cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - June 12, 2008










  NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - June 12, 2008

Posted by CN Staff on June 12, 2008 at 05:17:13 PT
Weekly Press Release 
Source: NORML 

  California: Attorney General To Appeal Kelly Decision June 11, 2008 - San Francisco, CA, USSan Francisco, CA: State Attorney General Jerry Brown announced last week that he will challenge a recent Court of Appeals decision that prohibits legislators from imposing limits on the amount of medical marijuana patients may legally possess under state law. 
The decision (People v. Kelly) struck down a 2004 law that sought to amend the California's voter-approved initiative, Proposition 215, which legalized the possession, use, and cultivation of specified quantities of medical cannabis. In 2003, the California Legislature approved guidelines establishing a statewide cap on the amount of cannabis patients may possess. Last month, the California Court of Appeals ruled that the legislature lacked the constitutional authority to amend a law that had been enacted by the voters. The Court determined: "The Legislature's imposition of quantity limits in section 11362.77 … amends [Proposition 215.] Section 11362.77 imposes a numeric cap where [Proposition 215] imposed none. … [Proposition 215's failure to specify] reasonable and established quantity guidelines … may be a valid concern. Nevertheless, it is a concern that cannot be addressed by the Legislature acting without the voter's approval." Brown said that the 1996 voter-approved initiative was ambiguous and that the Legislature's amendment was a reasonable effort to clarify it. "The proposition is not as clear as we would like," Brown told the Los Angeles Times. "You do not need an unlimited quantity of marijuana for medicine. But what is the quantity?" Brown said that he supports the spirit of Proposition 215, but believes that limitations must be imposed by the legislature in order to curb potential abuses by drug traffickers and provide guidelines for law enforcement.For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the California Court of Appeals decision, People v. Kelly, is available online at: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B195624.PDFDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7621  Scotland: Government Think-Tank Backs Taxing And Regulating Cannabis  June 12, 2008 - Edinburgh, ScotlandEdinburgh, Scotland: Taxing and regulating the sale of cannabis would reduce many of the social hazards associated with the use of pot and other illicit substances, according to a study released this week by the Scottish think-tank, Futures Forum. “Sending people to prison for low-level alcohol and drug-related crime is unproductive and … unsustainable,” the report concluded. “There should be in place a new approach to regulation in Scotland and elsewhere, based on evidence, whereby regulation of all psychoactive substances - including currently illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco, prescribed medicines and other legal drugs - will be governed by a single framework, which takes into account their different levels of potential risk.” The Forum recommended that this “new approach” should include a system for taxing and regulating cannabis sales - arguing that legalizing the drug would sever its association with other illicit substances. The Forum's recommendations come just weeks after British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced plans to reclassify cannabis to a Class B 'hard' drug. Upgrading cannabis' classification would increase the penalties for minor pot possession from a verbal warning (under current law) to up to five years in jail. The Futures Forum is a body of experts created by the Scottish Parliament to advise legislators on various public policy issues, including drug and alcohol abuse. A spokesperson for the Scottish government criticized the report's findings, saying that there is “no reasonable case” for legalizing cannabis.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul norml.orgFull text of the report, “Approaches to Alcohol and Drugs in Scotland: A Question of Architecture,” is available online at: http://www.scotlandfutureforum.org/assets/files/report.pdfDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7620  Portable Oral-Fluid Tests Still Unreliable For Pot, Study Says June 12, 2008 - Ghent, BelgiumGhent, Belgium: Saliva testing is neither a "practical" nor a "reliable" way for detecting the past use of cannabis, according to a scientific review published in the journal Therapeutic Drug Monitoring. "Reliable point-of-care drug testing is still problematic, especially for cannabinoids and benzodiazepines," authors determined. "To date, there is no device that allows both reliable and practical point-of-care testing." A 2007 review of ten oral fluid devices reached a similar conclusion. Of the ten devices tested, six recorded either false negative or false positive test results for marijuana's primary psychoactive compound THC. Five devices also recorded false positive results for the presence of marijuana's primary inactive metabolite, carboxy-THC (THC-COOH). Previous evaluations of onsite oral fluid tests have also determined the technology to be unreliable for detecting recent cannabis use, particularly when administered at roadside checkpoints. Several European nations and a handful of US states are evaluating the use of such devices by law enforcement to identify motorists who may be driving under the influence of marijuana or other controlled substances.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul norml.org Full text of the study, "Current developments in drug testing in oral fluid," appears in the April issue of Therapeutic Drug Monitor.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7622Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: June 12, 2008Copyright: 2008 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml 

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Comment #6 posted by FoM on June 12, 2008 at 15:53:15 PT
cannabiscowboy 
Welcome to CNews. I went ahead and removed the extra post. That happens sometime to about everyone.
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Comment #4 posted by cannabiscowboy on June 12, 2008 at 13:40:43 PT:

Atty General Browns Prop.215 Limits
  Atty. General Brown should know the liability, both financially and criminally, for practicing medicine without a license. The amount of Clinical Cannabis is the concern of the patient and their physicians only. 
  Paragraph "C" of Prop.215 specifically covers safe and affordable distribution, encouraging arrangements for AMPLE SUPPLY. We have shown that we can do this and our only problem is Grand Theft by the D.E.A. Brown should spend his time implimenting the law so as to bridge the gap between California Law and Federal Law and enforce our sovereign right to be self governing in regards to our Health Rights Issues,[ GONZALES vs.ODWDA(Oregons Death With Dignity Act) ]. In which the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that Congress never granted such wide authority or power to the D.O.J. when they passed the Controlled Substance Abuse Act in 1970.
   There is not any Interstate Commerce involved or implied in Prop.215 which is now CAL.PUB.Health and Safety Code 11362.5.and therefore it is exempt from Federal Authority........That is unless there is a clause in The Homeland Security Act that removed States Individual Governing Rights and we have not yet been informed of it.
   So let S.A.G.Brown invoke our current Law and leave the modifying and making of law to our State Legislature. Our Elected Officials need to concentrate on their jobs and not meddle in the affairs of others. Thats what they are being paid for in the first place.RIGHT?===ROBERT(cannabiscowboy)SCHMIDT===
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on June 12, 2008 at 08:57:45 PT

Ohio News
Owner Of Home Where 2 Firefighters Died Sentenced On Pot ChargesJune 12, 2008Drug-Growing Operation Didn't Spark Fatal FireURL: http://www.wlwt.com/news/16585273/detail.html

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Comment #2 posted by museman on June 12, 2008 at 07:26:46 PT

here's some "guidelines for law enforcement"
#1. Get Real.#2. Get a real job.#3. Go back to school and take Humanity 101.or#4. Get the hell out of my reality.
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Comment #1 posted by ripit on June 12, 2008 at 07:04:31 PT:

they need...
to point out to the scotts that there is no reasonable case not to legalize!
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