----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 17:26:39 -0700
Subject:Canadians Protest Gov't on Program Up TOC

Canadians Protest Gov't on Program

.c The Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) - Scores of protesters, including some in wheelchairs due to
illness, marched peacefully Friday to urge Canada's government to fully
implement a medical marijuana program.

The demonstrators in downtown Toronto charged that there were lengthy delays
in the government providing marijuana to eligible patients with certain
diseases or conditions.

The new regulations took effect a year ago, but so far none of the marijuana
grown by the government has been distributed. Under the program, patients
certified as eligible also may grow their own or designate someone to grow it
for them.

Last week, Health Minister Anne McLellan told the Canadian Medical
Association she was uncomfortable with the apparent contradiction of running
a medical marijuana program while leading an anti-smoking campaign.

She said no government marijuana would be distributed until clinical trials
have been conducted. No such trials have started.

South of the border, eight U.S. states have taken some kind of step toward
permitting the medicinal use of marijuana: California, Washington, Oregon,
Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada and Colorado. The U.S. Supreme Court, however,
ruled last year that there is no exception in federal law for people to use
marijuana, so even those with tolerant state laws could face arrest if they
do.


08/23/02 19:08 EDT


------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 17:29:09 -0700
Subject:Canada: Editorial: Backtracking on marijuana serves no one Up TOC

Newshawk: How to be a MAP Newshawk (http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm)
Source: Red Deer Advocate (CN AB)
Pubdate: August 21, 2002
Website: http://www.reddeeradvocate.com/
Address: P.O. Bag 5200, 2950 - Bremner Avenue, Red Deer, AB T4N 5G3
Phone: (403) 343-2400
Fax: (403) 342-4051
Contact: editorial@advocate.red-deer.ab.ca
Author: Greg Neiman

                 Backtracking on marijuana serves no one

Toronto lawyer Alan Young has the picture right: Anne McLellan, Canada=B9s
health minister, is either =B3confused, or she=B9s being disingenuous,=B2=
 relating
her discomfort with allowing people with epilepsy, terminal cancer, or
chronic pain legal access to marijuana.

When you consider the group to whom McLellan shared her discomfort =8B the
Canadian medical establishment =8B you could include doctors in the group of
confused and disingenuous.

There are several points upon which McLellan=B9s comments can be said to
increase the pain of people suffering from incurable, debilitating and
agonizing diseases =8B all for the comfort and profit of drug companies and
doctors who are paid to prescribe ever more expensive (and debatably less
effective) relief.

First is the issue of the law. Mclellan should know =8B she used to be the
federal justice minister, after all =8B that the courts have roundly struck
down pot possession laws for people who use marijuana for medicinal
purposes. Courts in Ontario and Alberta have repeated that they will not
enforce laws that place people in agony.

In fact, the current situation in law stems from the federal government
being given a court deadline to either change possession laws for people
using marijuana for medical relief of pain and suffering, or the courts
would simply cease to enforce any part of the laws restricting use of
marijuana. They were given 12 months to act and they did.

Thus, the next point: the government has a $5.7-million project to grow and
distribute marijuana to select patients for the next four years.

Enter the doctors. Their national association has told its members not to
sign any formal patient requests to receive any of the 400 kg of medicinal
pot the federal government is having grown each year, specifically for this
use. Just the same, more than 800 patients have qualified under the
government=B9s rules for the special program. However, it=B9s doubtful any=
 of
them will be given the drug, due to the medical association=B9s pressure and
Mclellan=B9s personal discomfort.

Imagine this: some of them are now turning to the courts to force the
uncomfortable McLellan to do as the courts demanded, and to release the drug
to them.

Too bad her discomfort counts for more than the agony of someone who has
multiple epileptic seizures every day and for whom marijuana offers the only
relief available. Or the suffering of someone dying of cancer, for whom only
marijuana will give relief from the horrific effects of chemotherapy.
Mclellan, the person in charge of the government=B9s anti-tobacco campaign,
doesn=B9t want to send the message that a person with liver cancer, say,
should be confused by a message that it=B9s OK to smoke. What a big, fat,
stinking red herring.

The doctors, for their part, say they don=B9t want to expose themselves to
lawsuits for prescribing an untested drug. Baloney. Untested drugs are given
all the time to patients in dire straits, who knowingly sign the appropriate
releases. And these newly-developing drugs and procedures don=B9t have near
the overwhelming weight of anecdotal evidence of efficacy that marijuana
has.

Unfortunately, what marijuana doesn=B9t have is profit potential for drug
companies.

Therein lies the biggest rub of all.

It is impossible not to conclude that since the federal grow program began,
as a result of the courts telling the government their laws stink and they
won=B9t enforce them anymore, that a massive lobbying campaign of pressure=
 on
doctors and the government is causing some =B3sober=B2 second thoughts.

Far be it for this column to counsel people =8B toward whom both the
government and the doctors have turned their backs =8B to break the law and
seek relief in illegal sources of marijuana. That would be disrespect for
the law, disrespect for doctors and disrespect for the federal government =
=8B
all of which are leaving this small group of vulnerable people at the
extreme edge of suffering.

We wouldn=B9t do that. They=B9ll have to think of ways to do that=
 themselves,
and invite yet more court intervention. Pity.




=



**




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

------------------------------
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 14:11:05 -0700
Subject:Canada: Reefer Sadness Up TOC

Newshawk: http://www.torontocompassioncentre.org/
Pubdate: Thu, 22 Aug 2002
Source: NOW Magazine (Canada)
Copyright: 2002 NOW Communications Inc.
Contact: letters@nowtoronto.com
Website: http://www.nowtoronto.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/282
Author: Matthewa A. Mernagh

REEFER SADNESS

Pot Club Bust Sends ME Onto the Street to Score

I am member 022 of the Toronto Compassion Centre. Not that it will do me
any good now. Last week the feisty little organization at Bathurst and St.
Clair that supplies medical marijuana to 1,200 of us who endure the daily
pain of AIDS, hep C, MS, bipolar disorder and more was busted by Toronto's
finest.

