cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- May 4, 2006 










  NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- May 4, 2006 

Posted by CN Staff on May 04, 2006 at 13:48:10 PT
Weekly Press Release 
Source: NORML  

Mexican President Rejects Congressional Measure Codifying "Personal Use" Limits For Cannabis, Other Controlled Substances May 4, 2006 - Mexico City, MexicoMexico City, Mexico: Mexican President Vincente Fox yesterday rejected legislation that sought to clarify the quantities of cannabis and other controlled substances that "consumers" may possess without facing criminal penalties. Fox abruptly abandoned his support for the measure after US bureaucrats at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the State Department denounced the proposal, saying that it could promote "drug tourism."
As passed by Congress last Friday, the proposal set specific limits on the amount of cannabis (five grams) and other drugs allowable under federal law. Mexican law already exempts criminal penalties for those individuals who possess minor quantities of illicit substances for personal use; however, the law fails to define what amounts constitute personal use. As a result, police and judges must decide on a case-by-case basis whether to punish citizens caught possessing minor amounts of illicit drugs.The proposed measure also authorized state and local police to enforce drug trafficking laws. Under current law, only federal police (about five percent of Mexico's law enforcement personnel) may arrest individuals suspected of selling drugs.President Fox rejected the bill on Wednesday, stating, "Congress ... [needs] ... to make it absolutely clear in our country [that] the possession of drugs and their consumption [is], and will continue to be, a criminal offense." Officials from the US State Department and the White Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) had met with Mexico's ambassador earlier this week urging the President to "review the legislation and to avoid the perception that drug use would be tolerated in Mexico and to prevent drug tourism."Fox said that he would send the bill back to Congress with proposed amendments.In recent years, US officials have voiced similar disapproval against legislative proposals to liberalize marijuana and other illicit drug possession penalties in Canada, Jamaica, and Australia all of which eventually stalled due at least in part to US opposition.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6894Cannabis May Pose A "Modest" Risk For Those Vulnerable To Schizophrenia, Report Says May 4, 2006 - Oxford, United KingdomOxford, United Kingdom: Cannabis use may be a "modest statistical risk factor" in populations vulnerable to schizophrenia or other mental health diseases, according to a review published by the Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme in Britain. The Beckley Foundation is an independent think tank that analyzes drug use and drug policy.The review, "Cannabis and Mental Health: Responses to the Emerging Evidence," finds that cannabis, like alcohol, may "precipitate schizophrenia in people who are already vulnerable for individual or family reasons." Authors add, however, that the "increased rates of cannabis use in the last thirty years have not been accompanied by a corresponding increase in the rate of psychosis in the population."The report concludes, "The studies reviewed here suggest that cannabis is a modest statistical risk factor and the vast majority of young cannabis smokers do not develop psychosis, supporting the hypothesis that a small minority of users may be vulnerable to the effects of cannabis."The Beckley Foundation's findings are similar to those of Britain's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), which concluded earlier this year: "Based on the available data, the use of cannabis makes (at worst) only a small contribution to an individual's risk for developing schizophrenia. ... For individuals, the current evidence suggests, at worst, that using cannabis increases lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia by one percent."For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the Beckley Foundation report is available online at: http://www.internationaldrugpolicy.net/ Additional information on cannabis and mental health is available in NORML's report, "Cannabis, Mental Health, and Context: The Case For Regulation," available online at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6798DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6893 NORML Podcasts Tops Apple's Most Listened To ListMay 4, 2006 - Washington, DC, USAPot Programming Bests Senators Clinton, Frist In PopularityWashington, DC: NORML's weekly podcast now ranks as one of the most popular political audio programs available on the Internet, according to tabulations released by Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store and published in the Washington, DC newspaper The Hill.Of the 100 most popular political podcast recordings, NORML's program ranks No. 32 according to Apple, well ahead of podcasts offered by New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (No. 47) and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (No. 73). NORML's podcast, which began in August, features weekly news content as well as audio clips from special events, such as NORML's 2006 annual conference."The popularity of NORML's podcasts illustrates that there are large numbers of Americans who desire fact-based, educational information about marijuana and marijuana law reform, and that this population is increasingly turning to NORML and away from the federal government in order to obtain it," said NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre. "Senators Clinton, Frist, and other Presidential hopefuls ought to take note of this reality, and recognize that cannabis is rapidly becoming more popular with the electorate than they are."St. Pierre said that NORML plans to begin airing daily podcasts early this summer.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500. To listen to NORML's podcasts or audio archives, please visit: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6685 Excerpts from this year's annual NORML conference, "Grassroots to Grasstops," will also be broadcast nationally on C-Span radio this Sunday, May 7, at 10 am. DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6895Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: May 4, 2006Copyright: 2006 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml 

