cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - February 19, 2009





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - February 19, 2009
Posted by CN Staff on February 19, 2009 at 11:42:02 PT
Weekly Press Release
Source: NORML
 Zogby Poll: Nearly Six Out Of Ten West Coast Voters Support Taxing And Regulating Marijuana Like Alcohol - National Support For Pot Legalization Grows To 44 Percent February 19, 2009 - San Francisco, CA, USASan Francisco, CA: A majority of west coast voters support regulating the sale of marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol, according to national poll of 1,053 likely voters by Zogby International and commissioned by California NORML and Oaksterdam University.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents residing on the west coast agree that cannabis should be "taxed and legally regulated like alcohol and cigarettes." Only thirty-six percent of west coast respondents oppose regulating the sale of marijuana for adults.Nationally, support for taxing and regulating cannabis stands at 44 percent. Among likely voters on the east coast, 48 percent endorse legalizing marijuana. Respondents' support fell to approximately 37 percent in the southern and central regions of the United States.In January, a national CBS/New York Times poll reported that 41 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana – up from just 27 percent in 1979.Responding to the latest Zogby poll, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said, "Public support for replacing the illicit marijuana market with a legally regulated, controlled market similar to alcohol, complete with age restrictions and quality controls, continues to grow, and appears to have achieved majority support on the west coast – where many voters are already familiar with the state-licensed use and, in some cases, sale of medical cannabis."He added, "As voters and legislators continue to look for alternative ways to raise tax revenue for public services and reduce law enforcement costs in this troubled economy, we expect the public's support for taxing and regulating cannabis to continue to grow -- not just on the west coast, but nationwide." Nationally, younger voters age 18 to 29 are most likely (55 percent) to support regulating pot. Older voters age 50 to 64 are nearly evenly divided (48 percent) in their support for legalization. The poll found that a majority of registered Democrat voters (53 percent) back taxing cannabis, versus only 32 percent of Republicans.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or Dale Gieringer, California NORML Coordinator, at (415) 563-5858.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7806Congressman Introduces Bill Criminalizing Products Designed To "Defraud" Drug Tests  February 19, 2009 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY), along with Reps. Peter Defazio (D-OR), Jean Schmidt (R-OH) and Lee Terry (R-NE), has introduced legislation in Congress to criminalize the production and sale of any commercial products intended to influence drug test results, such as diuretic teas or chemical adulterants. The bill, H.R. 858, is now before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.As introduced, the proposal would "prohibit the manufacture, marketing, sale, or shipment in interstate commerce of products designed ... to produce a false or misleading outcome of a test for the presence of a controlled substance."More than a dozen states have enacted similar laws.Of the tens of millions of workplace drug tests performed annually in the United States, an estimated 90 percent are urine tests, which may be influenced by dilution or adding an adulterant to the sample. Over the past decade, numerous commercial businesses have marketed commercial products promising to influence drug test results, including herbal teas and substitute urine.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul norml.orgDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7808Marijuana May Be Protective Against Injury, Study Says February 19, 2009 - Lausanne, SwitzerlandLausanne, Switzerland: The use of cannabis is not a contributing causal factor in injuries requiring hospitalization, and may even protect users against the likelihood of sustaining such injuries, according to the results of case-control study published online in the journal BMC Public Health.Investigators at the Luasanne University Hospital in Switzerland assessed the association between the use of cannabis and/or alcohol and the risk of injury among 486 patients aged 16 and older. Investigators reported: "Alcohol use in the six hours prior to injury was associated with [an elevated] relative risk compared with no alcohol use. Cannabis use was inversely related to risk of injury."Researchers also analyzed subjects' drug use for the time period exactly one week prior to the patients' hospitalization. They reported, "More patients reported alcohol use in the six-hour period prior to injury (case period) than in the corresponding six-hour period the previous week (control period). ... For cannabis, fewer people reported use prior to injury (case period) than in the control period." Despite the study's relatively small sample size, investigators concluded: "The results for cannabis use were quite surprising. ... The present study in fact indicated a ‘protective effect' of cannabis use in a dose-response relationship."Commenting on the study's results, authors speculated that "cannabis is consumed in relatively safer, low risk environments" (e.g., at home) compared to alcohol, which is often consumed at bars or prior to going out in public. A prior case-control study conducted by the University of Missouri also reported an inverse relationship between marijuana use and injury risk, finding, "Self-reported marijuana use in the previous seven days was associated ... with a substantially decreased risk of injury."For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul norml.org Full text of the study, "Alcohol and cannabis use as risk factors for injury – a case-crossover analysis in a Swiss hospital emergency department," is available online from BMC Public Health at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/9/40DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7807Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: February 19, 2009Copyright: 2009 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml 
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Comment #12 posted by rchandar on February 19, 2009 at 23:08:08 PT:
Bill Before the House Subcommittee
I agree. And if they think they're going to get this one passed without a fight, they're crazy.
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on February 19, 2009 at 21:55:02 PT
Remember them!
Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY), along with Reps. Peter Defazio (D-OR), Jean Schmidt (R-OH) and Lee Terry (R-NE), must not be re-elected! They are blatant criminalizers and prohibitionists, and a free and healthy country, of the people, by the people and for the people do not need warped, scheming, criminalizing people like that in their service.
