Date: Sat, 03 Aug 2002 15:39:07 -0700

Subject:US: Chong Still Revels In Counterculture Ways Up TOC

Newshawk: The War on Drugs IS Terrorism
Pubdate: Fri,  2 Aug 2002
Source: Honolulu Advertiser (HI)
Webpage: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2002/Aug/02/en/en02a.html
Copyright: 2002 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Contact: letters@honoluluadvertiser.com
Website: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/195
Author: Derek Paiva
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular)

CHONG STILL REVELS IN COUNTERCULTURE WAYS

Ask Tommy Chong if he's still a stoner, and he'll tell you a story about a
sunny day in the 1970s when he and former comedy partner Richard "Cheech"
Marin stepped out of their Lahaina hotel rooms individually to purchase some
of the Valley Isle's finest.

"Cheech and I were playing Hawai'i ... and we both wanted to score some
weed," says Chong, via telephone from his Los Angeles home. "So Cheech
hooked up with this grower who had a plantation near Hana. They chartered a
plane, flew over there, and then hiked up this mountain ... quite a ways,
starting early in the morning."

Chong, meanwhile, chose to sleep in.

"Around noon or one o'clock, I woke up and walked over to a health food
store," says Chong. "And there was this guy sorting bags of weed. So I say,
'Oh, are those for sale?' And he says, 'Yeah!' and threw one on the counter
for me."

Marin returned that evening with a funky-looking sunburn on one side of his
face, stories of his battles with nature, a small reservoir of anger, but
beaming with pride as he tossed a hard-won $100 bag of product on the table.
To his surprise, Chong did the same.

"He was, like, 'Where'd you get that, man?' says Chong, before pausing to
crack up with laughter. "When I told him, the look on his face was
priceless. I mean, I even actually paid less for the same amount of weed as
Cheech."

Think this sounds a bit like a skit from one of the duo's now cult-classic
comedy records (like 1973's "Los Cochinos") and multimillion-dollar-grossing
cinematic pot adventures (like 1978's "Up In Smoke")? Well, so does Chong.

"It was classic Chong, man!" he says, referring to his only slightly alter
ego. "If you wait, the stuff will come to ya."

Fine, man, but whose "stuff" was more, uh, dope?

"Oh, mine, by far!" says Chong, laughing hard. "Cheech couldn't even enjoy
his 'cause he got ripped off. I mean, he had to pay for chartering a plane,
man!"

About to turn 64, and -- to paraphrase the title of one of the duo's films
- -- still proudly smokin', Tommy Chong and his Family Stoned Band
(girlfriend/wife of 30 years Shelby and sons Gilbran, 26, and Paris, 21)
will offer a two-night engagement of stoner stand-up, skits ("Let's Make A
Dope Deal"), original tunes ("Earache My Eye") and (we're not joking) salsa
dance lessons today and Saturday at Gussie L'Amour's.

Along with his occasional appearances as "Leo," an aging hippie photo-lab
owner on Fox's "That '70s Show" and film cameos, the vaudeville-style show
is just one of Chong's under-the-radar projects since the duo's semi-hostile
1986 breakup.

Unlike Marin -- who post-C&C has eked out a moderately successful, decidedly
straight-laced acting career in television ("Nash Bridges") and film ("Tin
Cup," "The Lion King" and both "Spy Kids" films) -- Chong has never
distanced himself from his stoner past in his reel or real life. The
question of exactly how often he still inhales exhales into our conversation
once again.

"Ohhhh, a couple of times a week ... maybe," says Chong. "It depends. The
older you get, the less you need. Pot makes you slow and stupid. And when
you get old, that comes naturally." He lets loose a roaring laugh again.

These days, Chong says, his pot use is akin to getting treats for a job well
done.

"I use it as a reward," explains Chong. "If I've done something -- worked on
a book I'm writing, created some art, wrote a song, or did something
creative -- then I go, 'You know what? You deserve to get high!' "

Oddly enough, it's a lesson in moderation he's passed on to his two sons,
each of whom he believes have stayed away from harder drugs, in part,
because of his sage advice.

"I actually turned on ... my youngest son myself," says Chong, proudly. "I
mean, I'm quite sure he smoked a little before, but we had a little
you're-a-man-now bar mitzvah joint, you know? And it was nice. We've been
tight ever since."

At first angry with Marin's abrupt ending of their partnership (he wanted to
move on to family-friendlier fare), Chong now is grateful for the years it
gave him to be full-time father to his sons. Time at home was something he
rarely had for his daughters from an earlier marriage, actresses Rae Dawn
and Robbi. (Chong's daughter with Shelby, Precious, also is an actress.)

"When Cheech and I broke up, I was home a lot," says Chong. "I got to drive
both of my boys to school every day, and picked 'em up. And that was one of
the highlights of my life ... to actually be their chauffeur. I cherish that
time."

Chong's post-C&C relationship with Marin has proved far more challenging to
maintain. Although both have worked on a few of the other's projects
post-breakup, the duo have gone through lengthier periods of barely
speaking. In fact, they're in the middle of one right now.