For five years this fearless pot pharmacy navigated the messy business that
has become federal marijuana policy. But when drug officers from 13 and 53
Divisions battered down the door on August 13, with their guns pointed,
hundreds of us were suddenly sent back on the streets to scrounge for our meds.

At our revered Compassion Club, purchasing medicinal doobies was not unlike
having a prescription filled at a neighbourhood drug store. The difference
was that the herb was often cheaper than meds peddled by pharmaceutical
companies. My own monthly regimen included $200 (less than an ounce) for
marijuana and $35 for kava kava and St. John's wort.

I suffered a terrible flare-up of arthritis this winter, and my
pharmaceutical bill, footed by Ontario's drug benefit program, staggered in
at an impressive $445.14 a month (Celebrex $88.97, Effexor XR $109.84,
Zyprexa $220.84, Cytotec $25.49).

The kingpins of the Compassion operation, Warren Hitzig and Zach Naftolin,
should be awarded honourary Bachelors of Science for their knowledge of
medicinal weed. In a busy week, they'd speak to between 500 and 600
patients -- currently Health Canada has only granted 806 people
country-wide status to burn corn legally.

The centre provides its members with detailed analyses of the various
strains; a message board in the back room offers a percentile rating of how
much sativa or indica is present in the bud. This vital information is
especially useful for those who keep a daily health log. Members who
require a more uplifting, appetite-inducing high prefer to toke sativa
breeds, while some, like me, desire the meditative body stone of the indica
strains.

Now I've returned to scoring green on the street. With not much luck.
People ingesting for medicinal reasons require a steady, consistent supply,
plus information on what strain they're purchasing. Having used the
centre's simple, effective service for so long, I've forgotten the street
lingo needed for scoring. "Which one is more?" I ask a dealer when queried
whether I want a "lid or macaroni and cheese."

Next time I'll bring the handy slang dictionary provided by
www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov. They've identified 2,300 slang terms for
specific drug types and activities, of which 588 directly relate to marijuana.

According to the site, a lid is "one ounce of marijuana" while macaroni and
cheese is a "$5 pack of marijuana." At the club I used to purchase my
medicine in $10/gram increments, which is not typical of how street
dealers' pre-packaged sizes work. You can also forget about asking them
whether they're selling an indica or sativa strain.

Of course, the government righteously promised to become our dealer of
choice back in 2000 when pain sufferers won the right to access in that
landmark court decision. And while the feds awarded a Flin Flon, Manitoba,
company a five-year contract to grow the herb in an abandoned copper mine,
no government green has ended up in the lungs of sick people.

Health Canada says it is waiting for research studies but that they can't
be started until it is ascertained that the Flin Flon weed is "safe." That
means don't hold your breath. Department spokesperson Andrew Swift admits,
"It's taking more time than we anticipated, as safety is our first priority."

Professor and club lawyer Alan Young believes the foot-dragging has gone on
long enough. He's launched a a civil suit funded by the Washington,
DC-based Marijuana Policy Project to free the fed's medicinal weed on
behalf of the centre, Hitzig and seven other people he has worked with over
the years. Four of these people have current exemptions, two had exemptions
under the old Health Canada system but don't now, and the last person's
doctor won't fill out the new paperwork because doctors' insurers have told
them not to.

Waiting for the feds to take their royal time just isn't an option. Since I
met Hitzig five years ago at Chatty Patty's at Yonge and Wellesley, I've
been so much better. He promised to relieve my chronic arthritic pain, put
some meat on my bones and reduce the stress of being ill. And he made good.

Back then, this skater kid who was booted from George Brown's social
science program for his staunch belief in the power of the herb, had a
naive ambition. I was extremely skeptical, but still heartened that someone
was willing to take the risk of imprisonment for my health.

When the bust came, Hitzig could hardly believe it. He thought at first it
was another attack by masked hoodlums like the one last December that left
Naftolin with a concussion. Says Hitzig, "It's really ironic. After the
robbery we installed panic buttons. We couldn't see who it was on our
security camera, and Zach asked, "Should I push the button?' I told him,
"Go ahead.' Then I noticed on one of the officers' bullet-proof vests the
word "Police.' They went through the place like a tornado in a small town."

There is rampant speculation about exactly what led police to make the
raid. Young says it's especially disappointing since he believes the club
had a tacit understanding with officers at 13 Division. When the club
called police following the December robbery, he believes there were too
many officers in the building for any of them to look the other way and
pretend the club wasn't a pot service.

"I spoke with officer Lorna Jackson of 13 Division," Young says. "She said
they had to investigate the club. She stopped returning my calls in March,
so I figured the matter was resolved. What really upsets me is that we were
really upfront with them. I could have provided the accused, but they had
to come in violently. It's an enormously frightening experience."

Jackson cannot be reached for comment, but police media relations officer
Jim Muscat denies any sort of arrangement between the club and the 13
Division officer. "I have zero knowledge of that. Police seized a sizable
amount of hashish, marijuana and cash. Those arrested were charged with
eight counts, mostly from the marijuana, the last count being possession of
property obtained from a crime."

Young may be dismayed, but he's got lots of reefers in the fire, so to
speak. Besides the civil suit, he also has two court cases designed to
challenge the law before the nine justices of the Supreme Court of Canada.
He thinks there is a way out for the feds, similar to the abortion law: let
the marijuana law fall by the wayside and "the government can appease the
American zealots. It would be easy for Canada to say, "We didn't do it, our
courts did.'"

