings who can't think for themselves. They are evil men if there is anything evil in this world.Runruff, what comes around goes around and the fascists will certainly get theirs good.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 20, 2007 at 14:41:19 PT
runruff
Take care of yourself and I am so happy you will be able to see Linda soon. 
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Comment #1 posted by runruff on September 20, 2007 at 14:19:54 PT:
Jus' that ol' gang of mine.
You all make me feel wonderful. Almost two years of being treated like a dog at the hands of facists pigs. They don't care what you are in for. We were counted and herded 24 hours a day. I felt like I was on another planet. A very hostile planet. Right now I am a post and run communicator.
I am not allowed to stop and use the internet on my daily outings. I will be going home in three weeks. Meanwhile I will get to see my wife now and then. You are right Judge Aikin's nasty little plan did not work. Nothing in this evil facsist government is working. Not to mention the war on herbs. In the BoP we had a saying "Backward on Purpose". When they screw it up they just get more money to fix it.
I can't write much more right now but I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. Those of you who contributed resources to our cause made the pain lessened to a great degree. You know who you are, we are forever greatful. God bless you. I now know the DEA is even more evil than ever I imagined. They are so skilled at PR while they are involved in every UnAmerican, unholy. illegal and evil activity imaginable. I can't believe this cancer thrives in our, so called, democracy. They all should be tried for crimes against humanity [alongside the Bushdevil]
and spend the rest of their worthless days in the very prisons they have themselves created.
I,ll be in touch whenever I can.
Happy trails!
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