"But I think it's gonna thaw out a bit," says Chong, steering conversation
to an offer made to him earlier in the day during a meeting with an unnamed,
though "well-known" producer. Are you ready for a Cheech & Chong reunion
movie yet? "I'm meeting with the writer, then I'm gonna get a script, a
deal, and then present it to Cheech and see if he's interested. And I'll bet
the store that he'll go, 'OK, let's do it.' "

OK, I'll bite ... why?

"Well, No. 1, he's not working," says Chong. "And No. 2, he's not working.
And No. 3, he needs the money. It depends on him. But I can't see him
turning down something like this because it would put him into retirement,
which he's really looking forward to.

"It'd be big money ... huge money. It'd be a $20 million paycheck ... 10
(million) each, a decent director and away we go. If Cheech turns down $10
million, or even a million, to do a Cheech & Chong movie, I'll be
surprised."

Reunion or no reunion, though, Chong insists he'll remain proudly
counterculture until the day he dies.

"Oh, yeah," he says, laughing. "I'll be counterculture until it's no longer
counter."
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk

 
 


**




web:     http://www.crrh.org/

------------------------------
Date: Sun, 04 Aug 2002 10:27:16 -0700

Subject:US: From Nixon to Now Up TOC

Pubdate: Sun, 01 Sep 2002
Source: Playboy Magazine (US)
Copyright: 2002 Playboy Enterprises, Inc.
Contact: edit@playboy.com
Website: http://www.playboy.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/343
Author: Kevin B. Zeese
Note: Kevin B. Zeese is the president of Common Sense for Drug Policy,
http://www.csdp.org/
Bookmarks: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
http://www.mapinc.org/bush.htm (Bush, George)
http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)
http://www.mapinc.org/people/Richard+Nixon (Nixon, Richard)
http://www.mapinc.org/people/Kevin+Zeese

FROM NIXON TO NOW

A Flawed Drug Policy Marches On

There's one thing you can say for the war on drugs: It's consistent. The
effort is tinged with the same hypocrisy, dishonesty and propaganda that
characterized President Richard Nixon's launch of it during the early
Seventies.

Earlier this year the National Archives released tapes Nixon made in the
Oval Office during 1971 and 1972.  Transcripts highlight the prejudice,
ignorance and self-deception that precipitated a national tragedy.  While
the president appointed a commission that called for decriminalizing the
possession and small-scale sale of marijuana, Nixon pushed for an "all-out
war, on all fronts," against pot smokers. Within a year marijuana arrests
had jumped threefold, to 420,700 from 100,000.  And since then, more than
15 million people have been arrested in the U.S. for marijuana.

What was Nixon's big hang-up with weed?  He saw it as a tool used by those
who opposed him.  The president claimed that "radical demonstrators are all
on drugs."  He told confidants that "every one of the bastards out for
legalizing marijuana is Jewish.  I suppose it's because most of them are
psychiatrists."  Nixon saw the drug war as part of a larger cultural war:
"Homosexuality, dope, immorality in general - these are the enemies of
strong societies.  That's why the Communists and left-wingers are pushing
the stuff.  They're trying to destroy us."

In his notes from the time, Nixon aide Bob Haldeman reported that the White
House saw tough drug laws as a way to keep the black community in
check.  "The whole problem is the blacks," Haldeman wrote.  "The key is to
devise a system that recognizes this while not appearing to."  The Nixon
legacy?  More blacks in prison, and fewer voting. While blacks make up
approximately 15 percent of drug users, they represent 55 percent of drug
convictions.  Thirteen percent have lost the right to vote because of
felony convictions, often for drug offenses.  In Florida alone, and
estimated 204,600 black men cannot vote - enough to have easily turned the
presidential election, even allowing for quite a few dangling chads.

While speaking with entertainer and antidrug crusader Art Linkletter, Nixon
dismissed any comparison between the mood-altering effects of alcohol and
those of drugs.  He asserted that while people smoke to get high, they
don't drink to get drunk but only to have fun.

That simple but absurd distinction has influenced domestic policy for 30
years.  The feds are punitive on pot use but compassionate about alcohol
abuse.  Critics of the drug war have called for an end to treating drug
users as criminals.  They point to the cost of this jihad.  The
government's response?  Clever accounting.  The drug war budget already
does not include the cost of military personnel working on drug
enforcement, such as the soldiers and civilian contractors employed in
Colombia by the U.S.  Now the White House also will exclude the expense of
prosecuting and/or imprisoning offenders. According to drug czar John
Walters, these are indirect costs for his office.

It gets better.  This year, for the first time, the cost of treating
alcoholics - people addicted to a substance that's legal in every state -
will be added to the budget.  So much for Nixon's distinction between
tokers and tipplers.  Why these Enron-like tricks?  The easy answer is that
they allow President Bush to cut the federal drug budget from $19.2 billion
to $11.4 billion without any sacrifice. More important, Bush and Walters
can maintain that the split in the budget between enforcement and treatment
costs approaches 50-50 (the actual split is 70-30).  This not only allows
the administration to claim the higher ground - it's compassionate
conservatism at work - but it also reflects a growing belief among the
public that incarceration is not the way to battle what is being recognized
as a public health crisis.