Fears of U.S. pressure aren't stoner paranoia. Bruce Mirkin of the
Marijuana Policy Project says his group is funding the civil case because
he believes it can be demonstrated that the U.S. is meddling in Canadian
pot policy. Both he and Young agree there are implied threats floating down
from on high in Washington.

"I'm 100 per cent aware that the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) sent a rep
to make a presentation to the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs,"
says Young. "When U.S. government officials talk about increasing border
patrols, what they're really saying is "We're going to fuck with your
trucking industry if you continue to go in this direction
(decriminalization).'"

With all this pressure mounting from beyond the border, it's high time
people came out of the marijuana closest in a show of force. Just repeat
after me: "I'm green and I'm proud." Do it in front of the bathroom mirror
50 times to summon your inner courage.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Alex
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 14:16:24 -0700
Subject:MA: Cannabis May Fight Arthritis Up TOC

Newshawk: Libertarians 1 - Drug Warriors 0 - http://www.plylar.org
Pubdate: Thu, 22 Aug 2002
Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
Copyright: 2002 Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Contact: letters@telegram.com
Website: http://www.telegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/509
Note: only publishes letters from state residents.
Author: Lisa Eckelbecker
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

CANNABIS MAY FIGHT ARTHRITIS

BOSTON-- A synthetic compound developed from an ingredient in marijuana
could be useful in treating rheumatoid arthritis without generating the
buzz of marijuana, according to findings presented yesterday by a
University of Massachusetts Medical School professor.

Sumner H. Burstein said his laboratory's studies indicate that the compound
- -- ajulemic acid -- can thwart one of the body's chemicals that contributes
to the destructiveness of rheumatoid arthritis.

In addition, studies in mice show that the compound can protect joints from
damage, and a small study in humans has suggested the drug is safe, Mr.
Burstein said.

"We believe that (the compound) will replace aspirin and similar drugs in
most applications primarily because of a lack of toxic side effect," Mr.
Burstein said.

Mr. Burstein presented his findings yesterday at the American Chemical
Society's annual meeting. His results were reported during a poster
session, in which scientific teams display charts, graphs, photos and
condensed descriptions of their work. Among the authors of Mr. Burstein's
poster was Dr. Robert B. Zurier, a professor of medicine, cell biology and
pathology at UMass who has collaborated with Mr. Burstein on ajulemic acid.

Ajulemic acid is a synthetic compound that Mr. Burstein developed and then
patented in 1992. He named it by putting together the first letters of the
names of his grandchildren: Adam, Julia and Emily.

Atlantic Technology Ventures Inc. of New York licensed the compound, also
known as CT-3, in the mid-1990s. It commissioned animal studies and human
studies that suggested the drug was safe and had no mood- altering effects.

Then last month, Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Lexington licensed
exclusive worldwide rights to the compound from Atlantic Technology
Ventures. Indevus is backing a study of the compound in 21 chronic pain
patients in Germany.

"The reason our guys liked it so much is it seems to have a lot of activity
without the psychotropic effects you get with other drugs," said William B.
Boni, Indevus vice president of corporate communications.

Those "effects," of course, are the infamous marijuana high. And the fact
that marijuana is illegal has made it one of the most controversial sources
of medical research.

Even as states have passed medical marijuana laws, the U.S. Supreme Court
has affirmed federal law that declares marijuana a substance with no
medical benefits. Some researchers studying marijuana, or cannabis, have
reported difficulty in getting federal grants or purchases of cannabis from
the government for their studies.

Mr. Burstein said that has not been the case with his research, which has
been going on for more than 30 years with government support.

"In the beginning, the thrust was to answer the question, 'Is it harmful?'
" he said. "In the '70s, all the people in the field were working to
resolve those issues ... It's certainly safer than alcohol, nicotine. But
the political issue was not settled at all. It's a very emotional issue."

Another problem is that the one marijuana-derived drug on the market,
Marinol, has been criticized because some patients taking it experience the
mood-altering effects of marijuana.

Ajulemic acid is different, however, because it is a synthetic compound
that Mr. Burstein developed from a metabolite of tetrahydrocannabinol, or
THC, the main ingredient in marijuana that produces a high. Metabolites are
substances that the body produces as it processes a drug.

In the research he reported yesterday, Mr. Burstein said he and his
collaborators started with blood and joint cells from healthy people and
patients with inflammatory arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the
body comes under attack from its own powerful immune system.

The researchers added ajulemic acid to the cell samples, then exposed them
to a toxin that produces inflammation.

The researchers found that ajulemic acid reduced the cells' secretion of
interleukin 1-beta, a substance produced by the body and associated with
joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis. The compound had no effect on
the cells' production of tumor necrosis factor, another substance produced
by the body and considered a key player in rheumatoid arthritis.

Mr. Burstein said the findings supported earlier studies in rats, which
showed that ajulemic acid protected the animals from joint destruction,
although not from inflammation.

"Almost 80 percent of the animals were spared from bone destruction, even
though there was evidence the joints had become inflamed," he said.

Mr. Burstein said ajulemic acid also appears to inhibit the body's
production of other potentially harmful substances: T cells, which are part
of the immune system, and the COX-2 enzyme, which is the target of the
popular osteoarthritis drug Celebrex.

The way the drug acts remains unknown and is a subject that Mr. Burstein
said he hopes to continue studying. He is seeking additional federal grant
money to support the work.

If it proves safe and effective in humans, researchers could find
additional applications for ajulemic acid. Atlantic Ventures reported
earlier this year that British researchers observed that the drug reduced
spasticity in animals with the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. The findings
are encouraging for researchers who have had to fend off skeptics of
cannabis research for years, Mr. Burstein said.

