|
 |
Medical Marijuana /
Medical Cannabis News |
|
OUR
BLOGGING ON RECENT NEWS STORIES IS AVAILABLE ON www.420HWY.COM
|
|
Ease Pot
Restrictions, Lawmakers Urge
(July 30) - The U.S. should stop
arresting responsible marijuana users, Rep. Barney Frank said
Wednesday, announcing a proposal to end federal penalties for
Americans carrying fewer than 100 grams, almost a
quarter-pound, of the substance.
Current laws targeting marijuana users
place undue burdens on law enforcement resources, punish ill
Americans whose doctors have prescribed the substance and
unfairly affect African-Americans, said Frank, flanked by
legislators and representatives from advocacy groups.
Should
Marijuana Use Be Legal?
"The vast amount of human activity
ought to be none of the government's business," Frank
said on Capitol Hill. "I don't think it is the
government's business to tell you how to spend your leisure
time."
The Massachusetts Democrat and his
supporters emphasized that only the use -- and not the abuse
-- of marijuana would be decriminalized if the resolution
resulted in legislation.
The Drug Enforcement Administration says
people charged with simple possession are rarely incarcerated.
The agency and the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy have long opposed marijuana legalization, for medical
purposes or otherwise.
Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled
substance, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no
accepted medical use, according to the drug control office.
"Smoked marijuana has not withstood
the rigors of science -- it is not medicine and it is not
safe," the DEA states on its Web site. "Legalization
of marijuana, no matter how it begins, will come at the
expense of our children and public safety. It will create
dependency and treatment issues, and open the door to use of
other drugs, impaired health, delinquent behavior, and drugged
drivers."
Allen St. Pierre, spokesman for the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws,
likened Frank's proposal -- co-sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul,
R-Texas -- to current laws dealing with alcohol consumption.
Alcohol use is permitted, and the government focuses its law
enforcement efforts on those who abuse alcohol or drive under
its influence, he said.
"We do not arrest and jail responsible
alcohol drinkers," he said.
St. Pierre said there are tens of millions
of marijuana smokers in the United States, including himself,
and hundreds of thousands are arrested each year for medical
or personal use.
There have been 20 million
marijuana-related arrests since 1965, he said, and 11 million
since 1990, and "every 38 seconds, a marijuana smoker is
arrested."
Rob Kampia, director of the Marijuana
Policy Project, said marijuana arrests outnumber arrests for
"all violent crimes combined," meaning police are
spending inordinate amounts of time chasing nonviolent
criminals.
"Ending arrests is the key to
marijuana policy reform," he said.
Reps. William Lacy Clay, D-Missouri, and
Barbara Lee, D-California, said that in addition to targeting
nonviolent offenders, U.S. marijuana laws unfairly target
African-Americans.
Clay said he did not condone drug use but
opposes using tax dollars to pursue what he feels is an arcane
holdover from "a phony war on drugs that is filling up
our prisons, especially with people of color."
Too many drug enforcement resources are
being dedicated to incarcerating nonviolent drugs users, and
not enough is being done to stop the trafficking of narcotics
into the United States, he said.
Being arrested is not the American
marijuana smoker's only concern, said Bill Piper of the Drug
Policy Alliance Network. Those found guilty of marijuana use
can lose their jobs, financial aid for college, their food
stamp and welfare benefits, or their low-cost housing.
The U.S. stance on marijuana, Piper said,
"is one of the most destructive criminal justice policies
in America today."
Calling the U.S. policy
"inhumane" and "immoral," Lee said she has
many constituents who are harassed or arrested for using or
cultivating marijuana for medical purposes. California allows
medical marijuana use, but the federal government does not,
she explained.
House Resolution 5843, titled the Personal
Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008, would
express support for "a very small number of
individuals" suffering from chronic pain or illness to
smoke marijuana with impunity.
According to NORML, marijuana can be used
to treat a range of illnesses, including glaucoma, asthma,
multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and seizures.
Frank, who is chairman of the Financial
Services Committee, said that about a dozen states have
approved some degree of medical marijuana use and that the
federal government should stop devoting resources to arresting
people who are complying with their states' laws.
In a shot at Republicans, Frank said it was
strange that those who support limited government want to
criminalize marijuana.
Asked whether the resolution's passage
would change his personal behavior, Frank quipped, "I do
obey every law I vote for" but quickly said he did not
use marijuana, nor does he encourage it.
"I smoke cigars. I don't think other
people should do that. If young people ask me, I would advise
them not to do it," he said.
If HR 5843 were passed, the House would
support marijuana smokers possessing up to 100 grams -- about
3½ ounces -- of cannabis without being arrested. It would
also give its blessing to the "nonprofit transfer"
of up to an ounce of marijuana.
The resolution would not address laws
forbidding growing, importing or exporting marijuana, or
selling it for profit. The resolution also would not speak to
state laws regarding marijuana use.