Unfortunately, it's all lies.  The leaders of the drug war have become
comfortable with their ability to churn out propaganda.  They can assert
with straight faces the $3 billion annual cost of incarcerating offenders
is not a cost of the war.  This sort of dishonesty shows the drug warriors
realize they are losing support.  According to one national survey, three
in four Americans believe the war is a losing cause.  Voters in California
and Arizona have told authorities to provide treatment to offenders rather
than send them to prison.  More reforms are sure to follow.

- - ---
MAP posted-by: Jackl

 
 


**




web:     http://www.crrh.org/

------------------------------
Date: Sun, 04 Aug 2002 10:31:34 -0700

Subject:Canada: Would-Be Reefer Refugees Try To Gain Acceptance Up TOC

Newshawk: CannabisLink.ca (http://cannabislink.ca)
Pubdate: Sat, 03 Aug 2002
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Page: A3
Copyright: 2002, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca
Website: http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Jane Armstrong

WOULD-BE REEFER REFUGEES TRY TO GAIN ACCEPTANCE FOR MEDICAL USE OF CANNABIS

Four Americans Battle To Persuade Canada That The U.S. Persecutes People
Who Need Marijuana

SECHELT, B.C. -- It's noon and Steve Kubby is puffing on his third joint of
the day. He'll smoke nine more before the sun sets on this sleepy, seaside
community. Mr. Kubby has a rare form of adrenal cancer and says he will die
if he doesn't consume that much marijuana every day.

He doesn't look stoned, or even sick. Dressed in a crisp blue suit and
talking a mile a minute, he could pass for an over-caffeinated stockbroker.
If anything, the trim, 56-year-old Californian looks the picture of health.
He says that's because he has been smoking pot every day for more than 20
years.

Shortly after he was diagnosed with cancer, an old college friend, Richard
Marin (also known as Cheech of the pot-smoking Cheech and Chong comedy duo)
suggested he try marijuana to ease his discomfort. It worked.

Mr. Kubby says cannabis prevents his blood pressure from skyrocketing and
keeps his tumours from spreading. His claims are backed by written
testimonials from U.S. and Canadian specialists. But Mr. Kubby said his
need for marijuana made him a target in the United States, where
authorities are bent on maintaining zero tolerance for drug use.

It also turned him into a fugitive, and now he and his family are seeking
political asylum in Canada.

Mr. Kubby is not alone. Three other Americans have made refugee claims in
recent months. As Canada moves toward liberalizing its marijuana laws, some
observers predict the cases could prompt a flood of similar claims from the
United States.

Mr. Kubby says he fits the United Nations definition of a political
refugee. He says he and his wife, Michele, 36, were targeted, arrested and
put on trial because of his pot dependence. At their home in Squaw Valley,
Calif., the Kubbys kept more than 200 plants before sheriff's deputies
arrived at their door in 1999, confiscated the crop and charged Mr. Kubby
with 19 counts of cultivating and trafficking marijuana.

In an interview at his three-story rented house overlooking this fishing
and logging town of 8,000 about an hour's drive and ferry ride north of
Vancouver, Mr. Kubby said: "I have been singled out for persecution.

"That is the definition of a refugee, being singled out for persecution
because of my condition."

As if on cue, Mr. Kubby announces partway through the interview: "I've got
to medicate." He grabs a 10-centimetre-long joint from a glass jar, steps
out on the balcony and lights up, inhaling deeply.

With their sparkling white teeth, preppy clothes and thick manes of hair,
Mr. and Mrs. Kubby don't fit the stereotype of die-hard pot activists. They
look and act like the all-American couple.

Mrs. Kubby pumps one's hand enthusiastically while her husband offers
refreshments during an interview. Daughters Brook, 6, and Crystal, 2, play
in the living room with Adam the babysitter, rounding out the image of
serene, middle-class domesticity.

Mr. and Mrs. Kubby met in 1995 on a gondola at a Lake Tahoe ski hill, where
Mr. Kubby published an outdoor magazine. In 1998, Mr. Kubby ran for
governor of California as a Libertarian candidate, taking 70,000 votes.
They were living the good life, until, as Mr. Kubby puts it, the United
States' so-called war on drugs came to their living room.

By then, Mr. Kubby was a well-known marijuana activist. He ran his campaign
for governor to garner support for Proposition 215, an initiative that
allowed for certain patients to use marijuana for medical reasons. The
proposition passed.

His interest in the subject was personal. In 1975, he was diagnosed with
adrenal cancer. He underwent radiation and chemotherapy, but his doctors
gave him two years to live.

Then, at Mr. Marin's suggestion, he began smoking marijuana. It controlled
his blood pressure, improved his appetite and dulled the pain. He has been
smoking and growing his own crops ever since. During his bid for the
governorship, he went public with his habit, which he suspects enraged
law-enforcement authorities.