"It's become a legitimate area of science," Mr. Burstein said. "For years
we were considered outsiders, outside the mainstream of biological science."
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 14:18:00 -0700
Subject:Scientists Develop Cannabis Medicine Without the High Up TOC

Pubdate: Fri, 23 Aug 2002
Source: Irish Examiner (Ireland)
Copyright: Examiner Publications Ltd, 2002
Contact: exam_letters@examiner.ie
Website: http://www.examiner.ie/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/144
Author: Colette Keane

SCIENTISTS DEVELOP CANNABIS MEDICINE TO BATTLE CHRONIC PAIN

Scientists say they have developed a cannabis-based medicine which relieves
chronic pain without any of the "high" normally associated with the drug.
They believe the discovery could pave the way for cannabis-based medication
to become available by prescription within two years.

Much of the controversy surrounding the medicinal use of cannabis has
centred on fears that it would be used solely for its mood-altering effects.

However, scientists at the University of Massachusetts in the US say their
discovery should help authorities to overcome these fears.

Dr Sumner Burstein, who is heading the research, says early trials of the
medication in animals and healthy patients have been promising.

The medication called ajulemic acid or CT3 has been manufactured in
laboratories. The chemical maximises the medicinal effects of
tertrahydrocannabinol the key ingredient of cannabis without any of the
mind-altering effects.

This compound was found to be between 10 to 50 times more effective at
reducing pain than tetrahydrocannabinol.

It was also discovered to be very effective at preventing the joint damage
associated with arthritis and relieving the muscle stiffness associated
with multiple sclerosis.

The compound was tested last year on 15 healthy volunteers in France and
they reported no side effects or mood changes. A trial on 21 patients with
chronic pain is underway in Germany.

Dr Bernstein said the results of each study had been promising and believed
the compound could replace a wide variety of medicines used to fight pain.

"The indications so far are that it is safe and effective. We believe that
(this compound) will replace aspirin and similar drugs in most applications
primarily because of a lack of toxic side effects," he said.

Other clinical trials on patients with multiple sclerosis, cancer and
arthritis have proved encouraging. Canada has already legalised the use of
medicinal cannabis and a trial involving up to 2,000 patients in Britain
and should be completed by next year.

At home, the Department of Health has said it would be prepared to give
serious consideration to the granting of the necessary licence(s) to the
Irish Medicines Board if it wanted to facilitate conducting a trial on the
medicinal benefits of products containing cannabis.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael's deputy Simon Coveney, who has consistently called
for a debate in this country on the possible benefits of using cannabis to
treat pain or illness, yesterday said policymakers needed to keep an open
mind on its medicinal properties of the drug.

"Far more dangerous drugs are used in medicine for pain relief. Morphine is
the main agent in heroin and yet that is prescribed as a painkiller. It may
be possible to use agents in cannabis to treat illness or provide pain
relief without smoking the drug, but we need to be open to those kinds of
possibilities," he said.

While he was in favour of looking at the success of current clinical
trials, he was still opposed to its legalization and condemned Britain for
easing laws on cannabis.


------------------------------
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 14:23:08 -0700
Subject: NV: Law Enforcement Agencies Share Seized $22 Million Up TOC

Newshawk: Libertarians 1 - Drug Warriors 0 - http://www.plylar.org
Pubdate: Sat, 24 Aug 2002
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2002 Las Vegas Review-Journal
Contact: letters@lvrj.com
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/233
Author: Sandra Chereb, The Associated Press

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SHARE SEIZED $2.2 MILLION

RENO -- Thirteen years after federal officials cracked what was called the
largest marijuana smuggling operation in the West, local law enforcement
agencies got a share of the latest assets seized from ringleaders.

Nevada U.S. Attorney Dan Bogden on Friday presented nine state and local
law enforcement agencies, including six from California and Nevada -- the
Nevada Division of Investigations and agencies in the northern part of the
state -- with checks totaling $2.2 million. Agencies from Hawaii, Texas and
Colorado also received assets.

The money comes from the forfeiture of a self-storage business and a
residence in Hawaii owned by Brian Degen, a former cohort of convicted
kingpin Ciro Mancuso of Squaw Valley, Calif.

"They grew rich selling their kilos of marijuana, and they invested their
assets in properties, cars and accounts," Bogden said. "These agencies were
able to round up those figures ... and dismantle this marijuana operation."

Authorities said the smuggling ring took root in the early 1970s and grew
over 20 years into an international organization operating primarily
between Southeast Asia and the West Coast.

It eventually spanned seven states, 14 countries and involved more than 100
people who distributed more than 132,000 pounds of marijuana in the United
States.

Assets totaling $8.2 million have been seized, with about half the proceeds
going to local and state agencies that assisted in the case, Bogden said.

More are being sought.

Mancuso and Degen were among 17 top operators indicted in October 1989 by a
federal grand jury in Reno on multiple charges of drug trafficking and
racketeering .

Mancuso pleaded guilty a year later to one count of operating a continuing
criminal enterprise and began cooperating with federal agents.

The wealthy Squaw Valley developer also was the government's star witness
against his former defense lawyer, Patrick Hallinan, who was charged by
federal prosecutors with racketeering on allegations that he assisted the
$250 million international drug ring.

Hallinan, the brother of San Francisco District Attorney Terrence Hallinan,
was acquitted by a federal court jury in Reno in 1995.

Mancuso was sentenced in 1995 to nine years in prison. He was released
March 31, 2000, according to Bureau of Prisons records.

Degen remains a fugitive and is believed to be living in Switzerland.
__________________________________________________________________________
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
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 14:23:55 -0700
Subject:NV: More Patients At Hospital ERs Citing Pot Use Up TOC

"Marijuana-related medical emergencies are increasing at an alarming rate,
exceeding even those for heroin," White House Drug Czar John Walters said
in a prepared statement. "This report helps dispel the pervasive myth that
marijuana is harmless.

