cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - June 26, 2008





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - June 26, 2008
Posted by CN Staff on June 26, 2008 at 12:52:07 PT
Weekly Press Release
Source: NORML
 California: County Officials Finalize Mendocino Vote Count June 26, 2008 - Ukiah, CAUkiah, CA: Mendocino County voters narrowly decided to repeal an eight-year-old county law that legalized the possession of up to 25 marijuana plants, election officials affirmed this week.After tabulating over 11,000 additional absentee ballots, county officials confirmed the June 3rd election result in favor of initiative Measure B - which passed 52% to 48%.
California NORML, which had opposed the repeal effort, called the result a "moral victory," noting that the campaign's proponents had predicted that the measure would pass by more than 60 percent of the vote.Passage of the new county law seeks to cap the number of plants adults may legally possess at six. However, activists are expected to challenge the validity of the law in court, arguing that a recent state District Court of Appeals decision prohibits municipalities from imposing limits on the quantity of marijuana patients may possess under state law."Measure B … seeks to establish the same state limits for marijuana growing that were recently declared unconstitutional [by] the California appeals court," California Coordinator Dale Gieringer said. "Measure B's validity will be subject to … immediate court challenges."For more information, please contact Dale Gieringer, California NORML Coordinator, at: (415) 563-5858.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7634 Oral Pot Preparation Effective For Depression, Journal ReportsJune 26, 2008 - Vienna, AustriaVienna, Austria: Oral administration of synthetic THC capsules (dronabinol) mitigates symptoms of depression in patients seeking clinical treatment, according to a pair of case studies published in the June issue of Cannabinoids, the journal of the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine (IACM, Germany). A general practitioner in Vienna, Austria reported two cases of patients using dronabinol to improve depression and a sense of feeling overwhelmed. For the first patient, a 48-year-old female, dronabinol administered up to four times daily relieved the severity and frequency of her chronic depression and improved her quality of life. For the second patient, a 22-year-old female, daily administration of up to 10mg of dronabinol was associated with a "significant improvement of her depressive condition." Overall, the author reported that 80 percent of the patients he had treated with dronabinol between 2003 and 2006 had experienced a "swift improvement" with oral cannabinoids. "The presented observations suggest that dronabinol has an antidepressive potential that can readily be used in medical practice," the author concluded. "To date no clinical studies have studied primarily the effectiveness of cannabinoids for the treatment of depression. In my opinion, such studies are desirable and promising."For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director. Full text of the study, "Treating depression with cannabinoids,": http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/journal/en_2008_02_2.pdfDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7631 New Zealand: Most Pot Consumers Not Frequent Users   June 26, 2008 - Wellington, New ZealandWellington, New Zealand: Cannabis consumers use pot with far less frequency than do users of other illicit substances, according to a report released this week by a New Zealand economic research group. The report found that over 373,000 New Zealanders use cannabis, but that only 17 percent of them consume the drug frequently. By contrast, 36 percent of those who use methamphetamine and 88 percent of those who used cocaine were reported to be frequent users. Of the illicit drugs used by New Zealanders, cannabis was by far the most popular. By comparison, fewer than 40,000 New Zealanders used cocaine and less than 23,000 reported using methamphetamine. Commenting on the report, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, "It is telling that despite pot's prevalence, availability, and popularity, relatively few users consume it regularly. Clearly, these statistics undermine the US government's claim that cannabis is a particularly addictive drug or a supposed 'gateway' to the use of other illicit substances."For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director. DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7632  Cannabis Agonist Reduces Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Tumor Growth, Study Says June 26, 2008 - Stockholm, SwedenStockholm, Sweden: The administration of the cannabinoid agonist R(+)-MA halts the spread and growth of cancerous tumors in animals with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to preclinical data published in the current issue of the International Journal of Cancer. Investigators at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm reported that mice treated with R(+)-MA experienced a 40 percent reduction in tumor weight. "The anti-proliferative and proapoptotic (stimulated cell death) effects of cannabinoids make the endocannabinoid system a potential new therapeutic target for individualized therapy in lymphomas," authors concluded.Earlier this year, the journal Cancer Research reported that the administration of cannabinoids halts the spread of a wide range of cancers, including prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and brain cancer.NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano has a review of pot's anti-cancer properties online at the Huffington Post.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director. Full text of the study, "Expression of cannabinoid receptors type 1 and type 2 in non-Hodgkin lymphoma: Growth inhibition by receptor activation," appears in the September issue of the International Journal of Cancer.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7633Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: June 26, 2008Copyright: 2008 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #19 posted by greenmed on June 27, 2008 at 20:47:30 PT
re: Relevant paper
That is quite an enlightened paper to come out of NIDA. How things have changed since 1979.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #18 posted by observer on June 27, 2008 at 15:32:54 PT
re: Relevant paper
Relevant paper we should all be familiar withhttp://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/history/ticp.htmlThemes in Chemical ProhibitionAmen! The drugsense newsbot uses those themes as a way to try to detect and classify drug war (prohibition) propaganda in breaking news articles. 
