Date: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 09:26:46 -0700

Subject:NV: Young Nevadans Using Marijuana Up TOC

Newshawk: Libertarians 1 - Drug Warriors 0 - http://www.plylar.org
Pubdate: Sat, 31 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: Tony Batt Stephens, Washington Bureau

YOUNG NEVADANS USING MARIJUANA

Report: State's Rate Among Highest In Nation

WASHINGTON -- First-time marijuana use among Nevada youths ages 12 to 17 is
among the highest in the nation, according to a federal report released
this week.

Nevada tied with Hawaii for seventh among the 50 states, with 7.63 percent
of its adolescents trying marijuana for the first time in 1999 and 2000,
the report said.

Based on national household surveys on drug abuse, the report was released
Wednesday in Miami by John Walters, head of the U.S. Office of National
Drug Control Policy.

During a visit to Las Vegas in July, Walters, also known as the U.S. drug
czar, expressed opposition to a Nov. 5 ballot initiative that would
legalize the possession of 3 ounces or less of marijuana in Nevada.

"Let me be clear, the director opposes any effort to legalize marijuana,
but this report was not intended to influence the election in Nevada. This
is an annual report," said Jennifer de Vallance, a spokeswoman for Walters.

Billy Rogers, a spokesman for Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement
which is sponsoring the ballot initiative to legalize marijuana possession,
said the report will have "zero impact" on the Nov. 5 election.

"Nevadans know there's a big difference between marijuana and hard drugs,"
said Rogers. "I don't think most Nevadans have a problem allowing
responsible adults to possess small amounts of marijuana in the privacy of
their own homes."

Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell disagreed, saying the report
will undermine claims that marijuana use is not harmful.

"This report suggests some percentage of people start with marijuana and
move on through the process (to harder drugs) and oftentimes into crime,"
Bell said. "If we can prevent young people from experimenting with illegal
drugs, we are going to have some success in reducing addiction and crime."

The report showed 18 percent of people who are at least 26 are drug or
alcohol dependent if they began using marijuana before they turned 15. Only
2.1 percent of adults who had never tried marijuana suffered substance
abuse problems, the report said.

Rogers disputed the report's data, saying 11 million Americans use
marijuana but only 1.5 million use cocaine and only 130,000 use heroin.

"In the two years cited in the report, Nevada had the most severe laws in
the country against marijuana possession. You could be charged with a
felony If you were caught with just a marijuana cigarette," Rose said. "I
think what the study shows is the strictest laws against marijuana in the
country couldn't stop Nevada children from obtaining marijuana."

Bell argued that marijuana possession in Nevada is rarely prosecuted as a
felony.

"In reality, it is treated like a misdemeanor and that is the way it should
be," Bell said. "There is no question that if marijuana possession is made
lawful that more people will use it."

Besides Walters, Drug Enforcement Administration Director Asa Hutchinson
also has visited Nevada in recent months and voiced opposition to the
ballot initiative to legalize marijuana possession. Calls to Hutchinson's
office on Friday were not returned.

Bell said he is not working with the Bush administration to defeat
marijuana legalization in Nevada.

Massachusetts was the leading state for first-time marijuana use for youths
12 to 17, with 8.75 percent, according to the report. Other states ahead of
Nevada included Delaware, 8.32 percent; Vermont, 8.30 percent; Arizona,
8.16 percent; Colorado, 7.68 percent; and New Mexico, 7.66 percent.
__________________________________________________________________________
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: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 09:27:22 -0700

Subject:Canada: British Firm Tests Aerosol Pot Up TOC

Newshawk: Join CMAP (http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/lists.htm)
Pubdate: Sat, 31 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: Tracey Tyler

BRITISH FIRM TESTS AEROSOL POT

Will Anne McLellan opt for sprayed instead of smoked?

The federal health minister told doctors recently she is uncomfortable with
the idea of Canadians smoking marijuana to relieve pain. But England is
offering an alternative.

A British pharmaceutical company is producing a cannabis aerosol spray
under licence to the U.K. government.

Similar to a breath spray, it seems to offer the medical benefits of
marijuana without the harmful side effects of smoking, said Justin Gover,
managing director of GW Pharmaceuticals Inc.

It has been testing the spray in clinical trials over the past five years
in Britain and Europe with 400 people who have multiple sclerosis, cancer,
rheumatoid arthritis and spinal-cord injuries.

The company offered the spray to Health Canada for use in clinical trials,
but the federal government turned it down, Gover confirmed when contacted
this week.

"We've had discussions with Heath Canada for a number of years," he said
from Salisbury, England.

"The discussions really centred on GW establishing a clinical trials
program in Canada of sufficient size to allow Canadians to take part."

But McLellan's predecessor, Allan Rock, who was minister when Ottawa was
first approached, chose instead to have a supply of marijuana cultivated
domestically for use in clinical trials.

