cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - November 21, 2007 NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - November 21, 2007 Posted by CN Staff on November 21, 2007 at 12:43:27 PT Weekly Press Release Source: NORML Decriminalizing Pot Will Reduce Prison Population, Have No Adverse Impact On Public Safety, Study Says November 21, 2007 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Decriminalizing so-called ‘victimless’ crimes, particularly those related to drug use, can reduce the US prison population without adversely affecting public safety, according to the findings of a study published this week by the JFA Institute, a Washington, DC criminal-justice think tank. “According to the US Department of Justice, approximately 30-40 percent of all current prison admissions involve crimes that have no direct or obvious victim other than the perpetrator,” the report finds. “The drug category constitutes the largest offense category, with 31 percent of all prison admissions resulting from such crimes.”Previous data released last year by the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicates that 12.7 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for drug violations are serving time for marijuana offenses.The report states, “Violence that surrounds drug trafficking in the United States is largely absent” in Western European countries that have liberalized their drug possession policies. The authors further note that the decriminalization of drugs, particularly marijuana, in regions that have enacted such reforms has not been associated with an increase in crime rates.The report speculates that decriminalizing illicit drugs, along with enacting modest reforms in sentencing and parole, would save taxpayers an estimated $20 billion per year and reduce the prison population from 1.5 million to below 700,000. Currently, more than 1.5 million Americans are serving time in state and federal prisons, up from fewer than 200,000 in 1970. (Another 750,000 Americans are incarcerated in local jails.) Yet, despite this increase in incarceration, the US crime rate today is approximately the same as it was in the early 70s, when the prison boom began.A previous JFA report, commissioned for the NORML Foundation in 2005, concluded that depenalizing minor marijuana possession offenses would not increase marijuana use and would enable law enforcement to reallocate criminal justice resources toward addressing more serious crimes.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the study, “Unlocking America: Why and How to Reduce America’s Prison Population” is available online at: http://www.jfa-associates.com/publications/DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7434 Pot Compound May Offer “Non-Toxic” Alternative To Chemotherapy November 21, 2007 - San Francisco, CA, USASan Francisco, CA: Administration of the nonpsychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) inhibits the spread of breast cancer, according to preclinical data published this month in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.Investigators at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute reported that CBD limits the activity of the breast cancer metastasis gene Id-1. Researchers noted that CBD down-regulated Id-1 expression in human breast cancer cells more effectively than did the administration of the cannabinoids THC, CBG (cannabigerol), and CBN (cannabinol) and/or the synthetic cannabinoid agonist WIN 55,212-2.“[Cannabidiol] offers hope of a non-toxic therapy that could [treat aggressive forms of cancer] without any of the painful side effects [of chemotherapy,]” lead researcher Sean McAllister told BBC News. Investigators added that CBD could potentially moderate the spread of other common forms of cancers, including colon cancer and prostate cancer, by modulating similar pathways.Researchers at Italy's Instuto di Chemica Biomolecolare had previously reported that CBD administration moderated the spread of breast cancer cells by triggering apoptosis (programmed cell death).Separate studies have demonstrated that cannabinoids can inhibit cancer cell growth in animals and in culture on a wide range of tumoral cell lines – including pancreatic carcinoma and lung carcinoma.Most recently, investigators at Madrid's Complutense University, School of Biology, reported in the British Journal of Cancer that THC administration decreases recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (brain) tumor growth in patients diagnosed with the disease.Previous preclinical trials on CBD have shown the compound to be neuroprotective against alcohol-induced brain damage, stroke, and mad cow disease.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at: paul norml.org Full text of the study, “Cannabidiol as a novel inhibitor of Id-1 gene expression in aggressive breast cancer cells,” appears in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. Additional information regarding cannabinoids and cancer is available in the NORML White paper "Cannabinoids as Cancer Hope," available online at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6814DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7433Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: November 21, 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 #6 posted by Richard Zuckerman on November 22, 2007 at 19:14:53 PT: AFTERBURNER: I installed and played the 3 Stooges song you include in your Comment. Thank you for your thoughtful tune! Pass a loud and smelly one for me, will ya'? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by afterburner on November 22, 2007 at 08:09:29 PT A Great Song -- Only in U.S., Pity! Give Thanks (2:18) Free The Three Stooges Music Online, Music Downloads, Music Videos and Lyrics - Rhapsody Online http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.2399884&variant=playEnjoy.I have it on vinyl, and I was hoping to hear it today to celebrate American Thankgiving. However, this link is not available outside the U.S.A. So, at least I can share it with my cnews cyber-friends. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on November 22, 2007 at 06:30:58 PT Truth Happy Thanksgiving to you too! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Truth on November 22, 2007 at 04:34:22 PT Happy Thanksgiving Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Think how good things will be when we end this civil war against ourselves. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by mayan on November 21, 2007 at 18:27:24 PT runruff All the king's men can't keep the cannabis plant down forever. We will be forced to utilize it out of sheer necessity. There is hope...Zogby Analyst Says Ron Paul Strongest Contender to Beat Hillary: http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2007/211107_beat_hillary.htmTHE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN..."The Rhetorical PSYOP of 9/11": http://911blogger.com/node/12625S. 1959 Must be stopped: http://911blogger.com/node/12632The Second Annual Boston Tea Party and Conference for 9/11 Truth! December 15,16: http://boston911truth.org/teaparty/9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB - OUR NATION IS IN PERIL: http://www.911sharethetruth.com/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by runruff on November 21, 2007 at 16:17:55 PT: Criminal knowledge. Stuff here they already know. Stuff they don't want to become common knowledge. Who are the "they" I'm refering to? The "theys" in the criminal justice system. Many lawyers and judges. Many of the old timers in congress. People who are in the upper tiers of the DEA. Many people in powerful positions. This war on cannabis has become so convoluted it's corrupt nature is many layers and muliti-interest thick. A testement to the value and many applications of this wonderful plant. "And God created the seed bearing herb and saw that it was good." [ Post Comment ] Post Comment