But after a highly publicized trial in which he used Proposition 215 as a
defence, a jury acquitted him of the cultivation and trafficking charges.
He was convicted on two misdemeanour counts of possession and sentenced to
four months house arrest. One condition was that he abstain from marijuana
during that time.

Mr. Kubby left the United States because he said the conditions amounted to
a death sentence.

Despite his acquittal on the more serious charges, Mr. Kubby said the U.S.
government is clamping down on states such as California that have passed
laws allowing the medical use of marijuana. In recent months, several
medicinal marijuana clubs have been raided.

Once in Canada, the Kubbys accepted a $50,000 (U.S.) contract from B.C.
marijuana activist Marc Emery to produce and broadcast news for Pot-TV, a
Web site providing news on marijuana issues. They produce their show from
their Sechelt home.

The refugee claims have prompted some eye-rolling in Canada, especially the
suggestion that the Americans face imminent death if returned to their
homeland. Some refugee experts say the claimants will have a hard time
persuading an immigration panel that the United States is targeting sick
Americans for persecution.

The UN definition says a person must prove a well-founded fear of
persecution based on race, religion, political beliefs, nationality or
membership in a social group.

"The actual definition of a refugee in the legislation is quite narrow,"
said Janet Dench of the Canadian Council for Refugees.

However, Raoul Boulakia, president of the Refugee Lawyers Association of
Ontario, noted that recent changes to the Immigration Act say a refugee can
also be someone who faces cruel and unusual punishment if returned home.

The ailing pot users could make that argument, Mr. Boulakia said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kubby's life in Canada hasn't been hassle-free.

In April, RCMP and Immigration officers arrived at the Kubbys' home, seized
164 marijuana plants and charged Mr. Kubby with cultivating marijuana for
the purpose of trafficking. He is scheduled to appear in court this month,
when he will ask a judge to dismiss the charges on the basis of medical need.

He was held in a Vancouver remand centre for four days, during which time
Mr. Kubby said he went into hypertensive shock. Without marijuana, he
suffered severe diarrhea and vomiting. He said he lost 20 pounds in four
days and believes he would have died had he remained much longer in custody.

The couple hope that Canada's criminal and immigration system will show
leniency and compassion. They say they love Canada's tolerance and never
want to return to California.

They have even started to say "eh" at the end of their sentences.

"We're just a family trying to survive," Mrs. Kubby said.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth

 
 


**




web:     http://www.crrh.org/

------------------------------
Date: Sun, 04 Aug 2002 10:39:22 -0700

Subject:Canada: Where There's Smoke, There's Disagreement Up TOC

Newshawk: CannabisLink.ca (http://cannabislink.ca)
Pubdate: Sat, 03 Aug 2002
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2002 The Toronto Star
Contact: lettertoed@thestar.com
Website: http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Vanessa Lu, Health Policy Reporter

WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S DISAGREEMENT

Advocates say the evils of criminalizing marijuana are worse than the weed
itself.

When justice minister Martin Cauchon readily admitted last month that he
smoked pot in his youth, he reignited the debate over whether it's time to
ease laws around marijuana possession.

Advocates of decriminalization say marijuana is no more dangerous than
alcohol or tobacco -- both legal substances -- and the time and money spent
on minor drug busts could be used to nab big-time traffickers or growers.

Vocal opponents, notably law enforcement officials, say decriminalization
will lead to more drug abuse. They say marijuana is increasingly more
potent, but people will think it is safe if it is decriminalized.

Three decades ago, the Le Dain commission studied various aspects of
cannabis and recommended that possession of small amounts not be a criminal
offence, unlike selling and distributing the drug. Those recommendations
were never implemented.

Conviction for possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana and 1 gram or less
of hashish, a derivative of marijuana, is a summary offence with a fine of
up to $1,000 and/or six months in jail.

An estimated 1.5 million Canadians are considered recreational pot smokers.
In 2000, nearly 25,000 people in Canada were charged with cannabis
possession, a 26 per cent jump from 1996.

Marijuana became an illegal substance in Canada in the 1920s. Today, there
appears to be a growing movement among some physicians, lawyers and even
politicians for change.

Most insist they are not seeking to legalize the drug but merely to lessen
the punishment, following the example of other countries, notably in
Western Europe and in some Australian states.

A private member's bill to change the laws was introduced this year by
Canadian Alliance MP Keith Martin, a B.C. physician, but killed by the
Liberals. Tory Leader Joe Clark has spoken in favour of decriminalization,
saying young people should not be forced to carry lifelong criminal records
for smoking pot. Two parliamentary committees are studying the issue again
and are expected to make recommendations this fall.

Britain has just relaxed its rules around cannabis use. While possession is
a still a criminal offence, in most cases police will be instructed not to
charge people if it is for personal use. At the same time, the government
will focus on harder drugs. It raised the maximum penalty for dealing from
five years to 14 years.