The result was a 200-kilogram harvest that was grown under contract to the
government in an abandoned Manitoba mine.

McLellan, however, has announced that the crop will not be used in clinical
trials after all because it contains too many different strains. The plants
were grown from seedlings seized in police drug raids.

A group of seven Canadian medical marijuana users and suppliers are suing
for access to that crop, but one of their lawyers says a cannabis spray
would be the first choice.

"I'm quite certain the spray is the way to go," Alan Young said. "I've
never had a client extol the virtues of smoking."

The legal problems faced by medical marijuana users in Canada are the same
in many parts of the world, Gover said.

His company's solution is to convert marijuana into a form that can be
approved under existing laws, as was done with morphine.

Although opium is a banned substance in most countries, morphine, which is
one of its derivatives, can be prescribed to control pain.

The firm is on track to apply early next year to have use of the spray
approved under Britain's regulatory regime for prescription drugs, Gover
said. Its target is to have the spray on the market in early 2004.

"If our program is successful in the U.K., we have every intention of
applying to Health Canada for approval of our product in Canada," he said,
adding if that happens, the spray could conceivably be available here at
about the same time as in Britain.

A Health Canada spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
__________________________________________________________________________
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: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 09:34:52 -0700

Subject:UK: Cannabis Users Facing Caution Instead Of Arrest Up TOC

Newshawk: JimmyG
Pubdate: Sun, 01 Sep 2002
Source: Observer, The (UK)
Copyright: 2002 The Observer
Contact: letters@observer.co.uk
Website: http://www.observer.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/315
Author: Kamal Ahmed

CANNABIS USERS FACING CAUTION INSTEAD OF ARREST

People caught with cannabis are to be given 'on the street' warnings
instead of being arrested and taken to a police station to face an official
caution.

In a national roll out of the controversial pilot scheme in Lambeth,
London, the Association of Chief Police Officers will announce that all
police forces in England and Wales should abandon official cautions for
cannabis possession. A binding guidance note is likely to be circulated in
December.

The association hopes that the new rules will help clear up confusion over
cannabis policy across the country following the decision earlier this year
by David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, to reclassify it as a Class C drug.
Blunkett said that arrests should only be made where there are 'aggravating
circumstances'.

In an interview with The Observer, Andy Hayman, the deputy commissioner of
the Metropolitan Police and chairman of the Acpo drugs working group, said
that it was now time for police forces to move on from the issue of
cannabis and concentrate on Class A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine.

'We have to formalise [our policy on cannabis] and get a consistent
approach,' he said, adding that people caught with small amounts of
cannabis for personal use will not be arrested unless they are under age.

'You will be challenged, because to have possession of that drug is
illegal,' he said. 'But the guidance is going to say focus on class A.'

Commander Brian Paddick, the Metropolitan Police officer who first
introduced the pilot project in Lambeth last summer, faced criticism from
local residents. But research into the scheme revealed that police had
saved hundreds of hours not officially cautioning cannabis users and that
arrests for dealing in Class A drugs had increased.

Paddick has since been suspended from his role and moved to a desk job
pending the outcome of an investigation into claims that cannabis was
smoked at his home.

Hayman admitted that reports of a rise in the use of crack cocaine was
causing high-levels of concern among many police forces.

'We believe it is the most under-researched area of drugs,' he said. 'For
us to be able to make some meaningful enforcement activity we have got to
understand the nature of the problem.'

Hayman added that he wanted to see more treatment centres for cocaine and
heroin users and a 'rebalancing' of the system away from treating heroin
addicts in the criminal justice system and towards treating them as a
medical problem.
__________________________________________________________________________
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: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 09:36:56 -0700

Subject:NV: First Cops, Now Teachers Support Marijuana Decrim Up TOC

Newshawk: www.ssdp.org The DARE Generation
Pubdate: Wed, 28 Aug 2002
Source: Boston Weekly Dig (MA)
Copyright: 2002 Boston Weekly Dig
Contact: letters@weeklydig.com
Website: http://www.weeklydig.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1515
Author: Danielle Ben-Veniste
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
http://www.mapinc.org/find?162 (Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement)

FIRST COPS, NOW TEACHERS SUPPORT MARIJUANA DECRIM IN NEVADA

Hell, Next They'll Legalize Prostitution ...

Now that you've all got your hopes up and started scoping out real estate
in Nevada, there's been a significant change in the status of Question 9, a
ballot initiative that would allow adults to legally possess up to three
ounces of marijuana.

In Issue #4.31 (August 17-24), we reported on the surprising (to supporters
and detractors alike) news of the Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs'
unanimous support of the initiative. But just days after this coup,
president and founding member Andy Anderson resigned from his post in the
midst of a storm of public and internal outrage. Immediately after the news
broke about the results of Anderson's NCOPS poll, law-enforcement officials
throughout the state expressed their dissent, furious that so large and
influential an organization would vote to "support marijuana use." Just
three days later, NCOPS not only withdrew its endorsement but voted to
oppose the initiative, a decision that led Anderson to turn in his resignation.