Pubdate: Fri, 23 Aug 2002
Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Copyright: 2002 Las Vegas Sun, Inc
Contact: letters@lasvegassun.com
Website: http://www.lasvegassun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/234
Author: Cy Ryan

MORE PATIENTS AT ERS CITING POT USE

CARSON CITY -- A federal study that shows drug-related emergency room
visits are on the rise takes aim at marijuana use.

The survey, by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, said drug-related emergency room visits rose 6 percent in
2001 over the previous year, to 638,484.

The number of times marijuana was mentioned as a drug patients used rose 15
percent, the study said, greater than the increase in cocaine use, which
rose 10 percent, and heroin and methamphetamine, which were unchanged.

The study, which surveys 458 hospital emergency rooms nationwide, comes as
Nevada and Arizona consider ballot questions that would legalize or
decriminalize marijuana.

"Marijuana-related medical emergencies are increasing at an alarming rate,
exceeding even those for heroin," White House Drug Czar John Walters said
in a prepared statement. "This report helps dispel the pervasive myth that
marijuana is harmless.

"In reality, marijuana is a dangerous drug, and adults and youth alike
should be aware of the serious consequences that can come from smoking it."

Billy Rogers, leader of the campaign to pass Nevada's ballot question,
which would legalize possession of up to three ounces of marijuana,
disputed the conclusions.

"They're not talking about marijuana emergencies," Rogers said. "Nobody has
died from an overdose of marijuana."

When patients go to an emergency room, they are asked what, if any, drugs
they have taken. The federal Drug Abuse Warning Network counts the mentions
of illegal drugs and misused prescription drugs reported by patients, and
those are compiled into the twice-a-year study. Often patients said they
had taken more than one drug.

Alcohol in combination with other drugs was the most frequently mentioned
nationwide, at 34 percent, with cocaine at 30 percent, marijuana at 17
percent and heroin, 15 percent.

Marijuana had been used in combination with other drugs 76 percent of the
time it was mentioned; 24 percent of the time, it was the sole drug used.

The increase in marijuana use reflected in emergency room visits drew
federal concern. Between 1994 and 2001, mentions of marijuana per 100,000
emergency room patients rose 151 percent, compared with 34 percent for
heroin and 22 percent for cocaine.

The rate for patients age 12 to 17, although stable from 2000 to 2001,
increased 23 percent from 1999 to 2001, the report said.

"The clear message of the DAWN survey is that in already crowded emergency
rooms, increasingly, one of the reasons people are showing up is marijuana
use," said Mark Weber, spokesman for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration.

"It's taking resources from other parts of the health care sector. If you
have 10 people in a room, how do you prioritize?"

The study gave separate reports for 21 cities, but Las Vegas was not among
them. Neither the state nor county health division had statistics for
Nevada or Las Vegas on those treated in emergency rooms with marijuana
problems, and University Medical Center does not track drug use by type of
drug, a spokesman said.

Local paramedics said they have noticed an increase in drug use overall in
Las Vegas, but not in marijuana, said Tammy Bame, spokeswoman for American
Medical Response.

"No one seems to feel there is an increase," Bame said. "There's nothing
that really stands out."

AMR paramedic Shannon Cavey said Thursday the top drugs she sees in the Las
Vegas area are crystal meth, GHB and Ecstasy, drugs not frequently used
with marijuana.

"We see a lot more of those than people just getting high (on marijuana),"
Cavey said.

Alcohol, another depressant, is the drug most commonly associated with
marijuana use, she said.

In fact, pot is rarely a topic during her shifts, she said.

"I don't hear about it much in the field," Cavey said.

An informal poll at Valley Hospital showed a similar result. Emergency room
personnel have not noticed any increase in marijuana-related cases,
spokeswoman Gretchen Pappas said.

"We haven't seen anything like that," Pappas said.

Weber, of SAMHSA, agreed that in Western cities use of club drugs and
methamphetamine has been more prevalent since the early 1990s. But across
the country, he said, more young people are in drug treatment for marijuana
dependence that all other illegal drugs combined.

As with any depressant, marijuana can be dangerous when taken with other
depressants, Cavey said. However, a marijuana-only overdose is rare, said
Cavey, who has been a paramedic for 10 years.

"I have never even seen anyone overdose on marijuana," Cavey said. "It's
always been mixed with something else."

Rogers said there is going to be a lot of smoke blown in this election
campaign and his job is to cut through it to get the facts.

Besides allowing the possession of up to three ounces of marijuana by
adults, the constitutional amendment would allow the state Legislature to
set up "pot shops" to distribute marijuana.

It would still be illegal for minors to possess the drug.

"Nevadans are smart enough to know that heroin and cocaine are dangerous
and marijuana is less dangerous," Rogers 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

------------------------------
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 14:24:49 -0700
Subject: NV: Marijuana Initiative: Economic Benefits Touted Up TOC


Newshawk: Libertarians 1 - Drug Warriors 0 - http://www.plylar.org
Pubdate: Sat, 24 Aug 2002
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2002 Las Vegas Review-Journal
Contact: letters@lvrj.com
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/233
Author: Ed Vogel
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?162  (Nevadans for Responsible Law
Enforcement)

MARIJUANA INITIATIVE: ECONOMIC BENEFITS TOUTED

Legalization Could Make Millions For State, Supporter Says

CARSON CITY -- The leader of the drive to permit adult Nevadans to legally
possess marijuana said Friday the state could reap untold millions of
dollars by selling and taxing marijuana.

Billy Rogers, spokesman for Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, said
his group has commissioned a study to determine how much the state might
receive if it grew marijuana and sold it in stores like the ones Utah uses
for liquor sales. Other options for the cultivation and sale also are being
studied. Results are expected in late September.

"We are talking millions and millions of dollars of tax revenue," Rogers
said. "We figure there are 150,000 regular marijuana users in Nevada who
might buy an ounce per month."