Scott J
. Ferrell, Congressional Quarterly
/ Getty Images
Rep. Barney Frank. D-Mass., said he
doesn't use marijuana himself, but he doesn't think the
government should regulate Americans' leisure activities.
"The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of
the government's business," Frank told a Capitol Hill
news conference.
David J. Phillip, AP
Frank's proposal, called the Personal Use
of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008, is
co-sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. Paul recently
dropped his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
David McNew, Getty Images
Frank said current laws targeting
marijuana users place undue burdens on law enforcement
resources. They also punish ill Americans who have been
prescribed medical marijuana, he said. Here, demonstrators
protest federal raids on Los Angeles-area marijuana
dispensaries on Jan. 22, 2007.
|
|
|
MALIBU CITY COUNCIL VOTES
UNANIMOUSLY
The Malibu City Council voted unanimously to adopt an
ordinance regulating medical cannabis facilities in that city
last night. The new ordinance requires that the two existing
collectives there obtain a Conditional Use Permit and abide by
certain land use and operational guidelines. Both collectives
appear to meet the criteria specified in the ordinance already.
The unanimous vote is another victory in the grassroots campaign
to improve local regulations surrounding medical cannabis
facilities. The patients and operators at PCH Collective in
Malibu are to be commended for their hard work in educating the
City Staff and Council Members prior to the vote. They also did
a great job of turning out well informed speakers to plead their
case.
|
|
|
Feds storm 25 locations in Humboldt County drug raids
By Karen Wilkinson, John C. Osborn, and Diane M. Batley,
The Eureka Reporter
Published: Jun 25 2008
Federal agents raided about 25 Humboldt County locations linked to
one group’s alleged illegal drug operation in the early morning hours
Tuesday.
The raids, focused mainly in Southern Humboldt, also brought agents
to Arcata, where one house was reportedly raided. In Southern
Humboldt, residents woke up to tales of convoys of federal agents
driving through the southern part of the county, while residents
elsewhere heard the news through online media and radio reports.
Federal agents from a variety of law enforcement agencies, including
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Agency and
Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, joined in the large-scale drug bust
dubbed “Operation Southern Sweep.”
Federal agencies brought almost three times the number of agents —
about 450 — as the number of law enforcement officers in the county’s
seven incorporated cities and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office,
which total 158.
Officials rigged a base of operations at the River Lodge in Fortuna,
with several large trucks carrying communications equipment parked
outside.
FBI Special Agent Joseph M. Schadler said that agents will be in
Humboldt County over the next few days to finish raids on 23 discrete
locations and two large chunks of property.
Agents executed 27 federal warrants and two state warrants at these
locations, he said. Agents served four of the 29 warrants at two
large chunks of property.
The massive raids were a result of a two-year investigation by the
California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement,
connecting one group’s large-scale commercial marijuana grow and
distribution operation, Schadler said.
“They are not Mexican drug traffickers,” he said. “They are homegrown.”
Agents are not targeting medical marijuana users or growers with 215
cards, Schadler said.
The goal of the raids is to collect evidence to support prosecutions,
he said, and no arrests are planned at this time.
One person was arrested Tuesday for assaulting an officer, but it’s
unknown whether that person will be charged, Schadler said.
Although officials wouldn’t comment on where specific raids occurred,
Southern Humboldt residents offered direction as to where federal
agents went.
Scott Bliss, a roaster with Signature Coffee Co. in Redway, saw a
line of vehicles — he guessed there were 90 — pass by the business in
the early morning hours. “It was amazing,” he said. The unmarked
vehicles had mostly uniformed people inside, Bliss said, whom he
first thought were going to help put out the nearby fires.
Some of the vehicles were towing all-terrain vehicles, three-wheelers
and portable toilets, Bliss said, and the convoy of vehicles lasted
about 15 minutes. “I’ve seen some convoys go by, but never anything
like that,” said Bliss, who has lived in the county since 1969.
According to residents in Redway and media accounts, tales of raids
in Whale Gulch, Whitethorn and Briceland emerged throughout the day.
A carpenter who commutes to the Whitethorn area for his job said his
was the first civilian vehicle to drive behind the federal convoy at
around 7 a.m.
“It was like 10 minutes’ worth of cars,” said the man, who wished to
remain anonymous due to the small size of the community he lives in.
“I personally have worked at sites where people are taking advantage
of 215s and I know they’re not doing it for medical — they’re doing
it for profit.”
Graham Fabian, a 22-year-old clerk at the Shop Smart grocery in
Redway, said customers relayed stories of federal agents knocking on
their doors and asking for identification.
“They’re doing their thing — if you’ve got nothing to hide there’s
nothing to be scared of,” he said.
Fabian, who grew up in Humboldt County, said he knew this day would
come.
