cannabisnews.com: Watsonville Just Says No To Prescription Pot Watsonville Just Says No To Prescription Pot Posted by CN Staff on October 24, 2007 at 06:06:48 PT By Donna Jones, Sentinel Staff Writer Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel Watsonville, CA -- If you need medical marijuana to ease your pain, you'll have to go to Santa Cruz. The City Council banned prescription pot sales in Watsonville in a 5-1 vote Tuesday."We're conservative," said Mayor Manuel Bersamin of the Watsonville community before casting his vote with the majority. "We're old school, and we're proud of it. But we live only 20 miles from one of the most liberal towns in the state. [Santa Cruz] is much more willing to experiment." Santa Cruz is home to two dispensaries that sell medical marijuana to patients taking the drug under the state's Compassionate Use Act, or as it's better known, Proposition 215. The initiative was passed by California voters in 1996.But city planning staff recommended against permitting such dispensaries here, saying they could increase crime and create neighborhood problems. Staff also noted the conflict between state and federal law. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency continues to enforce federal drug laws that prohibit marijuana possession, use or sales despite the state statute.Councilwoman Kimberly Petersen called the conflict "unfortunate.""I personally would like to see some allowance to consume marijuana under the Compassionate Use Act," she said. "But I don't necessarily want to see dispensaries."Other council members agreed, saying they didn't want to send a mixed message to youth and that the city's residents could go to Santa Cruz to obtain the drug for medicine. "Most people have compassion for those in pain, and if [medical marijuana] was the only method of relieving that pain, I'd be tempted to take it," said Councilman Greg Caput.But Caput said he associated use of pot as medicine with pain caused by cancer, and wondered if medical marijuana could be used for any kind of illness."It's up to the doctor and the patient to decide," said John Doughty, community development director, adding that other painkillers are available by prescription.Councilman Oscar Rios cast the only dissenting vote. Councilman Dale Skillicorn was absent.Rios compared the prohibition against medical marijuana to historic mistakes, like believing the world was flat or that women shouldn't vote, and called the proposed city ban hypocritical."Let's talk about alcohol. Let's talk about cigarettes. That's what's killing people," he said. "For the conservative Watsonville, we have more alcohol outlets than anybody."No one from the public spoke in favor of the ban, and only three people, all from Santa Cruz, spoke against it. Speaking on behalf of Valerie Corral, co-founder of Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, attorney Ben Rice urged the council to come up with guidelines that would allow dispensaries to operate. He said many Santa Cruz County residents, have found the drug helpful to treat their illnesses, including Corral who uses marijuana to control seizures. He pointed out that Santa Cruz collects taxes on sales, and such money could be used to fund anti-drug programs."The problem is with meth and heroin," he said. "Compared to those other substances, [medical marijuana] is a relatively benign substance."Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)Author: Donna Jones, Sentinel Staff WriterPublished: October 24, 2007Copyright: 2007 Santa Cruz SentinelContact: editorial santa-cruz.comWebsite: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/Related Article & Web Site:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/Watsonville Eyes Ban On Prescription Pot Saleshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23428.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #13 posted by aolbites on October 26, 2007 at 17:18:04 PT imagine I would think that mice that are bred to react excessively to stressful/depressing situations would most likely have some abnormalities in their endocannabinoid system anyhow... so what could this prove? [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by whig on October 26, 2007 at 15:38:54 PT aolbites Brand of mouse -- so true. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by aolbites on October 26, 2007 at 15:28:00 PT the forced swimming test RATIONALE: Among all animal models, the forced swimming test (FST) remains one of the most used tools for screening antidepressants. OBJECTIVE: This paper reviews some of the main aspects of the FST in mice. Most of the sensitivity and variability factors that were assessed on the FST are summarized. MECHANISMS: We have summarized data found in the literature of antidepressant effects on the FST in mice. From this data set, we have extrapolated information on baseline levels of strain, and sensitivity against antidepressants. RESULTS: We have shown that many parameters have to be considered in this test to gain good reliability. Moreover, there was a fundamental inter-strain difference of response in the FST. CONCLUSIONS: The FST is a good screening tool with good reliability and predictive validity. Strain is one of the most important parameters to consider. Swiss and NMRI mice can be used to discriminate the mechanisms of action of drugs. CD-1 seems to be the most useful strain for screening purposes, but this needs to be confirmed with some spontaneous locomotor activity studies.PMID: 15609067 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]------------------ so it also depends on the 'brand of mouse they use' stupid EVIL useless results if you ask me. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by aolbites on October 26, 2007 at 15:22:18 PT what would you do in a water filled tube? The behavioural despair test (also called the Porsolt test or forced swimming test) is a test used to measure the effect of antidepressant drugs on the behaviour of laboratory animals (typically rats or mice).MethodAnimals are subjected to two trials during which they are forced to swim in an acrylic glass cylinder filled with water, and from which they cannot escape. The first trial lasts 15 minutes. Then, after 24-hours, a second trial is performed that lasts 5 minutes. The time that the test animal spends without moving in the second trial is measured. This immobility time is decreased by antidepressants.-----------------------------------------------------------so because the drugged[Laboratory animals were injected with the synthetic cannabinoid WIN55,212-2] rats figured out that its pointless to struggle, they will be released anyway ... thats a bad thing? [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by whig on October 24, 2007 at 12:44:22 PT FoM #1 Cannabis study discovers that taking too much causes sleepiness. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on October 24, 2007 at 09:48:49 PT Sam A pinko commie. That always makes me laugh because people who use that term must really be lost in the ozone somewhere in my opinion. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Sam Adams on October 24, 2007 at 09:28:36 PT Old school "We're conservative," said Mayor Manuel Bersamin of the Watsonville communityYou won't be when you get sick! You'll turn into a pinko-commie real quick once you're pucking your guts out all day from chemo. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Christen-Mitchell on October 24, 2007 at 09:27:21 PT: Court Returns Denver Area Man's Cannabis A small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia was returned by Jefferson County authorities Tuesday to a medical marijuana caregiver who was issued a summons at Mount Falcon Park earlier this year.Anton Marquez, 29, walked out of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday afternoon with the seized items, ending what Brian Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado, said was an ordeal of six months for Marquez.Marquez provides marijuana to his father and brother, who suffer from epilepsy. He also takes it himself, he said, because of a brain tumor."I believe marijuana is the quintessential realization of the term life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," Marquez said.Vicente said Marquez appeared in court four times on a summons that charged him with possessing less than an ounce of marijuana and possessing paraphernalia.Each time he told the prosecutor that he was a medical marijuana caregiver, presented a copy of his Medical Marijuana Registry card to the prosecutor and told the prosecutor she should dismiss the case, Vicente said."The law could not be more clear - that when presented with a medical marijuana caregiver card or a patient card, the case is to be dropped," Vicente said.Finally, Vicente said, Marquez went to Sensible Colorado."I met with the prosecutor and I said, 'Listen, you have to drop this charge. You have no case,"' Vicente said. "And she said, 'Oh, OK, I guess you are right. We are not going to bring charges.' And ultimately, a judge agreed."The judge, Roy Olson of Jefferson County Court, also ordered that the seized items be returned.Pam Russell, spokesperson for the Jefferson County district attorney's office, said prosecutors moved for dismissal of the case because Marquez had a Medical Marijuana Registry card, which meant he could legally be in possession of the small amount of marijuana he new caption here (Post / Kathryn Scott Osler) had in his car and there was no evidence he had been smoking the marijuana.www.SensibleColorado.org :Working for an Effective Drug Policy [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by dongenero on October 24, 2007 at 08:22:15 PT poor rats Yes, a Forces Swim test sounds pretty depressing any way you look at it, whether you've been force injected with synthetic cannabinoids or not. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by dongenero on October 24, 2007 at 08:13:51 PT conservative principles "We're conservative," said Mayor Manuel Bersamin of the Watsonville community before casting his vote with the majority. "We're old school, and we're proud of it.I guess "conservative" and "old school" means; government interest over the will of the people, government power over self responsibility, big central government, government government government, power, power, power.Strange birds, these.....republicans, whatever it is they really stand for. Depends on the weather of the day I guess. Principles?...hmmmm. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by elfman_420 on October 24, 2007 at 08:12:05 PT Cannabis Study Finds 'A Double-Edged Sword' articl "A new neurobiological study has found that a synthetic form of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, is an effective anti-depressant at low doses. However, at higher doses, the effect reverses itself and can actually worsen depression and other psychiatric conditions like psychosis. ...Laboratory animals were injected with the synthetic cannabinoid WIN55,212-2 and then tested with the Forced Swim test -- a test to measure "depression" in animals;"Wait a minute, I would like to hear more details about their testing methods. I don't think I would do very well in a forced swim test after excessive doses of cannabis either. I do always take small doses before surfing, however, and I do find that it helps. I'm glad there is a study out there proving it now.. I just don't understand what failing a forced swim test has to do with depression after you've had excessive doses of a mild hallucinogenic/relaxant. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 24, 2007 at 06:30:45 PT Related Article on Dispensaries Hemet Wants To Keep Out Medical-Marijuana Dispensarieshttp://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_medical24.37ad2a0.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 24, 2007 at 06:19:35 PT Cannabis Study Finds 'A Double-Edged Sword' http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/86487.php [ Post Comment ] Post Comment