Rogers' group circulated petitions to place Question 9 on November election
ballots. Voters will be asked whether to amend the state constitution and
allow the possession of 3 ounces or less of marijuana by adults. Police
would not be able to interfere with adults who use such amounts privately.

While the legal marijuana portions of the initiative have drawn national
attention, portions about selling and taxing marijuana have received little
discussion.

The initiative, if approved by voters this fall and again in 2004, would
force the Legislature in 2005 to set up a system to regulate "the
cultivation, taxation, sale and distribution of marijuana" to adult
Nevadans. The initiative even states the tax rate on marijuana will be the
same as the rate -- now 37 percent -- for chewing tobacco and cigars.

Earlier this week, an analyst for the Governor's Task Force on Tax Policy
estimated the state needs an additional $4.6 billion in the next 10 years
to continue state services at current levels.

Rogers predicted the potential economic benefits from the state sale of
marijuana will appeal to voters.

"Any time you find a revenue source that can help fund education and other
programs, the implications are attractive to voters," he said. "Obviously,
people in Nevada will look favorably on it."

A former political consultant from Texas, Rogers said he does not know how
much marijuana costs on the black market "since I don't smoke it."
Estimates are an ounce costs $100 to $300.

At $300 an ounce, 150,000 users who buy an ounce a month would pay $16.6
million a month in taxes, or about $200 million a year.

Greg Bortolin, spokesman for Gov. Kenny Guinn, said the governor is not
taking a position on Question 9. He added it is too early to discuss the
potential benefits from legal marijuana when voters have not approved the
ballot question even once.

"The governor is waiting to see how the people vote on this," Bortolin
said. "We are early in the ballgame."

Don Henderson, acting director of the Department of Agriculture, said his
agency has not looked into the costs of having the state grow marijuana for
sale.

During legislative hearings last year, the Agriculture Department put a
$750,000 price tag on setting up a farm to grow marijuana for people with
medical problems. The plan called for the drug to be grown at the state
agricultural farm at the University of Nevada, Reno.

That cost was considered prohibitive, and eventually the Legislature
approved a medical marijuana plan that allows qualified users to grow as
many as seven marijuana plants. About 200 people now have permission to
grow marijuana for medical purposes.

The secretary of state's office hopes early next week to complete the
ballot language for Question 9. The office must prepare pro and con
arguments and an explanation of the initiative.

Deputy Attorney General Kateri Cavin, who advises the secretary of state,
said her analysis of the initiative is that with voter passage, the
Legislature must regulate the cultivation, sale, taxation and distribution
of marijuana. Initially, some people thought marijuana would be grown for
sale only to people authorized to use it for medical purposes.

"We think it applies to the entire section (all users over 21), not just to
medical people," Cavin said. "Of course, this could go to court and be
challenged."

Rogers added it has been his group's intention to have the state regulate
and tax marijuana used by adults in Nevada.

Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement is a subsidiary of the Medical
Marijuana Project of Washington, D.C. The organization has argued the
public would be better served if police concentrated on major crime, rather
than arresting people for small amounts of marijuana. Rogers serves as
director of state policies for the marijuana project.

The project was formed in 1995 in part because of statistics that show an
increasing number of arrests for marijuana possession. According to FBI
statistics, marijuana arrests climbed to almost 750,000 in 2000, more than
double the 300,000 arrests in 1991.

In Nevada, the number of people arrested for marijuana possession in 1999
was 5,406, up from 2,076 in 1995. Under the ballot question, use of
marijuana by minors would remain illegal. Rogers predicted a state system
of regulation and distribution of marijuana would result in less marijuana
being available to minors.

With state control of sales, Rogers predicted the black market that now
provides marijuana for adults and juveniles alike will dry up. Fewer drug
dealers would be around to sell to minors, and state-run stores would check
identification to ensure minors did not buy the drug.

"It is like with alcohol and Prohibition," he said. "Once alcohol use
became legal, it wiped out the black market. It took organized crime out of
the liquor business. That is what happens when you move to a regulated market."
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 14:29:48 -0700
Subject: Canada: Medical pot case adjourns again Up TOC

Newshawk: Join CMAP (http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/lists.htm)
Source: Chilliwack Progress (CN BC)
Pubdate: August 23, 2002
Website: http://www.theprogress.com/
Feedback: http://www.theprogress.com/contactus.shtml
Address: 45860 Spadina Ave., Chilliwack, BC, Canada V2P 6H9
Contact: editor@theprogress.com
Copyright: 2002 The Chilliwack Progress
Fax: (604) 792-4436
Author: Robert Freeman

                     Medical pot case adjourns again

A medical marijuana court case was adjourned for a third time this week by a
B.C. Supreme Court Justice in Chilliwack.

Justice Brian Joyce also denied a request for an interim court order to
allow Steve Kubby to possess marijuana for medical purposes.

=B3The judges are going to have his blood on their hands if he=B9s arrested=
 and
goes to jail again,=B2 Mr. Kubby=B9s wife Michele said after the court=
 ruling
Monday.

She says if her husband=B9s access is blocked in jail to the marijuana that=
 he
is being forced to buy illegally due to the court delay, he could die.

Mr. Kubby, a U.S. marijuana activist seeking refugee status in Canada, is
asking the court to grant a medical exemption from pot possession laws.

Lawyer John Conroy says the court now has evidence from =B3two top notch
cancer specialists=B2 that his client should be allowed to use the drug in=
 the
large amounts that he requires.

=B3What we had to try and convince Justice Joyce to do was strike down the
regulation as unconstitutional,=B2 Mr. Conroy says, but there was no court
time available to make that argument Monday.

He says his client could legally obtain morphine and heroin in just a few
hours based on the seriousness of his illness, but those drugs are more
harmful than marijuana.

However, the lawyer says he is =B3very optimistic=B2 Mr. Kubby will have a
medical exemption from Health Canada by the Aug. 26 court hearing.

Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan appeared to be backing away from a
$5.7 million program to supply medical marijuana to patients, but a Health
Canada spokesman in Ottawa says there is no change in policy. Medical
exemptions continue and clinical trials of marijuana will go ahead. More
than 800 exemptions have been issued so far.

The Supreme Court of Canada will hear three cases of non-medicinal pot on
Dec. 13, but it could be a year before a court ruling is made.

CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like=20
alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis through pharmacies and restore=
=20
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: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 14:14:23 -0700
Subject: US - Conyers Blasts DEA for Lobbying Up TOC


 From the office of:
Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
Fourteenth District, Michigan

Ranking Member, House Judiciary Committee
Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus

Contact:   Deanna Maher (313) 961-5670     Cell: (313) 737-7944
Ted Kalo, Judiciary Committee
(202) 225-6906

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 23, 2002

CONYERS QUESTIONS
DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION ON
USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES

     Detroit, MI - Congressman John Conyers, Jr. has requested an
immediate investigation by the head of the Drug Enforcement Agency of
the U.S. Department of Justice, Asa Hutchinson, of DEA's possible
misuse of federal funds without proper authorization by Congress and
in contravention of existing law..

     Conyers said: "It appears that the DEA has been actively
engaged across the country in collaboration with groups who are
opposed to ballot proposals involving reform of our drug laws.
Michigan is one of the states which will have a proposal of this kind
on its November ballot.  Citizens opposed to this kind of ballot
initiative clearly are permitted to campaign and lobby in support of
their point of view in an effort to win public support for their
position.  This is what our democracy is all about.  But it is far
from clear whether federally funded agencies and their employees can
be used to spread a message or promote a campaign for or against a
ballot initiative, on federal property and on government time."

     "The use of our local DEA office by those opposed to the Drug
Reform ballot initiative seems clearly in violation of Section 601 of
Public Law 107-77 (November 28, 2001), which clearly states that no
part of any appropriation for DEA can be used for 'publicity or
propaganda purposes' not authorized by Congress".

     "I am concerned that DEA has actively been involved in a
campaign, both locally and nationally,  to oppose drug reform
proposals which have been properly and legally put before the
citizens of this state for their approval or rejection.  There seems
little doubt that the appropriations for DEA are specifically
prohibited from being used for this purpose.  This apparently
unlawful involvement of the DEA to promote a political agenda must
cease immediately.  We cannot allow the integrity of our national
government to be compromised for any purpose, regardless of the
intent of these over zealous federal activists.  I am shocked that
judges in violation of their Canon of Ethics would participate as
well."


------------------------------
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 14:12:35 -0700
Subject: CA: It's Not The Cannabis, It's The Constitution Up TOC

Newshawk: The GCW
Pubdate: Sun, 11 Aug 2002
Source: Daily Camera (CO)
Copyright: 2002 The Daily Camera.
Contact: openforum@thedailycamera.com
Website: http://www.thedailycamera.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/103
Author: Jonathan Turley, Los Angeles Times
Note: Jonathan Turley is a constitutional law professor at George
Washington University.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

IT'S NOT THE CANNABIS, IT'S THE CONSTITUTION

Medical-Marijuana Battle Has Less To Do With Pot Than With Principle

Even in a city where cross-dressing is a protected right - if not a
cherished tradition - San Francisco leaders have turned heads recently by
appearing publicly in a new type of trans-political apparel. Members of the
ultraliberal San Francisco City Council have suddenly taken on states'
rights - normally a conservative stance - as their cause celebre.

Their opponent is none other than ultraconservative Attorney General John
Ashcroft - normally a states' rights advocate - who is asserting the
supremacy of the federal government.

At issue is the desire of California citizens to allow seriously ill
patients to use medical marijuana to relieve their pain and discomfort.
Advocates in San Francisco have proposed a program in which the city
government itself would grow and distribute medical marijuana; a November
ballot measure is planned. If San Francisco voters approve the measure, a
major confrontation over states' rights will be triggered and may prove to
be one of the most significant federalism cases in decades.

Federalism protects the states from the encroachment of the federal
government, leaving the primary decisions of government to the individual
states. It is a principle based on the idea that power is safest when held
closest to the people. Under our system, each state is allowed to try what
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once described as "novel social
and economic experiments" in solving contemporary problems.

Federalism is often wrongly seen as a Republican or conservative position.
Liberals have long considered the federal government to be more enlightened
than the states. For example, during desegregation, federal courts and
Congress proved far more protective and active in the area of equal rights.
As a result, liberals have often rallied in opposition to federalism to the
same degree that conservatives have rallied around it.

Both conservatives and liberals now face a quandary. While liberals were
once happy to see the federal government shape state policies in its own
image, they are less enthusiastic now that the image is that of Ashcroft.

In California, advocates found themselves arguing for the use of medical
marijuana to a man who does not smoke, drink or dance and who probably
viewed the 1936 movie "Reefer Madness" as a medical documentary.

Liberals have suddenly discovered federalism and the right of state
self-determination. While conservatives have long defended states' rights,
they now face states that want to experiment with gay marriages, medical
marijuana and assisted suicide. Accordingly, conservatives have suddenly
discovered the need for uniform federal laws in traditional state areas.

The controversy over medical marijuana has less to do with pot than it does
principle.

Regardless of the merits of medical marijuana, Californians are rightfully
aggrieved by the federal government telling them it alone can approve
certain drugs for the use of the terminally ill. While growing pot in San
Francisco may seem less inspiring than dumping tea in Boston, it is a
defiant act that speaks of the right of citizens to self-determination.

If San Francisco draws this line in the constitutional sand, it will force
conservatives on the Supreme Court to make a choice between their
principles and their personal inclinations.

