Some international info

[Ferre]

there's a lot goin' on at the "medical cannabis front". Here's some international news:

 

Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in

receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

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MAP posted-by: Jackl

 

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Date: Sun, 08 Dec 2002 12:53:09 -0800

From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>

Subject: 002 Canada : Bud Light - a Quick Look at Marijuana

 

Pubdate: Wed, 09 Oct 2002

Source: Other Press, The (CN BC Edu)

Copyright: 2002 The Other Press

Contact: submit@otherpress.douglas.bc.ca

Website: http://otherpress.douglas.bc.ca/

Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2684

Author: Sven Bellamy, Features Editor

Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc)

Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?330 (Hemp - Outside U.S.)

Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada)

 

BUD LIGHT - A QUICK LOOK AT MARIJUANA

 

Marijuana was first banned in Canada in 1923 under the Opium and Drug Act.

Ever since that legislation was passed, opponents have called the penalties

for possession too harsh.

 

Since May 1997, illicit drugs have been covered by the Controlled Drugs and

Substances Act, which opponents want scrapped. August 2000 saw the passing

of legislation by the Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that banning marijuana

for medicinal purposes violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and

Freedoms. More recently, in July 2001, Canada became the first country to

adopt a system regulating the medicinal use of marijuana.

 

The Canadian Medical Association estimates that 1.5 million Canadians smoke

marijuana recreationally. Obviously those estimators have not made a visit

to the Canadian West Coast. Anyone walking down the street almost anywhere

in Greater Vancouver can unexpectedly encounter the sweet smell of ganja.

However, the debate over recreational use continues and recent studies have

confirmed what many recreational users of marijuana have known all along.

 

Senator Pierre Claude Nolin has been acting head of a special Senate

Committee on Illegal Drugs. In May 2002 the committee presented a paper,

which summarized several important scientific discoveries. Namely,

marijuana does not lead to harder drug use, fewer than ten percent of

marijuana users become addicted, and a lot of money is spent on law

enforcement, even though public policies don't discourage marijuana use.

 

In September of this year, the committee released a second report, which

stated that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and should be governed

by similar regulations. Mr. Nolin was quoted by the CBC as saying,

"Scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is

substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated not as a

criminal issue but as a social and public health issue."

 

Some people are not interested in having the laws surrounding marijuana

changed, while others are pushing for complete legalization. Those people

camped in the middle favour decriminalization. They would like to see the

rules stay the same, but have the current penalties lowered from a criminal

to civil court, like getting a traffic ticket--no criminal record would be

kept.

 

In 1973 the LeDain Commission, a federal commission looking into the

non-medical use of drugs, called for an end to charges for marijuana

possession and cultivation. This was the first big boost to the marijuana

liberalization movement.

 

More recently, in May 2001 Progressive Conservative Party leader Joe Clark

made a statement to the effect that young people caught with marijuana

shouldn't have to carry the stigma of a criminal record for life.

 

Penalties for possession can include a jail term of up to five years.

 

Many groups call this penalty too harsh.

 

Both the NDP and Bloc Quebecois have made statements favouring

decriminalization. The Canadian Medical Association backs the position of

decriminalization, stating in a CBC editorial that carrying a criminal

record effectively bars young people from employment and other

opportunities, such as getting into medical or law school.

 

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has also advocated

decriminalization, as prosecuting people for small amounts of marijuana

ties up already stretched resources.

 

There are groups who disagree strongly with decriminalization. Mostly

police groups and anti-drug associations. Chief Executive Director of the

Canadian Police Association Dave Griffin made the statement that most

first-time offenders don't get criminal records.

 

In the US over the past few years, websites have appeared supporting

anti-drug stands.

 

Even Alcoholics Anonymous has branched out to help marijuana addicts,

appropriately calling the division Marijuana Anonymous. However, the

support for decriminalization appears to be growing.

 

A survey conducted by COMPAS for the National Post newspaper in May 2000

found that 65 percent of people surveyed said the concept of

decriminalizing marijuana was an excellent, or good idea. 20 percent of

respondents did not agree with decriminalization. A similar poll conducted

by Reginald Bibby, a professor at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta,

claimed that support for legalization has risen to 47 percent among Canadians.

 

Despite the fact that marijuana remains an illegal drug in Canada, the

Narcotic Control Regulations were amended in July 2001. The new regulations

established criteria for medical use of marijuana.