The Canadian Medical Association has come out in favour of
decriminalization and, in an editorial in May, the Canadian Medical
Association Journal called Health Canada's decision to allow medicinal
marijuana "a step in the right direction," but urged bolder action.

"What we're saying to government is, if you're going to decriminalize it,
you're going to have to put resources into a comprehensive drug program --
in education, prevention and cessation," says CMA president Henry Haddad.

"Marijuana does have health hazards," he adds. "We would prefer that people
never smoke marijuana -- just like we would be very happy if people never
smoked tobacco."

Harold Kalant, professor emeritus of pharmacology at the University of
Toronto, warns that using marijuana comes with risks.

"It's not a safe, totally harmless drug," he says. "The acute effect of a
single joint is intoxication, similar to alcohol. The long-term effects are
addictive both physically and psychologically."

While there are no known fatalities from cannabis alone, overdoses can
occur when it is mixed with other drugs or alcohol.

The long-term effects of marijuana include cancer, lung disease and
impairment of the immune system. Kalant says cannabis users are three times
more likely to develop cancer of the upper airways than non-users and
people who smoke tobacco as well as dope are 30 times more likely to
develop cancer.

Kalant adds that the marijuana now available is far stronger than what
people smoked 30 years ago, when dope came into vogue.

"The stuff on the street then contained 1 per cent to 2 per cent of THC
(tetrahydrocannabinol)," he says. "It is not rare to see 10 per cent to 15
per cent THC in hydroponic marijuana today. Having 7.5 per cent to 10 per
cent THC is fairly common."

Speaking of 30 years ago, anyone who lived in Toronto then and associates
dope and the hippie era always brings up Rochdale.

Sometimes described as a monument to excess and a symbol of the flower
children movement, the 18-storey tower at Bloor and Huron Sts. -- which is
now a seniors' home -- was known as a haven for drugs.

Created as an experiment in learning and living, Rochdale was Canada's
counter-culture equivalent of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury. It opened in
1968 as a self-governing free university that attracted artists, hippies,
acidheads, draft dodgers and drug dealers. It was closed in 1975 after
years of notoriety.

Toronto police Deputy Chief Michael Boyd, who is adamantly opposed to any
decriminalization of marijuana, worries that today's youth are smoking dope
that can be 500 per cent stronger than that of the Rochdale years.

"If we were to decriminalize marijuana, it sends a confusing message to
people, especially young people," says Boyd, who chairs the drug abuse
committee of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

Health Canada data show teens used more hashish or marijuana during the 1990s.

Among 13-year-olds, 5 per cent of boys and 6 per cent of girls had used the
drug three times or more in 1990. By 1998, that figure jumped to 13 per
cent for boys and 8 per cent for girls.

Similarly, among 15-year-olds, 32 per cent of males had tried the drug more
than three times in 1998, up from 16 per cent in 1990, while the figure for
females was 29 per cent, up from 13 per cent.

"We are not looking to arrest more people," Boyd says. "We would like to
streamline people to get the right treatment and help....

"Contrary to some beliefs, we aren't going after the small-time users.
Police are so busy with increasing demands of new types of crime, we don't
have the time."

Most convictions for possession of marijuana come as the result of plea
bargains for other crimes, such as marijuana trafficking, or secondary to
charges such as robbery or assault, Boyd says.

The federal justice department estimates the cost of prosecuting simple
cannabis possessions amounts to $4.8 million a year, out of an annual
budget of $56 million to prosecute drug offences.

According to Statistics Canada, last year there were 92,000 drug offences
- -- with cannabis possession accounting for three-quarters of all
drug-related incidents. That is 3 per cent higher than in 2000 and 45 per
cent higher than in 1991.

Patrick Smith, vice-president of clinical programs at the Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, is among those who say the money
used to prosecute or jail people for marijuana possession could be better
spent on treatment or prevention programs.

"Marijuana is not a benign drug," he says, but it's not as destructive as
some other substances.

"If there were a panel of experts and we discovered alcohol, tobacco and
marijuana and, based on everything we know about all three drugs, and we
could only criminalize one, it would not be marijuana."

Despite the talk about loosening drug laws, Alan Young, a long-time
champion of decriminalization, remains skeptical that the federal Liberals
will be make changes soon.

"If you look carefully at what the (justice) minister said, he was careful
to ensure that people understand that there will be a need for public
consultation," says Young, a law professor at Osgoode Hall Law School.

"Even though we have had so many committee reports, we have studied this
issue more than any aspect of health and welfare, we're going to have
another couple of years of consultations."

Note: Advocates say the evils of criminalizing marijuana are worse than the
weed itself.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth

CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like 
alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis through pharmacies and restore 
the unregulated production of industrial hemp.

*Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp*
mail:     CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA
email:   crrh@crrh.org
phone:  (503) 235-4606
fax:       (503) 235-0120
web:     http://www.crrh.org/

------------------------------
Date: Sun, 04 Aug 2002 13:00:17 -0700
Subject: Canada: Pot plan proposed

Newshawk: Join CMAP (http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/lists.htm)
Pubdate: Sunday, August 04, 2002
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/
Address: 200 Granville Street, Ste. #1, Vancouver, BC V6C 3N3 Canada
Contact: provletters@pacpress.southam.ca
Webpage: http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/BA71866D-C73C-47FA-85E7-D615EBBB7C7F

Pot plan proposed

The Province

B.C. Marijuana Party head Marc Emery is planning a counterattack against
West Vancouver police by perfuming B.C. ferries with l'eau de pot.

Upset by police searching cars for marijuana on the Horseshoe Bay-Nanaimo
run, he says his supporters will spray ferry decks, doors and bulkheads with
THC oil in a bid to confuse police tracker dogs.

West Vancouver police did not comment yesterday on Emery's plans.

CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like 
alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis through pharmacies and restore 
the unregulated production of industrial hemp.

*Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp*
mail:     CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA
email:   crrh@crrh.org
phone:  (503) 235-4606
fax:       (503) 235-0120
web:     http://www.crrh.org/

------------------------------
Date: Sun, 04 Aug 2002 13:03:49 -0700
Subject: Christians united for promotion of a "drug free utopia"!

from Jeff T. Barrie   rimchamp77@juno.com

To the editor:

             I am noted for my moral intolerance on the drug war issue.
Recently, I encountered a minister from a "bible believing church" who
humbled me somewhat with a "difference of opinion".  We both agreed on
 two things:

             1] The War on Drugs has caused harm

             2] No CURRENT  benefits from the policy

I was quick to judge this as "pure evil"; after all, how else does one 

define evil?  I was corrected with the argument that this was "necessary
evil" and besides, there was a difference of opinion on how much harm
 it actually caused.  In  previous conversations we had agreed that 
 there was nothing wrong with drug use; however, widespread use leads 
 many into abuse and drugs even currently legal ones should be restricted 
 for the general good. We wouldn't see immediate benefits, but generations later we
 would reach a "drug free utopia". While I'm not a biblical scholar, I
 don't recall Jesus expounding on situations where committing evil ever lead to a
 greater good, but obviously many bible believing Christians believe it's
 OK.

             I'm pondering two questions:

1] Marx advocated for a society free from the greed that led to 
wars and exploitation a problem far worse than mere drug abuse.  
He condemned religion because of all the moral restrictions; 
if he made alliance with like minded Christians would we be 
well on our way to a "greed and drug free utopia"?

2] Do they serve coffee at this minister's church?

JT Barrie

Philomath, Oregon

541-929-5392

PS. Believe it or not, this was how the conversation proceeded. 
This is how people morally justify - and even condemn reformers like 
myself for "promoting evil" - drug prohibition. This is also why no 
ministers will ever stand up to an 800 pound gorilla on moral issues 
- even in their own church!
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 04 Aug 2002 13:08:30 -0700
Subject: IACM-Bulletin of 4 August 2002

* Science: Endocannabinoids extinguish bad memories in the brain
* Science: News at the 2002 meeting of the ICRS (I)

1.

Science: Endocannabinoids extinguish bad memories in the brain

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich
(Germany) have shown that the endogenous cannabinoid system
plays a central role in the extinction of aversive memories.

Transgenic mice without the brain cannabinoid receptor (CB1) and
mice treated with a CB1 receptor antagonist showed strongly
impaired extinction of fear in experiments. The animals that were
conditioned to associate a musical tone with an electric shock,
produced a fear reaction, and continued to react even when the tone
was not followed by a shock. Normal mice quickly stopped reacting
to the tone once it was not associated with a shock, but the treated
mice needed much more time to forget their fear.

Dr. Beat Lutz and his team found out that the amygdala, an area of
the brain central to storing memory and fear, was flooded with
endocannabinoids, when the mice were gradually forgetting the
learned response to the shock. The use of cannabis would not
produce the same effect in humans, Lutz said, because it overflows
the whole brain and is not specific enough.

Dr. Pankaj Sah, a neuroscientist at the Australian National
University in Canberra said in a comment the latest findings may
explain why some people with psychiatric problems try to find relief
with marijuana. He suggested that people with certain psychiatric
problems perhaps are self-medicating in an attempt to help their
brains extinguish some painful or traumatic memory or thought.

(Sources: Marsicano G, et al. The endogenous cannabinoid system
controls extinction of aversive memories. Nature 2002 Aug
1;418(6897):530-4; Sah P. Neurobiology: Never fear, cannabinoids
are here. Nature 2002 Aug 1;418(6897):488-9; Reuters of 31 July
2002; Seattle Times of 1 August 2002; Abstract of Giovanni
Marsicano et al. at the 2002 ICRS Meeting)

2.

Science: News at the 2002 meeting of the ICRS (I)

Below are some research results presented at the 12th Annual
Symposium on the Cannabinoids of the International Cannabinoid
Research Society (ICRS) from 10 to 14 July in the USA (California).
(See also the next IACM-Bulletin.)