In 2001, the court considered a case involving a federal crackdown on a
cooperative in Oakland, Calif., that distributed medical marijuana,
consistent with state but not federal law. In a decision written by Justice
Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court rejected the cooperative's claim of
medical necessity.

However, in a virtual invitation for challenge, the court expressly
reserved the question of whether the federal government was violating
federalism guarantees in its enforcement of drug laws over state medical
marijuana measures.

The San Francisco program may finally answer that question. Frankly, I am
more concerned with the Constitution than the cannabis in this controversy.

Whatever societal risks are presented by terminally ill patients getting
stoned, they pale in comparison with the political risks of yielding to
federal authority in this area. Of course, it may be too much to hope that
there is more than mere opportunism in the recent embrace of federalism.

Yet perhaps this controversy will show that liberals have much to gain from
federalism, particularly in states like California with a history of bold
social programs and experimentation.

In the end, California may not be right about medical marijuana, but it has
a right to be wrong.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Tom
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 2002 15:22:48 -0700
Subject: UT: Big-Money Pot Raids No Mystery -- It's A Simple Case of Supply & Demand Up TOC


Newshawk: Libertarians 1 - Drug Warriors 0 - http://www.plylar.org
Pubdate: Sun, 25 Aug 2002
Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Webpage: http://www.sltrib.com/08252002/utah/765058.htm
Copyright: 2002 The Salt Lake Tribune
Contact: letters@sltrib.com
Website: http://www.sltrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/383
Author: Laurie J. Wilson and Tom Barberi
Note: Laurie J. Wilson is a Professor of Communications at Brigham Young
University.
Note: Tom Barberi is a talk show host on KALL-910 AM from 6 to 10 a.m.

Pro/Con

BIG-MONEY POT RAIDS NO MYSTERY -- IT'S A SIMPLE CASE OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND

LAURIE WILSON

Tom, we are in the wrong business. Agriculture seems to be a much more
lucrative endeavor these days. At least that is what I am gleaning from the
crime news.

Each year, I plant my six tomato plants, peas, a zucchini and a yellow
squash to accompany my raspberries. I also plant green beans, but you will
remember that, thanks to Martha Stewart's dud seeds, only one plant came up
this year.

I have never thought of my little garden as a money making endeavor. In
fact, it probably costs me money, But I enjoy planting it, watching it grow
and eating the produce.

Every so often I read about marijuana farms in our neck of the woods that
grow a marvelous crop that is valued at $1,000 a pound. If I could only get
that for my zucchini! That little operation up the canyons that the DEA and
the sheriff shut down last week was worth $3 million.

Where did they get the water to grow 4,500 marijuana plants? I have to pay
an overage fee every summer to keep my little garden watered and my
tomatoes growing. In the middle of a drought, didn't anyone notice that
someone up that canyon was using enough water to drain the reservoir?

For my entire life, I have heard about the problems of illegal drugs of one
kind or another. When I was in high school, marijuana was the big thing.
Only idiots used heroin. I remember Mary Furman's campaign for class
office: "Marijuana all your votes." We didn't take it seriously.

Then along came cocaine. I thought that had pretty much replaced marijuana.
Why would you bother to grow an eight-foot high plant that was hard to hide
when you got a better result from a little white powder?

But I have now reconsidered. I guess $400,000 for 100 pounds of that little
plant isn't bad for a summer's harvest. I also figure that with the staying
power of marijuana, the pot heads are so wasted that they won't notice if I
just bag up the weeds in my garden and sell it as weed. At least that's
truth in advertising.

Given that I neglected to buy sterilized cow manure this year, I could
probably come up with two or three hundred pounds of weeds.

Seriously, Tom, who is using this stuff? After all that has been shown
about the dangers of drugs, who are these guys selling to? Are our kids
really that stupid? Are there really any rational adults who still use this
stuff?

Help me out here, Tom. I just don't get it.

TOM BARBERI RESPONSE

I know you will be surprised to find out, Laurie, but I don't get it,
either. I do understand the system. If you want to make a never-ending ton
of money, just get the authorities to outlaw tomatoes, green beans, peas
and zucchini.

Remember that most forgettable movie with Kevin Costner, "Waterworld?"
Remember just how valuable that little tomato plant was he had on his boat?

Supply and demand.

It is the American way and the drug scene is the greatest example of free
enterprise in operation.

The key to any illicit profits is to make them the forbidden fruit (pun
intended).

The war on drugs is an abysmal failure, both socially and financially.

The good news is that while teens say that pot is easier to buy than
cigarettes or beer, 75 percent of those polled in a national survey deny
having tried pot. It seems that kids are more into sneakers, CDs,
shrink-wrapped jeans and piercing than pot.

I know that you would not be averse to using cocaine if your doctor
prescribed it; the same goes for morphine, Oxycontin, Xanex, Percodan,
Demerol, Prozac, Zoloft or any other mind-altering drugs.

But it seems that marijuana has maintained an image that keeps lawmakers
from admitting the truth about pot, that it has genuine medical
applications and is relatively harmless in moderation.

Not unlike alcohol and fast food.

I am not comparing Cheech and Chong to Ronald McDonald or Col. Sanders, but
you get the idea. It would be political suicide for a politician to make a
case for pot as a medicine.

There are numerous studies that prove its effectiveness in helping people
suffering from the ravages of chemotherapy and glaucoma.

If the government treated pot as it does cigarettes and alcohol, the money
raised from taxes could probably send a good portion of our children to
college on scholarship.

Now the Bush administration is pushing embryo adoption.

Have you ever heard of anything more absurd? If it is successful in getting
the public sucked into adopting embryos, how much tax money will be used?

Next time you get sick, call a congressperson. They seem to know everything
about everything.

Ciao.
__________________________________________________________________________
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
------------------------------
End of Restore-Digest V2002 #174
********************************