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on February 19, 2009 at 21:47:55 PT
Comment 9
After killing innocent people, adults and children, and people guilty of no more than growing or having plant materials, their pets, splitting up and even destroying lives, families, and futures, and confiscating peoples' property, busting into people's homes, locking people in cages, owning them through outrageous fines and regulations, and speaking to and treating people as though they are less than human, handcuffing, abusing, and giving them criminal records, spying and setting people one against the other, encouraging fear and hatred ...drug testing makes me the maddest. Talk about unreasonable search and seizure! Then last, and least, but still insane, the unnecessary waste and expense of it all. 
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on February 19, 2009 at 19:13:12 PT
Hope
When we are in an economic down turn wasteful things should be eliminated. When people are pushed too hard when hard times come it doesn't settle well with them. Common sense is needed and it shouldn't be ignored anymore.
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Comment #8 posted by The GCW on February 19, 2009 at 19:11:31 PT
US CO: Phelps should move to Boulder
Webpage: http://www.boulderweekly.com/20090219/incaseyoumissedit.htmlPubdate: 19 Feb. 2009Phelps should move to BoulderYou’ve got to pity Michael Phelps. Sure, he’s got more gold medals than there are days of the week. But he’s also got some shitty friends. The dude went to a party, took a couple of bong hits and had the misfortune of being photographed by a so-called friend. The friend sold the photos to a British tabloid, and Phelps found himself being kicked around in the press by people who feel that he should live like a saint because he’s an Olympic champion.Since when did winning gold medals mean the public owns you? It’s time Phelps moved away from those no-good, traitorous friends of his and came to the People’s Republic. Here are 10 reasons he should move to our city:10. You stay higher longer at altitude. (OK, so maybe that’s an urban myth.)9. No one here eats Kellogg’s. We prefer classier fare like pizza and burritos to curb those post-ganja munchies.8. When he’s done smoking mary jane, he can shred Mary Jane. (Part of Winter Park, ski area)7. Boulder cops are directed to make busting pot smokers their lowest priority — after jaywalking. So, if someone takes a picture of 
you holding a bong and shows it to the cops, the cops don’t give a damn.6. The shit here is really good — and we have swimming pools.5. Where else in the world can you get organic, shade-grown Fair Trade Nederland weed?4. No self-respecting Boulderite would ever think to sell photos of a friend holding a bong to the tabloids, no matter how famous that friend was.3. In Boulder, even members of City Council toke.2. The only thing that makes us angry with Phelps is that he apologized rather than standing up and saying, “Yeah, I smoke pot. So the fuck what?”1. 4/20 needs a celebrity sponsor. 
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on February 19, 2009 at 19:05:01 PT
You're right, FoM... but somehow it probably
makes too much sense... and the drug testing lobby would be very unsupportive of such a solution... because they wouldn't be getting their usual cut of the deal. Sadly, you know, in this country, in this era, commonsense, or sensibleness of any normal kind takes a back seat to the profit making sensibilities... especially in government and their business associates. Dollars. More important than anything to some people.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on February 19, 2009 at 18:29:06 PT
One More Thought
We all pay for insurance in case of being involved in an accident. Drug testing doesn't make us safer but it controls people. It is a sad state of affairs. If a person while under the influence commits a crime he should be charged for the crime. I don't understand the benefit of drug testing. I never have.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 19, 2009 at 18:02:21 PT
Sobriety Test Instead of Inaccurate Drug Testing?
 Why not a simple sobriety test instead of drug testing? 
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on February 19, 2009 at 17:17:34 PT
"Less Kissingers and more Guevaras" 
We sure don't need another government prohibition of something and still more criminalizing of the people.
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Comment #3 posted by vincent on February 19, 2009 at 17:12:46 PT:
Drug-testing
Oh-oh, look out...Vincent the militant is about to emerge! I was being very reasonable and tolerant of...what is the word that I'm looking for here...oh yeah, STUPID...opinions and aditudes, coming from these anti-marijuana lowlifes. But, when I hear that four congressmen--two of them Democrats!--are planning to criminalize products that try to undo the results of those UNCONSTITUTIONAL DRUG TESTS, then I must unleash the Che Guevara within me! In my opinion, that is what this movement needs--less Kissingers and more Guevaras. 
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Comment #2 posted by Storm Crow on February 19, 2009 at 14:48:45 PT
.Hmmmmmmm...........
"the proposal would "prohibit the manufacture, marketing, sale, or shipment in interstate commerce of products designed ... to produce a false or misleading outcome of a test for the presence of a controlled substance."The most commonly used product used to "cheat" on drug tests is....... WATER! Evian and Geyser Spring better watch out! 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 19, 2009 at 13:13:46 PT
WA Lawmakers Consider Expanding Marijuana Law
By Brian Slodysko, Associated Press Writer Thursday, February 19, 2009Washington legislators are considering a bill to allow more types of medical practitioners to recommend marijuana to their patients.The bill, now in the Senate, would let registered nurses, physicians assistants and naturopathic doctors advise medicinal use of marijuana to their patients.Supporters say many who could be eligible to use marijuana don't have regular access to a doctor. Currently, only doctors can advise patients to use the substance. Copyright: 2009 Associated Presshttp://www.bellinghamherald.com/northwest/story/801211.html
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