Themes in Chemical Prohibition, added illustrations, etc.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #17 posted by paul armentano on June 27, 2008 at 12:38:46 PT
Relevant paper we should all be familiar with
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/history/ticp.htmlThemes in Chemical ProhibitionBy William L. White From: Drugs in Perspective, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1979This paper is based on the following premises: 1. Current strategies toward the use and abuse of mod-altering drugs continue to be based on a set of beliefs generated from the prohibitionist movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 2. The cementing of these prohibitionist beliefs into the very social fabric of American culture is one of the primary barriers to changing an outmoded and nonfunctional social policy. The integration of these beliefs into our culture has been so complete that to question them is immediately experienced by the culture at large as an attack on the institutions which have proliferated these beliefs, e.g., our national leaders, the 1aw, our educational and religious institutions, and the family. 3. The development of national policies toward mood altering drugs has not and cannot be intelligently addressed until we expose and modify the irrational fears and beliefs upon which current policies are based. This paper will identify the nature of these inherited beliefs and describe the manner in which they have prevented development of a more enlightened and effective strategy for the social control of mood altering drug use in our society. THE PROHIBITIONIST THEMES A review of chemical prohibitionist literature reveals eight themes which appear to emerge from the tactics of most such movements. The tactics utilized to produce these themes are as follows: 1. The drug is associated with a hated subgroup of the society or a foreign enemy.2. The drug is identified as solely responsible for many problems in the culture, i.e., crime, violence, and insanity.3. The survival of the culture is pictured as being dependent on the prohibition of the drug.4. The concept of "controlled" usage is destroyed and replaced by a "domino theory" of chemical progression.5. The drug is associated with the corruption of young children, particularly their sexual corruption.6. Both the user and supplier of the drug are defined as fiends, always in search of new victims; usage of the drug is considered "contagious."7. Policy options are presented as total prohibition or total access.8. Anyone questioning any of the above assumptions is bitterly attacked and characterized as part of the problem that needs to be eliminated.Each of the above will be reviewed looking at their historical development and their present status.
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/history/ticp.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #16 posted by paul armentano on June 27, 2008 at 12:34:39 PT
Follow up to some previous posts
My apologies for starting a discussion and then not having sufficient time to follow up. (A screaming ten-week old son will do that to you.) Anyway, just to try and comment, briefly, on some others posts: Yes, certainly "money" plays a role -- sometimes an integral role -- in shaping politics and public policy. But this holds true for all public policy, not just cannabis policy. To look toward a single force as being responsible for modern pot prohibition misses the larger point that not only are there multiple forces and interests in play, but also that there is a unique, long-standing cultural stigma in this country against cannabis, and that this cultural view (particularly among politicians and other decision-makers) is incredibly influential (arguably as influential as any lobby group) in shaping the way cannabis is portrayed, legislated, reported on, and even discussed within our society. For a large segment of our population, and especially among lawmakers, marijuana remains a symbol that elicits a strong, emotional, adverse reaction because to them it represents (wrongly) many of the hot-button issues they oppose and crusade against. It's not cannabis per se, but the culture they associate with cannabis that they are not only afraid of, but believe they must suppress at every turn ('for the good of America.') The cannabis user has been stigmatized for nearly one-hundred years in this nation (and continues to be today; see Above the Influence's malicious Stoners In The Mist video), and it will take a long, hard-fought cultural shift to change that and amend the damage done by it.As for the charge: "Follow the money..." Go ahead and do so. (And when you do, you will find that it leads primarily to law enforcement interests.) But even then you'll only find part of the answer, but not the whole answer.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #15 posted by FoM on June 27, 2008 at 10:13:46 PT
BGreen