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Comment #23 posted by FoM on May 05, 2006 at 20:50:04 PT

whig
I understand what you mean. I believe that the motives of people who are in politics change as years go by and they get warped. It would be hard for a politician to really care because there are so many issues that deserve attention and when too much is happening we all become less effective and can get twisted and lose our focus. That's why politics is hard for me to handle. I'd rather try to fix something then be bombarded with too much to do. I don't like to overload my mind and politicians are overloaded. If we didn't have so many laws against issues like Cannabis think of how much easier it would be for them to do something important for us as a country.
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Comment #22 posted by whig on May 05, 2006 at 19:32:00 PT

FoM
I posted about this on April 20, when I was trying to understand what motivates the religious right-wing base. I won't try to restate what I said then, I'm not in the correct mindset to make it as clear as I'd like to, but here's some further thoughts.Think about this. What happens when people who hate the government have the reins? They haven't been given authority to dismantle it, just to run it for a few years. It's like someone who hated a car and got ahold of the keys, but wasn't going to be able to keep them forever, so tried to drive it a cliff. It would be forgiveable if they hadn't actually been mowing down thousands of innocent pedestrians.
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on May 05, 2006 at 16:11:11 PT

whig
I don't understand what you mean. 
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on May 05, 2006 at 16:07:47 PT

global_warming 
I got it! Thanks!
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Comment #19 posted by global_warming on May 05, 2006 at 16:03:24 PT

maybe 
cause republicans and democratsare people, and like most of us,we neither have the time or stomach for politics,the people who can remain in the upper political spectrum,have money, unlike poor people,these power driven human beings,have sacrificed their most valuable talent,they have sold their soul,that most incommensurable item,that has no place,in this market place,they fill their bellies,and burp in your face,dancing wildly into the unforgiving eternal Night,
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Comment #18 posted by whig on May 05, 2006 at 15:58:36 PT

FoM
They hate the government, they're destroying it. They're aiming it as a weapon at their enemies.
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on May 05, 2006 at 15:48:13 PT

global_warming 
If they hate big government why have they spent so much of our money during this administration?
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Comment #16 posted by global_warming on May 05, 2006 at 15:34:03 PT

you really don't want to know why they stick with 
"What is a republican? What do they love? "They are just like you and me, and they love freedom, and hate big meddling government, like you and me.If you phrased your question,.."what do republican hate", the answer might be different.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on May 05, 2006 at 15:28:27 PT

Whig and global_warming
What I hope for is turning it around no matter who runs against the republicans. What is a republican? What do they love? What do they hate? I wish I knew what the dream is that makes them stand by Bush.
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Comment #14 posted by whig on May 05, 2006 at 15:22:45 PT

FoM
Feingold is also the only Senator to vote against the USA PATRIOT Act. Just FWIW.
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Comment #13 posted by global_warming on May 05, 2006 at 15:16:55 PT

comment 10
its coming and they can smell defeat, sure wish the democratic party had a platform, wish they had some spine.The Brits are shaping up in the latest news, old Blair is being squeezed out, hope he doesn't whine like the Italian Berlusconi, and that weasel Fox down in Mexico way, his time is over next month.It seems that Canada is late in having her baby, unexpected delays may sometimes be a problem and other times its just as natural as can be, go Canada do the right thing,..Lets us all welcome the true millennium..Free Cannabis, Free Mankind..
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on May 05, 2006 at 15:02:57 PT

Whig
I don't know much about him but if you think he would be good I need to read more about him. Remember I don't follow politics so that's why I really need to check him out better.
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Comment #11 posted by whig on May 05, 2006 at 14:53:31 PT

FoM
"I know who I want to run for the presidency and hopefully he will."Only person I can think of that would make me hopeful is Sen. Russ Feingold. At least he's called for censure of George W. Bush.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on May 05, 2006 at 13:14:05 PT

rchandar 
I really hope that we vote the republicans out this fall. I can't take much more of them. They are driving me crazy and making me wonder what kind of life we will have if things don't change and soon. I know who I want to run for the presidency and hopefully he will. If they start another war we will probably be stuck with them though. That really worries me.I'm Looking for a Leader too.http://www.human-highway.org/lyrics/lyrics-47.html#008
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Comment #9 posted by rchandar on May 05, 2006 at 12:37:23 PT:

3/4 of American voters disapprove of Congress
the article is at msnbc. 51 percent of voters over 34 percent want to see Democrats control Congress.Which means Republicans will try to push for war in Iran, build a termited platform around energy, and will seek new enemies worldwide in an effort to stay the tide. I'm worried because the War on Terror electrified Bush's presidency, made him important when nothing was clicking.So I say to you Demos: No Troops In Iran!--rchandar
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Comment #8 posted by Max Flowers on May 05, 2006 at 09:20:06 PT

Hear hear
Nothing could be sweeter than dumping all these crooked, ignorant old (and some not so old) men like last week's newspapers. Oh, how beautiful that will be. It's almost too much to hope for.
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Comment #7 posted by OverwhelmSam on May 04, 2006 at 16:35:15 PT

I Like What St. Pierre Is Saying Here
"Senators Clinton, Frist, and other Presidential hopefuls ought to take note of this reality, and recognize that cannabis is rapidly becoming more popular with the electorate than they are."No shit. I can't wait to see what happens in the next election. i hope everyone of them gets fired and we have a brand new government, in the twinkling of an eye.
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Comment #6 posted by global_warming on May 04, 2006 at 16:26:50 PT

thats nice
in the meantimeCannabis must remain Forever Free,Like the Human Spirit,Which needs to fly free,as 'we have been bornon Earth, our abode,may 'we keep our armor shinyand look deep into the heavens above,
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Comment #5 posted by whig on May 04, 2006 at 16:17:00 PT

gw 
You don't need an intermediary. Cannabis is illegal, by the laws of man, but not by the laws of God. If you have been prevented from having it now, then we should keep trying to change the laws but you should not think that no human being has cannabis today, nor that God is silent.Maybe I'll have a better reply for you tomorrow.
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Comment #4 posted by global_warming on May 04, 2006 at 16:05:33 PT

hello to you whig
and Hello to God,does that change anything?
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Comment #3 posted by global_warming on May 04, 2006 at 15:54:58 PT

hi whig
cannabis is illegal,
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Comment #2 posted by whig on May 04, 2006 at 15:50:35 PT

gw 
"God is Dead, for God no longer communicates with human beings...."Are you kidding? Don't you know that's what cannabis is for? Have you at least tried just saying hello?
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Comment #1 posted by global_warming on May 04, 2006 at 15:38:04 PT

its just unbelievable
it is so sad that this world is turning into a very sour taste.God is Dead, for God no longer communicates with human beings, it has always been a question, that stoners have had to argue, how much of what you see is solely based on the influence of the drug and how much is real?I never could answer that question adequately, but I have parts of the answer.I a human being never thinks outside of the "box" and just quietly accepts everything that authority tells them, they will be very happy people, law abiding people, who will work until they drop dead, and service this empire of business.Of course it has always been those great minds, that have probed deeper into these meanings of Life, it was those who occasionally glimpsed Life from outside of the 'box.Its funny that Cannabis allows a human being to peek outside of the box, momentary sparks, and twinkles, quickly forgotten, but it those momentary glimpses that frighten the prohibitionists, those fragmented illusions that might allow someone to actually see their place in this servitude, those twinkles that might change the world.Without the ability to see outside of the box, there will be and end to human creativity, what will be left is a docile population, who can be milked, like some common sleepy farm animal, milked until it drops.But alas, the Mysteries, have proven to be Mightier and Long Suffering, God has provided many instruments which enable every human being to peek outside of the box.The next time you have a bad cold, try to remember your dreams, they may be dark and painful, but they allow you to peek outside of the box.
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