cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- July 15, 2004





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- July 15, 2004
Posted by CN Staff on July 15, 2004 at 17:06:22 PT
Weekly Press Release
Source: NORML
Nevada Marijuana Measure Fails To Qualify For '04 BallotJuly 15, 2004 - Carson City, NV, USACarson City, NV: Nevada election officials said yesterday that an initiative seeking to eliminate criminal and civil penalties on the possession of small amounts of marijuana failed to qualify for the November ballot because proponents did not collect enough valid signatures, according to the Associated Press.
The proposed initiative, entitled the Regulation of Marijuana Amendment, sought to remove penalties for "the use or possession of one ounce or less of marijuana by a person who has attained the age of 21 years," and direct the state legislature to "provide by law for a system of regulation for the cultivation, distribution, sale, and taxation of marijuana." The measure also would have increased criminal penalties for certain marijuana-related offenses, such as distributing marijuana to a minor and/or operating a motor vehicle impaired by cannabis.According to the AP, Secretary of State Dean Heller determined that only 34,947 of the signatures collected by the initiativešs proponents were valid. It needed 51,337 signatures from registered voters to qualify for the ballot.Nearly 20,000 petitions in favor of the measure were rejected by election officials because they lacked an affidavit signed by a registered voter, as well as from the person gathering the signatures, as required by the Nevada constitution. That constitutional requirement is now being challenged in court by the AFL-CIO of Nevada.If the AFL-CIO challenge is successful, proponents of the marijuana measure may be entitled to a full recount, the Las Vegas Sun reported.A similar statewide initiative to liberalize penalties on the possession of marijuana for personal use will appear on the Alaska electoral ballot this November.For more information on November 2004 initiative efforts, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or visit:http://www.RegulateMarijuana.org/DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6175Initiative To Make Pot Legal May Be Doomed http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19158.shtmlJudge Asked To OK Late Pot Petitionshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19064.shtmlHearing on Missing Marijuana Petition Signatures http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19062.shtmlMJ Initiative Backers Forgot 6,000 Signatures http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19055.shtmlLegalization of Marijuana: Initiative in Jeopardyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19052.shtml Medical Pot Use Facilitates AIDS Treatment, Study SaysJuly 15, 2004 - Bangkok, ThailandBangkok, Thailand: Patients who use medicinal cannabis to combat the side-effects of anti-HIV drugs are more likely to remain on their prescribed drug therapies than those who do not, according to cross-sectional survey data presented this week at the XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.Among patients suffering from nausea associated with anti-retroviral therapy, those who used medical marijuana were 3.3 times more likely to adhere to their medication regimens than non-users, a research team from the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University found. Researchers based their findings on interviews with more than 160 patients."Our data suggest that medicinal use of marijuana may facilitate, rather than impede, anti-retroviral therapy adherence for patients with nausea, in contrast to the use of other illicit substances, which was associated with decreased adherence," researchers concluded.The results come six months after a San Francisco research team reported that smoking marijuana significantly alleviated pain in patients suffering from HIV-associated neuropathy. In that study, 12 of the 16 participants achieved at least a 30 percent reduction in pain after smoking cannabis. A 30 percent reduction in pain is considered to be a clinically meaningful amount of pain relief.Follow up clinical trails examining the role of cannabinoids in HIV and AIDS patient populations are ongoing at California's Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research.Last year, clinical trial data published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine reported that short-term use of oral and inhaled marijuana does not elevate viral load in individuals with HIV infection who are receiving antiretroviral medications. As a result, authors of the study suggested that the medicinal use of inhaled marijuana has "acceptable safety in a vulnerable immune-compromised patient population."Most recently, a review of cannabinoids' impact on the immune system published in the June issue of the German journal Der Schmerz concluded, "Most human studies have failed to demonstrate a well-defined and reproducable immuno-suppressive cannabinoid-effect."For more information, please contact either Paul Armentano or Allen St. Pierre of the NORML Foundation at (202) 483-5500.Abstracts of the survey data presented to the XV International AIDS Conference is available online at: http://www.ias.se/bangkok/abstract.aspx?elementID=2170148DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6174HIV and Cannabis May Mix After Allhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17112.shtmlUCSF Study Finds No Harm to HIV+ Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17093.shtmlMarijuana Use Does Not Accelerate HIV Infectionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17092.shtml Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals Denies DEA Petition For Rehearing On Hemp FoodJuly 15, 2004 - San Francisco, CA, USASan Francisco, CA: The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has denied the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) petition to review its February ruling striking down federal regulations that sought to criminalize the possession and manufacture of edible hemp seed or oil products that contain trace amounts of THC.The Bush Administration has until Sept. 26, 2004 to appeal to the Supreme Court, if it so chooses.Earlier this year, the Ninth Circuit determined that the DEA's hemp foods' ban was improper because it classified non-psychoactive hemp as a Schedule I controlled substance without following the required legislative procedures. Appellants in the case, The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) which represents over 200 hemp companies in North America, had urged the court to invalidate the regulations because the agency lacks legal authority to regulate non-psychoactive hemp, and because minute amounts of THC in hemp products represent no threat to public safety.For information, please contact NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup at (202) 483-5500 or visit: http://www.votehemp.com/DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6176HIA Vs. DEA Hemp Ruling in PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/hempruling.pdfCourt Declares Hemp Legal To Consumehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18391.shtmlCourt Win Opens Doors for Hemp Food http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18323.shtmlHemp Foods Get Court OK http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18316.shtmlAppeals Court Limits Ban on Hemp Products http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18313.shtml Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: July 15, 2004Copyright: 2004 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- July 08, 2004http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19153.shtmlNORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- July 01, 2004http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19115.shtml
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