I'm with you 100%. I am waiting to see the Obama and Clinton Event on the news. What exciting times we are living in. A woman and an African American with over 36,000,000 votes between them. I have hope that the world will like the people of the United States again in time. I am so proud of the young people these days. They give me hope. Hope I haven't had in many years.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by BGreen on June 27, 2008 at 10:06:21 PT
If Obama allows a free debate about cannabis
we're halfway to our goal. There's not a single poster on CNews that couldn't out-debate the drug czar and his flying monkeys.Obama also has the support of most of the young people so he doesn't have to use the cannabis user as political scapegoats. This will be the first time in my lifetime that the younger voters are going to get their choice of President. No longer will the oldest of the old get to determine what's best for the rest of us.Will Smith told Matt Lauer on the Today Show that he's already experienced a change in attitude for the better in people overseas. He said because of Obama it's actually cool to be an American again.I had nearly lost hope in the future of the United States, so excuse me if I get a little excited about having an intelligent and thoughtful man just about my age who admits he enjoyed smoking cannabis and can still become President.The Reverend Bud Green
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by FoM on June 27, 2008 at 09:51:06 PT
Patrick
It's nice to see you. I personally don't have any serious expectations of an Obama Administration. He did say he would stop the raids and that I will expect to happen. If we get way more Democrats in power this November change will come faster I believe. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by Patrick on June 27, 2008 at 09:42:06 PT
Should Obama get elected...
don't expect things to change drastically. I mean really. There are so many checks and balances in place that dramatic and quick change will not take place. It's like trying to turn a 300 foot long oil tanker on a dime. It just doesn't happen that way. 
If he is elected no doubt there will be change. Happens everytime we elect a new prez. Question is, will it be change for the better? And don't say what could be worse than the present cause you know it can always get worse the same way it can always get better my cannabis loving friends. That is all.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by Paint With Light on June 27, 2008 at 00:04:01 PT
My thanks go out to all the activists
I want to thank everyone who is working in any way to change our current insane, unfair, and unjust cannabis laws.Whether it is by casual conversations with the general public or full out activism, each and every action adds to the change that is coming.I think the most effective is the even-toned, consistant, and knowledgeable style of Paul and Mason. I am impressed at Paul's ability to stay on point, factually, and concisely.There is so much more positive information now than there was just ten years ago. The challenge is to give enough info without overwhelming the recipient.Some let their passion overpower the need to communicate and have come off as too abbrasive.I helped organize an event once where one of the prominent pot activists came to speak. I was at one of the tables and had made progress changing the minds of some of the local people when all of a sudden the speaker went off on a rant at one of the local officers(only because he was an officer). That particular officer had been real helpful all day and had previously told me he wished the laws would change.We probably lost 4 or 5 people from our side as a result of that one rant.Thanks again to all the activists like Paul that have learned how to communicate. Add FoM and several others from here to that group. You know who you are.Equal with alcohol is all I ask. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by HempWorld on June 26, 2008 at 17:54:27 PT
Correction ...
As I said in my first post below, pharmaceutical companies have known at least from 1934 to 1937 (the time of their research consortium on cannabis) that cannabis is a non-patentable wonderful healer. By the way patents expire, unless your are Disney (see trademarks). So, for the simple fact that THEY could not market or I should say, continue to market cannabis products exclusively for a limited time, we have a permanent war on drugs that has cost countless lives and lives lost and endless massive amounts of money spent on misinformation and persecution of cannabis users and sick people.Off topic: We have had massive raides in Northern California lately but these are the VERY LAST ONES!IT IS OVER! Obama will move in and things will change drastically, unless their is (continued) foul play.
On a mission from God!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by HempWorld on June 26, 2008 at 17:38:09 PT
Storm Crow
You said it, then changed it; "they all come around in the end" not if their paid to look the other way, that's why nothing has happened since the University of Virginia in 1974. Shouldn't this give you pause to think?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by Storm Crow on June 26, 2008 at 17:13:23 PT
Paul, Thank you so much for all that you do! 