(1) Effects of cannabinoids on autoimmune diseases of the central
nervous system were investigated in animal models. Autoimmune
diseases of the brain and spinal chord (EAE) and of the eye (EAU)
were induced in normal mice and in transgenic mice devoid of CB1
receptors. Disease progression was much faster in transgenic mice
than in normal mice. Exogenous cannabinoids (THC and WIN
55,212-2) produced a significant degree of preservation of the retina
in EAU. This suggests that cannabinoids may have some
neuroprotective effects during multiple sclerosis. (Abstract by Gareth
Pryce et al.)

(2) The possible role of endocannabinoids in the inhibition of colon
cancer growth was examined in healthy and cancer tissue obtained
by means of biopsy from humans. Both healthy and cancer colon
tissue expressed CB1 and CB2 receptors. Anandamide and 2-AG
levels in colon cancer tissues were about twice as high as in healthy
colon tissue. Moreover, anandamide dose-dependently inhibited the
growth of colon cancer cells, which was blocked by a CB1 receptor
antagonist. (Abstract by Vinzenzo di Marzo et al.)

(3) The non-psychotropic phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD)
reduced inflammation and hyperalgesia in a rat model of acute
inflammation. Furthermore, animals that had received CBD showed
lower biochemical parameters of inflammation, a lower level in
prostaglandins E2 (PGE2) in plasma, a lower activity of
cyclooxygenase (COX) in the inflamed paw, and a lower content of
nitric oxide and free radicals in the paw. (Abstract by Barbara Costa
et al.)

(4) The daily simultaneous application of low doses of THC and
morphine prevented the development of tolerance to morphine as
observed with daily high doses of morphine, but yielded similar
analgesic effects in mice. (Abstract by Diana C. Cichewicz and
Sandra P. Welch)

(5) In glaucoma cell death in the retina may occur due to toxicity of
the increasingly produced neurotransmitter NMDA. The effect of
cannabinoids (CB1 agonists) on NMDA induced retinal nerve cell
death in mice were investigated. Eyes treated with both the
cannabinoid and NMDA retained two times the retinal nerve cells as
the eyes exposed only to NMDA, demonstrating a protective effect
of the cannabinoid. (Abstract by G. Ayoub et al.)

(Source: Reader of the 2002 ICRS meeting. The 182 page reader
with all abstracts is available for download at
www.cannabinoidsociety.org.)

3.

News in brief

***Science: THC aerosol
An aerosol of THC was administered to mice with a metered dose
inhaler (MDI) to test its physiochemical and pharmacological
properties. Results showed that further development of a THC
metered dose inhaler could provide an appropriate delivery device
for the therapeutic use of cannabinoids. (Source: Wilson DM, et al.
Drug Alcohol Depend 2002 Aug 1;67(3):259-67)

***Journals: Free sample copy offer
A free sample copy of the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics and the
new Journal of Industrial Hemp is available from:
Sample Copy Dept
The Haworth Press, Inc.
10 Alice Street
Binghamton, NY 13904
USA

***USA: Press conference at Capitol
On 24 July members of the House of Representatives Barney Frank
(Democrat), Ron Paul (Republican), Dana Rohrabacher
(Republican) and Janice Schakowsky (Democrats) joined former
Ronald Reagan presidential aide Lyn Nofziger and several patients in
a press conference at the Capitol Hill in Washington to call on
Congress to allow states to allow the medical use of cannabis. Their
bill has little chance of passing Congress this year. (Source: AP of 24
July 2002)

***USA: San Francisco
Frustrated by the federal government's determination to shut down
medical marijuana clubs, the city of San Francisco is thinking about
growing its own cannabis. A measure will be put on the November
ballot that would have city officials explore the possibility of growing
marijuana on publicly owned lots and distributing it to ill patients.
(Sources: Associated Press of 23 July 2002, New York Times of 24
July 2002)

***Science: Lung function
The effects of cannabis and tobacco use on the lung function of 900
young adults from New Zealand who were examined at the age of
18, 21 and 26 years were investigated. The effect of cumulative
cannabis use on the ratio of the forced expiratory volume in one
second (FEV1) and the vital capacity was marginally significant
(p‹0.09), while cigarette smoking (pծ.05), age (pծ.001) and
weight (pծ.001) were significant predictors of lung function.
(Source: Taylor DR, et al. Addiction 2002 Aug;97(8):1055-61)

***Science: Apoptosis I
Ceramide was used to induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in
astrocytes (certain cells in the brain that are not nerve cells).
Cannabinoids were shown to rescue astrocytes from ceramide-
induced apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner. (Source:
Taylor DR, et al. et al. J Biol Chem 2002 Jul 19)

***Science: Apoptosis II
Experiments with cell cultures and mice showed that the
immunosuppressive effects of THC might in part be caused by the
induction of apoptosis in immune cells. (Source: McKallip RJ, et al. J
Pharmacol Exp Ther 2002 Aug;302(2):451-65)

***Canada: Asylum seekers from the US
Cannabis-smoking political asylum seekers from the United States
are unlikely to receive refugee status in Canada, immigration experts
said on 23 July. At least three Americans (Steve Kubby, Ken Hayes
and Renee Boje) living in Canada are arguing that they have been
persecuted in their homeland because of their attempts to grow,
cultivate, or use marijuana for medical purposes. (Source: Globe and
Mail of 24 July 2002)

***Science: Dexanabinol
On 24 July Pharmos Corporation received approval from the
Israelian Health Ministry to clinically test dexanabinol as a preventive
agent against the mild cognitive impairment that can follow heart
surgery. Dexanabinol is a non-psychotropic THC derivative.
Cognitive loss following heart surgery was not considered a major
problem until two years ago, when a study showed that the
impairment caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain that
followed the surgery was long term. (Source: Jerusalem Post of 25
July 2002)

4.

