cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- February 12, 2004





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- February 12, 2004
Posted by CN Staff on February 12, 2004 at 17:12:46 PT
Weekly Press Release
Source: NORML
"We're Here. We Smoke. We Vote!" -- NORML Announces 2004 National Conference & Congressional Lobby DayFebruary 12, 2004 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: NORML is pleased to announce that the 2004 National Conference and Congressional Lobby Day will take place April 22-24 at the Hamilton Crowne Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC. This year's conference will offer attendees a unique opportunity to network with other marijuana law reformers and deliver a powerful message to Congress: "We're here. We smoke. We vote."
Day one of this year's conference will be devoted to NORML's inaugural Congressional Lobby Day, at which activists, patients, and students from around the nation will converge on Capitol Hill to meet with their members of Congress and lobby on behalf of various marijuana reform bills, including H.R. 2233, "The States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act." NORML will prearrange appointments with attendees' Congressional representatives and coordinate the daylong event, which will include a morning training session on lobbying etiquette."For many politicians, NORML's inaugural Congressional Lobby Day will be their first look at the emerging marijuana law reform constituency," NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup said. "They will see that this constituency is not a political fringe group, but that we are a diverse, politically active group of responsible Americans who represent the interests of tens of millions of marijuana smokers nationwide."Days two and three of the 2004 NORML Conference will feature panel discussions and speakers on a variety of marijuana-related issues. Panels include: "Marijuana and Your Health: What You Need to Know That the Government Won't Tell You," "Don't Become Another Statistic: How Not to Get Busted," "The Federal Assault on Marijuana Smokers," "Where Do We Go From Here: Strategy for the Next Five Years," as well as a "High Times 30th Anniversary Panel," which will examine editorial changes at the magazine and the launch of High Times' Grow America.Featured speakers at the conference include best-selling author Eric Schlosser (author of Fast Food Nation and Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market); Boston University Law Professor Randy Barnett, chief legal counsel in Raich/Monson v. Ashcroft, in which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found the federal prosecution of state-sanctioned medical marijuana patients to be unconstitutional; High Times publisher Richard Stratton; and the Drug Policy Alliance's Marsha Rosenbaum.Other scheduled events include a benefit screening of Ron Mann's latest documentary Go Further (starring Woody Harrelson), a joint reception sponsored by NORML and High Times, and NORML's annual Saturday night "4:20" benefit party."I urge those who oppose marijuana prohibition and the continuing arrest of hundreds of thousands of responsible marijuana smokers annually to join us in the nation's Capitol to take a stand for personal freedom," Stroup said. "Smokers must no longer remain silent, and we must make our message heard by Congress."Complete conference information, including conference agenda, registration and hotel information, is available online at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5888Hotel space is limited, so be sure to register and reserve your accommodations early.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=59402nd Annual Medical Marijuana Week Kicks Off This WeekendFebruary 12, 2004 - Berkeley, CA, USABerkeley, CA: Marijuana law reformers in California and elsewhere will host numerous events next week to celebrate the 2nd annual Medical Marijuana Week. The events - including a "National Day of Action to Spank or Thank Congress" on Wednesday, February 18, and a weeklong push by NORML and other reform groups to lobby the national Multiple Sclerosis Society to endorse the use of marijuana as a medicine - are intended to raise awareness and political support for the use of medical marijuana.For more information on Medical Marijuana Week and scheduled events, please visit the Americans for Safe Access website at: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=785DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5937 Ninth Circuit Strikes Down Hemp Foods BanFebruary 12, 2004 - San Francisco, CA, USASan Francisco, CA: The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday struck down Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regulations criminalizing the possession and manufacture of edible hemp seed or oil products that contain trace amounts of THC. The Hemp Industries Association (HIA), which represents over 200 hemp companies in North America, had urged the court to invalidate the DEA 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.The federal appeals court agreed with appellants that the DEA's ban was improper because it classified non-psychoactive hemp as a Schedule I controlled substance without following the required legislative procedures. "The DEA's Final Rules purport to regulate foodstuffs containing 'natural and synthetic THC,'" the court determined. "But [the DEA] cannot regulate naturally-occurring THC not contained or derived from marijuana - i.e., non-psychoactive hemp products - because non-psychoactive hemp is not included in Schedule I. The DEA has no authority to regulate drugs that are not scheduled, and it has not followed procedures required to schedule a substance."David Bronner, chair of the HIA Food and Oil Committee praised the ruling. "The three judge panel agreed with our main argument that the DEA's 'Final Rule' ignores Congress's specific exemption in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) under the definition of marijuana that excludes hemp seed and oil from control