So why the sudden change of heart?

Some board members blame confusion, coming forward to say that they didn't
know what they were actually endorsing and blaming this "misunderstanding"
for Anderson's report of unanimous support.

However, proponents of the initiative suspect that the reason might have
more to do with pressure - from the public, from other officers and from
fellow NCOPS members.

Although Anderson clearly stated his reasons for endorsing the initiative
as being solely based on a desire to free up time for cops to make more
important arrests - "As a former law-enforcement officer," he said, "I know
that a simple marijuana arrest takes me off the street for half my shift" -
the endorsement by NCOPS was misinterpreted as a reflection of depravity
and low moral standards.

Despite the controversy, the Marijuana Policy Project reports that while
they may have lost the endorsement of NCOPS, Anderson still stands by his
original decision.

And recently, the initiative has found itself with another supporter almost
as unlikely as an organization comprised of 3,000 former and active police
officials: Assemblywoman and schoolteacher Chris Giunchigliani.
Giunchigliani was recently hired as a consultant to Nevadans for
Responsible Law Enforcement (NRLE) head Billy Rogers - NRLE are the
sponsors of Question 9. With 12 years of experience as a state legislator
and 23 years of experience as a teacher, Giunchigliani may be able to
obtain endorsements from some difficult individuals and organizations. And
should her moral character come under scrutiny, Giunchigliani has a long
list of awards and achievements that should silence any questions of
ethical fortitude, including the "Good Gal" Award of the Southern Nevada
Women's Political Caucus, the Southern Nevada Distinguished Women's Award
and the Parents Advisory Committee Award for Excellence in Special
Education. It almost seems too good to be true; with only 11 weeks left
before the initial vote, let's hope that it isn't.

More information on the initiative is available at www.nrle.org. View all
of Giunchigliani's copious accomplishments at
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/71st/legislators/Assembly/Giunchigliani.cfm,
cross your fingers and resume house hunting.
__________________________________________________________________________
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: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 09:41:24 -0700

Subject:NV: Man Behind Marijuana Proposal Eschews Its Use Up TOC

Newshawk: Libertarians 1 - Drug Warriors 0 - http://www.plylar.org
Pubdate: Sun, 01 Sep 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

MAN BEHIND MARIJUANA PROPOSAL ESCHEWS ITS USE

CARSON CITY -- The man behind the drive to make Nevada the first state with
legal marijuana says he never uses the stuff.

"I have smoked in the past, more than 15 or 20 years ago, but I didn't like
it," said Billy Rogers, campaign manager and spokesman for Nevadans for
Responsible Law Enforcement. "It wasn't my cup of tea. I won't smoke if the
question passes. It isn't something I choose to do."

Reared in Austin, Texas, the 40-year-old Rogers remembers friends, some now
lawyers and successful business owners, who were busted for small amounts
of marijuana and then went through hell trying to clean up criminal records.

"It is just awful that otherwise law-abiding citizens have to go through an
arrest and be put in jail when prosecutors know it is not a serious crime,"
he said. "The greatest harm from marijuana is threat of jail."

Despite all the laws against marijuana use, Rogers says studies show there
are 11 million regular pot smokers in the United States, including 150,000
in Nevada.

To him, cigarettes and alcohol are more harmful.

"No one has overdosed from smoking marijuana," he said. "Certainly there
are dangers associated with smoking marijuana. I don't advocate anyone
using marijuana, but the criminal justice system should not be treating
these people as criminals. Marijuana is not in the same ballpark as cocaine
or heroin."

Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick has become one of the most
outspoken critics of Question 9. In his county, repeat marijuana offenders
attend drug court classes. If they stay clean for a year, they receive a
diploma, and their records are expunged. Clark County has a similar program.

"I resent these people from Washington, D.C., and around the county trying
to tell us what to do in our state," he said.

Rogers resents those who consider him a carpetbagger. An avid sports fan
and blackjack player, he said he has made three or four trips a year to Las
Vegas since he was 21.

"I have contributed my fair share to the economy here," he said. "If I am
not a 20-year resident of Las Vegas, then I certainly feel like one. I have
seen the city grow and change."

He said people like Gammick are missing the message sent by the 110,000
Nevadans who signed the petition to put Question 9 on the Nov. 5 ballot.

"We will win because we are protecting the privacy rights of people," he
said. "Most Nevadans support that. This is not about the marijuana leaf,
but the kind of law enforcement we are going to have in our state."

Rogers moved to Las Vegas in May to take over the petition-gathering drive
of Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement. He had been hired in December
by the Washington, D.C.-based Medical Marijuana Project as its director of
state policies.

During the spring, Rogers worked on efforts, so far unsuccessful, to
establish medical marijuana programs in Vermont and Massachusetts. Then the
Marijuana Policy Project offered him the job in Nevada.

With passage of Question 9 in November and again in 2004, adult Nevadans
would be permitted under the state constitution to possess up to 3 ounces
of marijuana in the privacy of their homes. Nevadans have already approved
the use of medical marijuana, and about 200 have signed up for the program.

For most of his adult life, Rogers ran political campaigns. He and his
parents have all served as campaign managers for Democrats seeking the
governor's office in Texas.

During the 1998 gubernatorial campaign, Rogers represented Democrat Garry
Mauro, a longtime friend, in his race against incumbent Gov. George W.
Bush. Mauro lost by 36 percentage points.

Rogers contended Bush took Mauro's message and increased education funding
and teacher pay and reformed the laws governing HMOs.

"The perception of Bush is as a conservative, but he did things Democrat
governors haven't done, like raise teacher salaries and making inroads with
the Hispanic community," Rogers said.

Despite the loss, Rogers is proud Mauro took the high road in that
campaign. There was no mention of speculation about whether Bush had
previously used cocaine, or his drunken driving arrest in 1976, which was
raised in the presidential campaign two years later.

"Politics is a peaceful means of war," Rogers said. "You ought to be civil.
It is not a blood sport."

In the early 1990s, Rogers spent three years in Russia, editing the Moscow
Guardian magazine and conducting seminars to try to teach ex- communists
the benefits of capitalism.

"It was surreal," Rogers said about his time in Russia. "I remember we had
rock concerts for privatization. They are so far ahead of where they were
in '91. The transformation has been amazing."

He also spent two years running a Web site that provided sports
information. The site relied on advertising revenue, which dried up in 2000
and 2001.

"Talking about sports all day was like heaven," said Rogers, admitting he
attended the University of Texas strictly to acquire good seats at Texas
Longhorn football games. "Part of the fun of living in Las Vegas is the
sports books. They are the next best things to going to stadiums."
__________________________________________________________________________
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: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 09:42:42 -0700

Subject:CA: Marijuana Is Medicine Up TOC

Newshawk: Libertarians 1 - Drug Warriors 0 - http://www.plylar.org
Pubdate: Sun, 01 Sep 2002
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Webpage: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/09/01/ED225131.DTL
Copyright: 2002 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: letters@sfchronicle.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Mitchell Earleywine
Note: Mitchell Earleywine is an associate professor in the department of
psychology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and the
author of "Understanding Marijuana" (Oxford University Press, 2002).
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

Pot Use In America

Pro

MARIJUANA IS MEDICINE

The majority of Americans support medical marijuana. Californians legalized
it years ago. The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine endorses the
medication, and calls federal policy against this treatment "misguided" and
"inhumane."

A safe, inexpensive medication that effectively relieves pain, nausea and
muscle spasms while improving appetite makes a welcome addition to our
pharmaceutical armament.

Meanwhile, as columnist Debra J. Saunders told us ("West takes on East in
the drug war," July 28) federal drug czar John Walters still claims that
medical research doesn't support marijuana as medicine.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Medical marijuana began in 2737 B.
C. The first evidence of marijuana's ability to enhance appetite goes back
to 300 A.D. Centuries before there was a drug czar or a Proposition 215 or
even a U.S. government, physicians knew that marijuana improved appetite.

Dr. Richard Foltin of Columbia University confirmed that effect in 1988
when he found that men who smoked marijuana increased their intake of
calories by 40 percent. Researchers across the nation want to provide more
evidence to support medical marijuana, but they are blocked by bureaucratic
hurdles. The National Institute of Drug Abuse, the sole legal source of
marijuana for this work, has made obtaining the drug absurdly difficult. In
short, medical marijuana does not have more research support because the
government has squashed these investigations.

But based on the faulty assumption that marijuana is not medicine, federal
law enforcement officers have closed local cannabis clubs. This creates a
dilemma for the chronically ill who need this medicine. They might try to
grow their own, but the work is difficult. The marijuana plant requires
diligent care, including appropriate temperatures, frequent watering and a
fight against pests. Growers live in fear their plants will be stolen or
they will be arrested. The task is too demanding for people who are sick.

The chronically ill might try to buy marijuana on the underground market,
but these purchases are also difficult. Few people have any idea where to
buy pot safely. They may find themselves in dangerous settings, again
living in fear of theft or arrest. Dependable sources may be hard to find.
Dealers may hawk illicit drugs that would be of no help to the chronically
ill. Each search for medicine could become anything from a draining waste
of time to a life-threatening confrontation.

The desperate might try to go without their medicine, but this approach
guarantees suffering. Nausea, pain and muscle spasms are no picnic. These
symptoms ensure poor sleep and a depressed mood, which in turn make
adhering to complex medical regimens a struggle. It's hard to remember to
take pills every few hours while walking around in a fatigued funk. There
are few things more unpleasant than sitting in front of a plate of food,
watching your body waste away, wishing for a hint of an appetite. And the
symptoms go on and on, day after day after day.

Alternative medications are often less effective, more expensive and
riddled with side effects. This approach can make the last years of a
person's life completely unbearable.

So these are the options: difficult, dangerous, or depressing. An
innovative crew of lawmakers, including the San Francisco Board of Supervisors,

have come up with another choice. Cities may create ways to supply the
medicine to chronically ill citizens, including growing their own (as
Supervisor Mark Leno has proposed in his November ballot measure). Sure, it
sounds crazy. But we've tried everything else.

More and more of our loved ones are suffering and wasting away. Many of us
have watched an ill friend or relative and thought, "I am willing to do
anything to ease this person's suffering!" Often we think this may require
a heroic effort, like raising a million dollars or donating a kidney. In
fact, it's much simpler than that. All we have to do is get an inexpensive
and effective medicine that happens to be against federal law.

So now we have to ask ourselves, Are we still willing?
__________________________________________________________________________
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: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 09:44:40 -0700

Subject:CA: Marijuana Today - Setting The Record Straight Up TOC

Newshawk: Libertarians 1 - Drug Warriors 0 - http://www.plylar.org
Pubdate: Sun, 01 Sep 2002
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Webpage: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/09/01/ED123513.DTL
Copyright: 2002 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: letters@sfchronicle.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: John P. Walters
Note: John P. Walters is the director of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

Pot Use In America

Con

MARIJUANA TODAY: SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

The public debate over marijuana has been plagued by difficulties, not the
least of which is a lack of accurate information. Any policy debate that
draws activists promoting their cause is likely to suffer from confusion.
But the debate over marijuana has been further muddled by careless or
gullible media reports. Too often, journalists are fed misleading advocacy
information that they swallow whole.

For instance, one columnist recently charged that worry about the increased
potency of today's marijuana is wildly overstated. In fact, he calls such
claims "whoppers," because the active ingredient THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)
"has only doubled to 4.2 percent from about 2 percent from 1980 to 1997."

No wonder the public has trouble getting a clear picture. His source for
this information is the Marijuana Policy Project, a group of marijuana
legalizers relying on a study that covers just those years. Unfortunately,
the columnist did not check his facts with the Drug Enforcement
Administration, which monitors scientific studies of marijuana.

What does the DEA analysis show? In 1974, the average THC content of
marijuana was less than 1 percent. But by 1999, potency averaged 7 percent.
Further, unlike the old "ditchweed" and bulk marijuana of the past, there
are now far more powerful products to entice youth. The THC of today's
sinsemilla averages 14 percent and ranges as high as 30 percent.

Even stronger stuff is on the way. The point is that the potency of
available marijuana has not merely "doubled," but increased as much as 30
times.

Some advocates argued that this increased potency is actually good news,
because kids will simply use less. But the data don't support that
interpretation. The number of tons of marijuana sold in America is
increasing, not decreasing. The number of people seeking medical treatment
for marijuana abuse is increasing rapidly, not decreasing. In fact, the
number of adolescent marijuana admissions increased 260 percent between
1992 and 1999.

The stakes in this debate are high, especially for young people. So
widespread is marijuana in today's schools that nearly half of all high
school seniors report having tried it by graduation, while a smaller but
still alarming number report using it every month -- even everyday. This is
a drug that, after all, produces withdrawal symptoms, is associated with
learning and memory disturbances and produces behavioral problems for those
who become dependent.

It's time to face facts: Today's marijuana is a more dangerous drug than
the pot of the Woodstock era. It creates tolerance (you need increasing
doses to achieve the same effect), and at high doses it induces paranoia or
even violence.

The haze of misinformation grows even thicker when it comes to the issue of
"medical" marijuana. On the face of it, the idea that desperately sick
people could be helped by smoking an intoxicating weed seems unlikely, even
medieval. It is, in fact, absurd.

Smoking marijuana, even if it weren't psychotropic, hardly seems healthy.
The threat of lung damage, not to mention exposure to carcinogens and more
toxins than those found in tobacco smoke, increases with every "hit." But
no less than the New York Times editorialized recently in support of
medical marijuana. Amazingly, the paper termed it "life-saving" and claimed
it represented "mainstream medical opinion."

Who have they been listening to? Perhaps the source was the same Marijuana
Policy Project, which paid for a full-page ad in the Times on March 6,
2000. The MPP claimed scientific support for medical marijuana from the
prestigious National Academy of Sciences, whose Institute of Medicine, MPP
claimed, "urged the federal government to give seriously ill people
immediate access to medical marijuana on a case-by-case basis."

But nowhere in the IOM report can you find this "urging." Quite the
contrary: the IOM throws cold water on smoked-marijuana enthusiasts,
stating clearly, "Marijuana is not a modern medicine."

Does the IOM regard marijuana as a helpful 'medicine' for the afflicted?
Not at all. "In no way," the researchers continued, "do we wish to suggest
that patients should, under any circumstances, medicate themselves with
marijuana." In fact, they state that any experimental subjects must be
notified that they are using "a harmful drug delivery system," adding that
short-term experiments might be conducted only after the "documented
failure of all approved medicines" and only under strict medical supervision.

But while the IOM wishes to study the ingredients in marijuana, the purpose
of these clinical trials (now being conducted through the University of
California at San Diego) is not to investigate the potential medical
benefit of smoking the stuff. As the researchers put it, their purpose
"would not be to develop marijuana as a licensed drug."

These facts place us far away from efforts to justify the distribution of
marijuana cigarettes through cannabis buyers clubs. Real and lasting damage
can follow "experimentation" with marijuana, as reflected in the fact that
marijuana abuse is today the major reason for young people to seek drug
treatment.

Yet, listening to some in the media you are still likely to hear that
marijuana "isn't such a big deal," and that even the National Academy of
Sciences endorses it "for medicinal purposes." Now you know better.
__________________________________________________________________________
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: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 09:46:39 -0700
Subject: NV: Ballot Question 9 - Marijuana Support Falls In Poll

Newshawk: Libertarians 1 - Drug Warriors 0 - http://www.plylar.org
Pubdate: Sun, 01 Sep 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?163 (Question 9 (NV))

BALLOT QUESTION 9: MARIJUANA SUPPORT FALLS IN POLL

Survey: 55 Percent Reject Legalization Of Small Amounts Of Pot

CARSON CITY -- As attention has focused nationwide on a provocative
proposal to make Nevada the first state with legal marijuana, a new poll
shows support for the idea is fading.

The survey, commissioned by the Review-Journal and reviewjournal.com, found
55 percent of likely voters oppose Question 9 on the November election
ballot. Passage then and again in 2004 would change the state constitution
and allow adult Nevadans to possess 3 ounces or less of marijuana without
fear of arrest.

Forty percent of the respondents back Question 9, and 5 percent are
undecided. The results are a dramatic shift from a similar poll in early
July, when 44 percent of the respondents said they favored legal pot, while
46 percent were opposed. A Reno Gazette-Journal poll conducted soon after
found voters evenly split for and against at 48 percent.

The survey of 625 likely voters was conducted by telephone on Monday and
Tuesday by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C. The
results have a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Support has waned because law enforcement leaders have begun to focus on
the issue, said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon.

Coker said he was not surprised at the numbers. "All it takes is a little
push from law enforcement and people back off," he said. "It certainly
won't pass."

Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick said he thinks "people are
now learning the truth."

"All the proponents want to do is legalize marijuana so they can smoke
dope," Gammick said. "Now that people realize their motivation, they are
making a rational decision about it."

Possession of 1 ounce or less or marijuana in Nevada is a misdemeanor
subject to a $600 fine for the first two offenses.

Gammick contended pot supporters have left the false impression that
passage of Question 9 was necessary to implement the state's medical
marijuana program.

Sixty-five percent of voters two years ago passed a constitutional
amendment that led to establishment of a state medical marijuana program.

The medical marijuana issue coincidentally also was listed as Question 9 on
election ballots. About 200 people now have permission to grow as many as
seven marijuana plants for medical reasons.

Although the new Question 9 would require the state to provide low- cost
marijuana to medical marijuana recipients, its main focus would be setting
up a system to allow adults to possess small amounts of pot without
reprisal. The ballot question provides a vehicle for the state to tax and
sell marijuana.

Gammick has said federal laws would prohibit the state from doing so, but
Billy Rogers, the man behind the drive to make marijuana possession legal
in the state, has argued the nation's drug czar is already on record as
saying he won't step up enforcement of federal drug laws if the measure passes.

Rogers said his own polls show Nevadans remain split on the marijuana question.

"I see it dead even right now," Rogers said.

Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement collected almost 110,000
signatures on petitions from residents who wanted to place Question 9 on
the ballot.

Rogers said the latest poll is a sign his organization must do a better job
of explaining the issue to voters. The organization has raised $525,000 in
contributions and intends to launch a fall campaign, including TV spots, to
explain the question.

In particular, he said the group must emphasize that passage of the
question only would allow adults to possess marijuana in the privacy of
their homes, not in public places or while driving. Use of the drug by
minors also would remain illegal.

"If that is what voters are hearing on Election Day, we will win the
election," Rogers said. "We have to let them know exactly what is in the
initiative."

Rogers contended opponents have been misinforming voters on what his
organization really wants.

"You would think from what they say if Question 9 is passed, the next thing
we will do in Nevada is legalize gaming and prostitution," he said.

His organization has maintained the public will be better served if police
concentrate on more serious crimes than wasting time arresting and booking
people for small amounts of marijuana.

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.

But Las Vegas police Undersheriff Richard Winget said earlier this month
that police this year have booked only about 50 cases in which a small
amount of pot was involved. Drug charges usually are secondary to other
crimes, he 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: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 09:48:15 -0700
Subject: CA: Lockups

Newshawk: Libertarians 1 - Drug Warriors 0 - http://www.plylar.org
Pubdate: Sun, 01 Sep 2002
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Webpage:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/09/01/IN92301.DTL
Copyright: 2002 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: letters@sfchronicle.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Note: This piece originally ran as a leader (editorial) in the Economist.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

LOCKUPS

The U.S. Resembles a Penal Colony

Convicting the Justice System

Today is a special day for 1,600 men and women: They are being released
from a state or federal prison. Tomorrow will be a special day for another
1, 600 people. As will be the day after that. Some 600,000 inmates will
leave prison this year -- more than the population of Washington, D.C.
After quadrupling its imprisonment rate in just 30 years -- the United
States now has 700 people of every 100,000 under lock and key, five times
the proportion in Britain, the toughest sentencer in Western Europe -- the
world's most aggressive jailer must now confront the iron law of
imprisonment: that those who go in almost always come out.

The result is a society that, statistically at least, is beginning to look
a little like early Australia. Nearly 1 in 8 American men has been
convicted of a felony. One black man in 5 has been to prison, 1 in 3 has
been convicted of a felony. These convicts, particularly those who have
been to prison, contribute little good to the places where they live.
Two-thirds of ex-prisoners are rearrested within three years. Prisons are a
breeding-ground for terrible diseases, both medical (such as AIDS) and
social (the Aryan Brotherhood), that soon spread to the outside world.

The high rates of imprisonment are partly related to the number of crimes
committed in the United States, but they also reflect a determined policy
to increase the number of mandatory sentences, particularly for drug
offenses. Since the 1980s, laws have limited the discretion both of judges
to make the punishment fit the crime and of parole boards to determine when
prisoners are fit to be released. In the 10 years after 1986, the average
term in federal prison rose from 39 to 54 months.

This offensive against crime is generally held to be a success. America's
crime rate has fallen in recent years, and though it has now started to
rise again, no politician in America thinks that arguing for more lenient
treatment of criminals will bring in votes. That does not mean that it
would be wrong to do so. Put simply, the United States probably sends
people to prison too willingly, and looks after them too carelessly
afterward. Some believe the upturn in the crime rate is directly linked to
the number of unreformed ex-convicts on U.S. streets.

There is a good case for opposing tough mandatory sentences merely on moral
grounds. Locking up a young woman for 10 years just because her boyfriend
was a drug-dealer ill becomes a civilized country.

But there are also practical doubts about the United States' sentencing
policy. The lower crime figures may have had more to do with demography
(fewer young men around) and changes in policing than with sentencing policy.

Once you compare like with like, a different picture emerges. The fiercest
imprisoner, Texas, which locks up more than 1,000 people for every 100,000
citizens, has far worse crime statistics than New York state, where the
imprisonment rate has risen much more slowly. And when it comes to drugs
and violent crime, the two plagues hard sentencing was supposed to cure, it
has failed dramatically. Drug- taking is as widespread as ever, and the
U.S. murder rate is still nearly four times higher than the European Union's.

For many Americans, sentencing has become purely a matter of punishment.
But it surely behooves those who favor sending ever more people to prison
to try to make prison work better. Each prisoner who emerges unreformed
will start committing crimes again (a more frightening thought when you
realize that one in four commits violent crimes). Even if such people are
caught quickly, it costs money to imprison them: The United States spends
more than $50 billion a year on its prison system.

Rehabilitation has become something of a dirty word in American debates
about crime. Prisons the world over are fairly awful places, with a poor
record of converting people from a life of crime. Even so, the U.S. system
seems peculiarly devised to ensure that prisoners remain criminals.

One advantage of leaving some degree of discretion over sentencing to
parole boards was that it obliged prisoners to prove they were ready for
outside life. This incentive has now gone. Outside prison, the aftercare
system is weak. Many ex-cons are simply presented with a one-way bus
ticket. The number of prisoners for each parole officer has risen by 50
percent.

There is a long list of jobs from which felons are banned, many of them
having nothing to do with security. And, of course, nearly 5 million of
them are denied the vote. If a convict can pay taxes, own property, send
his children to school, ought he also to be deprived, permanently in many
cases, of a voice in how society is governed?

This question matters because it goes to the root of how the United States
treats criminals. Punishment requires a fixed term. In justice, just as
much as in literature, every sentence finishes, eventually, with a full
stop. After that, the ex-convict should enjoy the same rights as anybody
else. He has served his time. The United States is not alone in denying its
convicts the vote. But it seems odd that a country built on giving people a
second chance should have turned against this principle so savagely when it
comes to convicts. Particularly now that it is creating so many of them.
__________________________________________________________________________
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: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 09:56:01 -0700
Subject: IACM-Bulletin of 1 September 2002

from International Association for Cannabis as Medicine (IACM)

* Canada: Confusion about plans of Health Minister
* Science: British survey on cannabis in multiple sclerosis

1.

Canada: Confusion about plans of Health Minister

Health Minister Anne McLellan told the Canadian Medical
Association on 19 August that she had "a certain degree of
discomfort" with distributing the cannabis grown for the government
program in an abandoned copper mine in Flin Flon, Manitoba, to
patients. She said she wants to wait until scientific trials prove
cannabis is safe before giving it to patients.

This led to assumptions that the government might significantly
change their politics regarding the medical cannabis project. Trials
have not begun and will take several years. Originally the cannabis
grown in the mine was intended for clinical research and at the same
time for the distribution to patients.

However, McLellan made it clear that the laws that allow people
with certain medical conditions to apply for special exemptions that
allow them to use cannabis to relieve their symptoms will stay in
effect. "We have 855 of those people. More people continue to
apply," McLellan said. These people may also apply for the right to
cultivate cannabis for personal use.

(Sources: National Post of 29 August 2002, Toronto Star of 26
August 2002, Edmonton Sun of 21 August 2002)

2.

Science: British survey on cannabis in multiple sclerosis

A survey of multiple sclerosis patients living in England found that
45 percent use cannabis either for relief of disabling leg spasms or to
ease MS pain. The findings were presented at the 10th World
Congress on Pain.

Neurologist Dr. M. Sam Chong of King's College Hospital, London,
said the "use rate is actually higher than we expected." He said that
about half of the patients started using cannabis only after MS was
diagnosed. 74 percent either eliminated or controlled leg spasms
while 54 percent said they used marijuana mainly for pain relief.

The 15-page surveys were mailed to 300 MS patients who are
included in an MS patient database used by the neurology
department and outpatient clinics. 258 questionaires were returned.
He said that patients who reported more severe symptoms were
more likely to use marijuana, than patients who had mild or
moderate symptoms.

(Source: United Press International of 18 August 2002)

3.

News in brief

***Science: Pruritus/itching
Pruritus due to liver disease can be particularly difficult to treat and
frequently is intractable to a variety of medical therapies. Three
patients with intractable pruritus and significant decreases in their
quality of life, including lack of sleep, depression, inability to work,
and suicidal ideations, were administered THC (dronabinol). All
patients were started on 5 mg of THC at bedtime. All 3 patients
reported a decrease in pruritus and a marked improvement in sleep.
The duration of antipruritic effect was approximately 4 to 6 hours.
(Source: Neff GW, et al. Am J Gastroenterol 2002;97(8):2117-9)

***USA: Mikuriya accused
Dr. Tod Mikuriya, a psychiatrist from Berkeley (California) and well-
known supporter of the medical use of cannabis, who has sanctioned
marijuana use by six thousand Californians in the past five years is
being accused by the state Medical Board of "unprofessional
conduct" in his handling of 18 cases. Not one of the 18 complaints
was initiated by a patient, Mikuriya sais; all were sent to the Board
by the police, sheriffs and drug agencies. (Source: Anderson Valley
Advertiser of 14 August 2002)

***Science: Pain
15 patients with chronic pain who indicated that they used cannabis
therapeutically completed a questionnaire in Canada. The median
frequency of use was four times per day (range: 1 to 16 times per
day). Twelve patients reported improvement in pain and mood,
while 11 reported improvement in sleep. Tolerance to cannabis was
not reported. (Source: Ware MA, et al. Pain Res Manag
2002;7(2):95-9)

***Germany: Majority against criminal sanctions
The majority of Germans object criminal prosecution of people who
posses cannabis. According to a poll by Emnid 36.4 percent of the
1007 participants favoured the idea to handle cannabis possession
similar to a traffic offence with a fine. 26.0 percent favoured
legalisation of cannabis possession. 35.7 percent spoke out for the
current mode of criminal sanctions. (Source: dpa)

***Science: Addiction
The younger someone is when first trying marijuana, the more likely
he or she is to become dependent on illegal drugs later in life, U.S.
government researchers said on 28 August. The report, based on
representative data (National Household Survey), found that 18
percent of adults who said they first tried pot before the age of 15
met the criteria for either dependence or abuse of alcohol or illicit
drugs, compared to 2.1 percent of adults who said they had never
used marijuana. (Source: Reuters of 28 August 2002)

4.

ONE YEAR AGO:
- - Science: Cannabis less effective against vomiting than serotonin
antagonists

TWO YEARS AGO:
- - USA: Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of
California
- - Science: THC derivative CT-3 safe in Phase I clinical trial
- - USA: Supreme Court stops marijuana distribution in California

(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

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End of Restore-Digest V2002 #181
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