ONE YEAR AGO:
- - Canada: New rules on medical use of marijuana take effect
- - Science: Study with smoked cannabis in pain funded by Canadian
government

TWO YEARS AGO:
- - IACM: First meeting at the Bioresource Hemp in September
- - Canada: Highest Court of Ontario calls marijuana law
unconstitutional
- - Germany: Four days Bioresource Hemp with one day on
cannabinoids
- - Science: Enhanced levels of endocannabinoids in the globus
pallidus associated with reduction in movement in an animal model
of Parkinson's disease

(More at the IACM-Bulletin archives: http://www.cannabis-med.org/)

International Association for Cannabis as Medicine (IACM)
Arnimstrasse 1A
D-50825 Cologne
Germany
Phone: 221-9543 9229
Fax: 221-130 05 91
Email: info@cannabis-med.org
http://www.cannabis-med.org
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 04 Aug 2002 19:19:24 -0700
Subject: Canada: Marijuana Party to avenge ferry pot bust

Marijuana Party to avenge ferry pot bust

canada.com

Sunday, August 04, 2002

B.C. Marijuana Party head Marc Emery is planning a counterattack against
West Vancouver police by perfuming B.C. ferries with l'eau de pot.

Upset by police searching cars for marijuana on the Horseshoe Bay-Nanaimo
run, he says his supporters will spray ferry decks, doors and bulkheads with
THC oil in a bid to confuse police tracker dogs.

West Vancouver police did not comment yesterday on Emery's plans.

On Tuesday, Police used drug-trained dogs on a ferry to root out eight
people with marijuana in their vehicles.

But a civil liberties watchdog is crying foul, saying police have no
business snooping around on public ferries without a search warrant.

"Operation High Seas" netted seven kilograms of marijuana Tuesday and led to
three arrests.

Plainclothes officers sealed off car decks on four return trips from
Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo.

West Vancouver police Sgt. Bob Fontaine said the dog, which came from
detachments around the Lower Mainland, detected the drugs from outside the
cars.

Police then waited for the owners to return to their cars before making an
arrest for possession of narcotics, searching the cars and seizing the
drugs.

"Nobody even knew we were there," Fontaine said yesterday. "They're all
upstairs, and we're down on the car decks. "It was the most non-invasive way
of trying to detect any drugs on the ferry. I think you might see this will
happen again in the future."

Fontaine said criminals are using B.C. Ferries to transport drugs through
Horseshoe Bay.

He said there are numerous marijuana grow-ops on Vancouver Island, as well
as some "off-loading" of drugs from ships on the west coast of the island.

A 43-year-old man and 30-year-old woman from Lasqueti Island are now facing
drug trafficking charges, along with a 37-year-old man from Lantzville.

Police seized small amounts of marijuana from five other people, but didn't
charge them.

Fontaine said police were not acting on a specific tip, but "have had
information in the past that drugs have been transported on that ferry."

B.C. Ferries would not comment on why it is allowing police to search cars,
except to say it was being co-operative.

John Dixon, president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said police
have invaded the privacy of passengers.

"They have no business trolling around prospectively on the ferries unless
they have good and reasonable, probable grounds that a specific criminal
offence is being committed.

"If you can't find anything else for police officers to do than ride around
on the ferries, on the hope of busting somebody for having some dope in
their car, then West Vancouver obviously needs fewer police officers," said
Dixon.

Marijuana is often considered B.C.'s biggest cash crop.

A study commissioned by the RCMP and released last month found the number of
B.C. grow-ops grew by 48 per cent per year from 1997 to 2000.

Solicitor-General Rich Coleman said at the time that police must have the
resources they need to bust grow-ops.

"I don't want the province to become a haven for this type of activity," he
said. "Frankly, I don't think we should be soft on drugs."

Police have estimated there are as many as 15,000 grow-ops in the Lower
Mainland alone.

The summer edition of High Times magazine named Vancouver as the world's
best spot for marijuana smokers ahead of Amsterdam, where pot is legal.



CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like 
alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis through pharmacies and restore 
the unregulated production of industrial hemp.

*Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp*
mail:     CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA
email:   crrh@crrh.org
phone:  (503) 235-4606
fax:       (503) 235-0120
web:     http://www.crrh.org/

------------------------------
End of Restore-Digest V2002 #156
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