“I knew it would happen eventually,” he said. “Once it gets enough
popularity, they come and enforce. You can ask anyone and they know
Humboldt is known for pot growing. (The feds) probably just do their
sweeps one drug at a time.”
South county residents also reported that federal agents conducted
raids in the Island Mountain and Harris area.
Krisy Chilingarian, a clerk at an Alderpoint store, said she heard
stories of Campaign against Marijuana Planting hauling several
baskets of plants from the mountain.
“I’ve been getting phone calls all day long,” she said.
She also said residents reported armed agents stopped people in the
Island Mountain area and searched cars, though officials did not
verify that.
Federal agents reportedly raided only one residence in northern
Humboldt County.
FBI agents raided a house at 1658 Virginia Way in Sunny Brae early
Tuesday morning.
Around 10 a.m., agents combed through the trunk of a gray car parked
in the driveway. The car had Oregon license plates.
Equipment including lamps, triangular containers and hoses was spread
across the yard.
It’s unknown whether any arrests were made by agents at that time.
“I have no idea how long (FBI agents) were there,” said former Arcata
Mayor and Councilmember Bob Ornelas, who lives across the street from
the raided house.
He stepped outside his door around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning and saw
eight agents around the house across the street, he said. “You could
see lots of flashing, lots of picture taking,” Ornelas said.
He said he prefers neighbors to unoccupied grow houses and the sound
of children over silence.
“The pattern is no one’s ever home,” he said regarding the raided house.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Weed Vs Cancer:
What the Government Doesn't Want You to Know
Paul Armentato - NORML Legal Committee
Senator Ted Kennedy is putting forward a brave face following his recent surgery but the sad reality remains. Even with successful surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy treatment, gliomas -- a highly aggressive form of brain cancer that strikes approximately 10,000 Americans annually -- tragically claim the lives of 75 percent of its victims within two years and virtually all within five years.
But what if there was an alternative treatment for gliomas that could selectively target the cancer while leaving healthy cells intact? And what if federal bureaucrats were aware of this treatment, but deliberately withheld this information from the public?
Sadly, the questions posed above are not entirely hypothetical. Let me explain.
In 2007, I reviewed over 150 published preclinical and clinical studies assessing the therapeutic potential of marijuana and several of its active compounds, known as cannabinoids. I summarized these numerous studies in a book, now in its third edition, entitled Emerging Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids: A Review of the Scientific Literature. (NORML Foundation, 2008) One chapter in this book, which summarized the findings of more than 30 separate trials and literature reviews, was dedicated to the use of cannabinoids as potential anti-cancer agents, particularly in the treatment of
gliomas.
Not familiar with this scientific research? Your government is.
In fact, the first experiment documenting pot's potent anti-cancer effects took place in 1974 at the Medical College of Virginia at the behest federal bureaucrats. The results of that study, reported in an Aug. 18, 1974, Washington Post newspaper feature, were that marijuana's primary psychoactive component, THC, "slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent."
Despite these favorable preliminary findings (eventually published the following year in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute), U.S. government officials refused to authorize any follow-up research until conducting a similar -- though secret -- preclinical trial in the mid-1990s. That study, conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program to the tune of $2 million, concluded that mice and rats administered high doses of THC over long periods had greater protection against malignant tumors than untreated controls.
However, rather than publicize their findings, the U.S. government shelved the results, which only became public after a draft copy of its findings were leaked to the medical journal AIDS Treatment News, which in turn forwarded the story to the national media.
In the years since the completion of the National Toxicology trial, the U.S. government has yet to authorize a single additional study examining the drug's potential anti-cancer properties. (Federal permission is necessary in order to conduct clinical research on marijuana because of its illegal status as a schedule I controlled substance.)
Fortunately, in the past 10 years scientists overseas have generously picked up where U.S. researchers so abruptly left off, reporting that cannabinoids can halt the spread of numerous cancer cells -- including prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and brain cancer. (An excellent paper summarizing much of this research, "Cannabinoids for Cancer Treatment: Progress and Promise," appears in the January 2008 edition of the journal Cancer Research.) A 2006 patient trial published in the British Journal of Cancer even reported that the intracranial administration of THC was associated with reduced tumor cell proliferation in humans with advanced glioblastoma.
Writing earlier this year in the scientific journal Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, Italian researchers reiterated, "(C)annabinoids have displayed a great potency in reducing glioma tumor growth. (They) appear to be selective antitumoral agents as they kill glioma cells without affecting the viability of nontransformed counterparts." Not one mainstream media outlet reported their findings. Perhaps now they'll pay better attention.
What possible advancements in the treatment of cancer may have been achieved over the past 34 years had U.S. government officials chosen to advance -- rather than suppress -- clinical research into the
anti that the families of Senator Kennedy and thousands of others must suffer while we do.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