And my own thought on why the ACS and others aren't screaming for cannabis to be more thoroughly investigated, is they know they would be out of a job! The "incestuous relationship" they have with the drug companies would come to an end. Money would dry up! Cannabis has the potential of being culture-changing force! A broadly effective medicine with pleasant side effects, a gentle intoxicant, a wide range of fiber products from rope to cloth to building materials, food, fuel and who knows what else? We haven't really been ALLOWED to find out, here in the land of the free. Even with research being pretty well squelched in the US, I managed to gather a fair number of cannabis studies from the net. And what those studies seem to say, is that cannabis is dang close to a miracle "cure-all" plant! Yet the research into its healing properties is only in its infancy. They are all afraid of the coming changes and are doing their best to slow those changes. They know their comfort zone, and it's filled with lies they have come to believe- even when the truth is there to see! One of these days, Paul, they'll finally catch on! It's been like that with most great medical (and scientific) breakthroughs- germ theory, genetics, anesthesia, stem cells, etc. There is great resistance to the new idea, but they all come around in the end. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by OverwhelmSam on June 26, 2008 at 17:08:10 PT
This One's Easy
Start a new initiative to overturn measure B and get it on the next ballot. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by FoM on June 26, 2008 at 16:36:36 PT
HempWorld
I also agree with how you see it.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by greenmed on June 26, 2008 at 16:10:17 PT
Paul
I too would like to thank you for your tireless work on behalf of our issue and us.What is your insight into where lies the national organizations' cultural resistance to medical cannabis... is it with an editorial board or are these things decided by member vote?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by HempWorld on June 26, 2008 at 14:44:20 PT
"political issue as it is a cultural one"
Dear Paul, I appreciate everything you do, but you are wrong here. I have lived in over 5 countries and have looked and this from many, many angles (cultural, lingual etc. etc.) and I must conclude: It's about money. It's about lobby power (big corporations) in American Government. This is why the CSA (Controlled Substances Act) was written the way it was, this is why the cancer research conglomerate was disbanded in 1937, the same year cannabis was made illegal (through tax-it scheme, very nefarious). This is why the DEA operates the way it does (ruthless and reckless with direct authority from the president and inner circles who all are also involved (for financial gain) with Ely Lily, etc. etc. it's about money and huge sums of money (US taxpayers' dollars) are spent on propaganda via the ONDCP. No other country I have lived in (Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, England, Canada, US, Spain and Mexico) has such a (fascistic) system of rules nor do they throw huge sums of money on outright lies.
On a mission from God!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by dongenero on June 26, 2008 at 14:35:17 PT
keep up the great work Paul
I'm with you. With the number of studies and reports regarding cannabis' potential benefits with various cancers, I simply cannot believe that there is so little effort being put into additional research. I'm dismayed that you rarely even read about these studies in the media. It is truly sad.Please keep up your hard work. Keep your chin up. There are a lot of us out here pulling for you. Many of us have lost loved ones to these terrible diseases.  
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 26, 2008 at 14:29:39 PT
Paul
I believe much of it is the cultural divide. The thing is it's time to bury any divides that were in our past and embrace the different cultures as they are. It will make a better Country. We might just get something accomplished too. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by paul armentano on June 26, 2008 at 14:13:42 PT
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
It seems like I write about the anti-cancer properties of cannabis every day. In fact, I practically do. Yet, we live in an environment where even talking about the subject -- no less actually conducting said research on it -- is not almost impossible, it IS impossible (as the past 30+ years have shown us.) Most troublingly, this suppression and stagnation of research is not so much a political issue as it is a cultural one. For instance, why is the American Cancer Society not pushing for more ("More?" Who am I kidding? How about any) research in this area (or even acknowledging such research exists)? It's not because George Bush is President. The ACS, as an institution, has always been silent on this issue, regardless of which political party is in power. Ditto for the National MS Society. They've been silent because America as a culture has come to believe cannabis a verboten subject (or, at best, one worthy of derision), and it will take a cultural shift -- not merely an election -- to change this attitude, if it can be changed.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-armentano/what-your-government-know_b_108712.
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment