Topics

NORML December 11, 2008 - Baltimore, MD, USA Marijuana use is prevalent among patients suffering from chronic pain, many of whom are likely using the drug in order to self-medicate, according to findings published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology. Investigators at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland analyzed a total of 13,948 urine specimens from patients at 31 pain clinics in six states. A total of 10,922 specimens tested positive for at least one licit or illicit substance. Nine-hundred and sixty-seven samples (8.9 percent) tested positive for the presence of cannabis metabolites. Authors speculated that the high prevalence of ca…

DEA Says it Has a Policy of Not Arresting Medical Marijuana Patients Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 12:25am http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle_blog/2..._policy_of_not_ Months ago, Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-MI) sent a pointed inquiry to the DEA demanding an accounting of the costs and methodology behind the federal raids against medical marijuana dispensaries in California. DEA’s response (pdf) http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Nelson080725.pdf recently became available and contains some interesting information, including this: DEA does not investigate or target individual "patients" who use cannabis, but instea…

Africa: Debate Over Marijuana Legalization in Morocco Hits the Airwaves 12/12/08 Drug War Chronicle, Issue #564, http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/564/mo...lization_debate Since at least the 15th Century, farmers in Morocco's Rif Mountains have been growing marijuana, which they typically process into hashish. For decades, Moroccan hash has been a mainstay of European marijuana markets. In recent years, production reached a peak of 135,000 hectares in 2003 before declining to about 60,000 hectares this year and last in the face of aggressive government efforts to eradicate crops and break up trafficking organizations. Moroccan hashish fieldBut while the half-decade…

http://www.psychointegrator.com/?p=176 December 9th, 2008 MARIJUANA REDUCES MEMORY IMPAIRMENT COLUMBUS, Ohio – The more research they do, the more evidence Ohio State University scientists find that specific elements of marijuana can be good for the aging brain by reducing inflammation there and possibly even stimulating the formation of new brain cells. The research suggests that the development of a legal drug that contains certain properties similar to those in marijuana might help prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Though the exact cause of Alzheimer’s remains unknown, chronic inflammation in the brain is believed to contribute to memory impair…

O.K, I've always been interested in the effects of cannabis on users who have depression. I myself take an anti-depressent, and have done since about half-way through puberty. Studies are now showing that people younger and younger are being affected. I recently read a story on an 8 year old australian boy who was taking the same as me, Zoloft. He had been since he was 4, I think. Now b4 anyone throws their arms in the air, and starts saying how terrible it is...... Do you remember what it was like? Being a kid, and the smallest things are sometimes are the biggest, in small minds anyway. And you can feel so isolated, like nobody else is on the same planet as you. I'm gla…

In what seems to be a fairly draconian reaction police raided a mans house in Maroochydore for reposting a funny clip on LiveLeak. Sydney Morning Herald There's some more information about it on LiveLeak including the detrimental effects this has had on the mans welfare. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a4f_1228731672 This news clip shows some of the original footage. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c01_1228832145

R v Long appeal decision was just announced, the decision was overturned on appeal. In a nutshell this means that the lower Courts have not accepted that Canada's cannabis laws have indeed fallen and have not been in operation since 2003. I haven't read the decision yet and still waiting for more detailed analysis on http://www.thepotlawhasfallen.ca/ in the next 24 hours. PDF of the decision is attached. Long_Reasons_for_Judgment_Dec8.08.pdf

Pot smoking could stop Mad Cow Disease? 7 December 2008 http://chattahbox.com/curiosity/2008/12/06...ad-cow-disease/ A NEW Zealand pro-cannabis group believes it has scientific evidence that cannabis can stop the development of mad cow disease the New Zealand Press Association reported today. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (Norml) sited a French study showing cannabidiol might be effective in preventing bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease. Scientists at the National Center for Scientific Research in France found cannabidiol - a non-psychoactive ingredient, may prevent the development of prion diseases (prog…

9/12/08 http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl...LW2w3QD94UO6G80 Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — Police said a woman was arrested after asking a state trooper whether she could smoke — and then trying to light up a marijuana joint. Honesty Knight, 32, was a passenger in a vehicle that Trooper Eric Perkins pulled over for a traffic violation early Friday. While the trooper was talking to the driver, Knight obtained the trooper's permission to smoke. Police say Perkins then asked to see the cigarette, which contained marijuana, not tobacco. Knight faces a preliminary charge of possession of paraphernalia. She was re…