along with hemp fiber," he said. "Based on [this] decision, the court reasonably views trace insignificant amounts of THC in hemp seed in the same way as it sees trace amounts of opiates in poppy seeds."For more information, please contact NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling is available online at: http://www.votehemp.com/DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5938Court Win Opens Doors for Hemp Food http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18323.shtmlHemp Foods Get Court OK http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18316.shtmlSource: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: February 12, 2004Copyright: 2004 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- Feb. 5, 2004http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18304.shtmlNORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- Jan. 29, 2004http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18260.shtmlNORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- Jan. 22, 2004http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18198.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on February 13, 2004 at 04:33:06 PT:
On a much brighter note
It would seem that the fact that our nascent political clout is beginning to gel; the sleeping giant is almost awake now. The forge has heated the iron white-hot; the anvil is ready. But do we have the political will to raise the hammer and strike?I do. How about you? Register to vote if you haven't. Tell the registrars that you are voting partly to help change the stupid drug laws of this country. The word WILL get back to the Dem leadership circles. No matter how heavily corrupted they may be by the DrugWar and their own pandering to special plutocratic interests, a popular groundswell at a critical juncture can only be ignored at their political peril. They'll move in our direction if they see an advantage; just as Mr. Kerry has.But even if DK doesn't get the nomination, I am still writing him in. And I imagine I won't be alone, that day...Just as the Pagan folks say on their bumperstickers, "We are everywhere." Time we proved it.
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Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on February 13, 2004 at 04:07:09 PT:
Oh, don't worry about "Rush", he'll be okay
You see, his buddies WILL help him...he's far too useful. The pattern has already been established with Ollie North; he'll be cleaned up, do some 'time' in some cushy spot like the 'country club prisons' at Allentown or Maxwell, come out when things have cooled down, politically...then he'll write a hypocritically self-exculpatory book blaming the 'druggies' for his own sins, and be welcomed back into the Republican fold, to spew his garbage with ever greater volume."Treason doth never prosper; what's the reason? If treason DOTH prosper, none dare call it 'treason'." We've seen these past 25 years - and especially in the last three years - how much treason against the people of the United States has proven to be very handsomely rewarding, indeed. "Rush" won't be any different.
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Comment #3 posted by breeze on February 12, 2004 at 21:01:25 PT
Comment # 2- JohnTyler
While you put this into an eloquent manner about Rush Limbaugh being left behind by his cohorts in their wosd, maybe a few poster's from this site might be interested in REMINDING Rush of this very fact.You know, if we could find a way to email or mail him this information, would it be helpful to the cause?I have a hard time swallowing sympathy for this man, as I heard one time in his good ole days ragin' against the "dope heads of the nation" about how anyone who is a "Drug user" should be executed, then he yuck-yucked about his comment.But now he is in the pickle jar, maybe he could appreciate our attitude of forgive but never forget!!!
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Comment #2 posted by John Tyler on February 12, 2004 at 19:03:14 PT
Off topic a little
I’m not sure where this should go, but it is somewhat interesting. Today on NPR there was a story about Rush Limbaugh. This was about his fight to keep the local prosecutor from having access to his medical records and the larger fight to keep some things private and out of the governments’ reach. (In the name of he Drug War will we have to get police approval before we can get a prescription filled?) The ironic part was, and I hope Rush was noticing this, was that the people that he took such delight in berating, denigrating and ridiculing for being weak, softheaded and otherwise sympathetic to those who have dependency problems, were the only ones who came to his legal defense and stood by him. His conservative pals, not wanting to appear soft on drugs, have abandoned him. I hope he will be able to appreciate this.
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Comment #1 posted by The GCW on February 12, 2004 at 17:42:36 PT
About stopping the Bush beast from banning hemp...
We have gained much ground, with this court ruling!Alex White Plume should be able to grow hemp, along with all the rest of American farmers.Now the court indicates, the Feds. can't ban or regulate hemp the way they wish.Now, the law is defined as being on Alex White Plume's side and perhaps this ruling will open the door for Alex to sue the American gov.Credible drug law reform is getting to be an objective politicians are able to agree with. At least those that are not staunch. That will at the very least allow American farmers to grow hemp with out THC.The 2nd thing basic credible drug law reform will confront is ending that education law, banning cannabis convicts from getting school grants, but allow violent criminals to receive them...http://cannabisnews.com/news/10/thread10616.shtmlWhite Plumes Relinquish Hemp Crop August 15, 2001 &Hemp Grower Defiant After Crop Taken 
http://cannabisnews.com/news/10/thread10524.shtml& there's more here and at MAP.
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