 

Patients who fall into one of three categories may apply for an

authorization to possess marijuana for medical purposes.

 

Category One patients are those people who have terminal illnesses with a

prognosis of less than twelve months.

 

Category Two patients are those people who are afflicted with symptoms of

serious medical conditions: multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, spinal

cord disease, cancer, AIDS/HIV, severe arthritis, and epilepsy.

 

Category Three patients are those people who do not fall into category One

or Two, but have severe pain or discomfort that is not alleviated by

contemporary medical treatments.

 

Applicants can phone or mail in their request for authorization from Health

Canada's Office of Cannabis Medical Access (www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs

sesc/ocma/contact_us.htm). The forms are also downloadable from the OCMA

website (www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/ocma/index.htm). Applicants provide

information about themselves, and their medical condition, and indicate if

they plan to grow their own supply of marijuana, have someone else grow it

for them, or obtain it from a dealer licensed by Health Canada. Applicants

must also provide statements from one or more medical specialists stating

that conventional treatments have been tried.

 

Health Canada magazine has published a short web-based article which

claims, "Advocates of making marijuana available as a medical treatment

argue that the drug helps relieve nausea and vomiting related to AIDS and

cancer therapies, and is effective in treating other diseases or

conditions, including anorexia, chronic pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis,

glaucoma, arthritis, and migraines."

 

The evidence for medical benefits of marijuana dates back much further: An

article published in Cannabis Culture reads: "Due to its topical

anti-bacterial properties, cannabis has been used to treat a variety of

skin diseases such as pruritis, also known as atopic dermatitis, an

inflammatory skin disorder.

 

The symptoms of pruritis are severe itching, "and patches of inflamed skin,

especially on the hands, face, neck legs, and genitals." A description that

sounds startlingly similar to the skin disease described in Leviticus 13,

called tsara'ath. It is usually translated in the Old Testament as leprosy,

but has been noted by a number of scholars to be more likely a reference to

a severe form of pruritis rather than true leprosy (Hansen's disease)."

 

Furthermore, a 1960 study in Czechoslovakia concluded that,

"cannabidiociolic acid, a product of the unripe hemp plant, has

bacteriocidal properties." The Czech researchers found that cannabis

extracts containing cannabidiociolic acid produced impressive antibacterial

effects on a number of micro-organisms, including strains of staphylococcus

that resist penicillin and other antibiotics. The Czech researchers

successfully treated a variety of conditions, including ear infections,

with cannabis lotions and ointments.

 

Topical application of cannabis relieved pain and prevented infection in

second-degree burns.

 

On June 2, 1992 an Associated Press article appeared in The Province:

"Hashish (a resin derivative of cannabis) evidence is 1,600 years old.

'Archaeologists have found hard evidence that hashish was used as a

medicine 1,600 years ago', the Israel Antiquities Authority said yesterday.

Archaeologists uncovered organic remains of a substance containing hashish,

grasses and fruit on the abdominal area of a teenage female's skeleton that

dates back to the fourth century, the antiquities authority said in a

statement. Anthropologist Joel Zias said that although researchers knew

hashish had been used as a medicine, this is the first archeological evidence."

 

Another large pro-marijuana movement is the push to develop hemp-based

products for the marketplace. Hemp can be manufactured into clothing, oils,

paper, rope, and, although expensive when compared to other similar

products, with the right timing and marketing has the potential to beat-out

other industries. This has been one of the goals of the Marijuana Party and

activists such as Marc Emery. Emery started HempBC back in 1994 and has

nurtured his activism in cannabis culture to take on the slogan, "overgrow

the government."

 

Perhaps there will not be a quick resolution or acceptance of cannabis

culture, but the change is coming--marijuana has a budding future.

__________________________________________________________________________

Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in

receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

- ---

MAP posted-by: Jackl

 

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Date: Sun, 08 Dec 2002 12:53:54 -0800

From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>

Subject: 003 SF Researcher Says No To War On Drugs

 

Newshawk: Kirk Muse

Pubdate: Tue, 03 Dec 2002

Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL)

Copyright: 2002 Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Contact: editor.letters@herald-trib.com

Website: http://www.newscoast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/398

 

SF RESEARCHER SAYS NO TO WAR ON DRUGS

 

A San Francisco Researcher Says The War On Drugs Is Causing More Harm Than

The Drugs Themselves

 

More than a thousand public health workers and researchers are in Seattle

this week for the National Harm Reduction conference. These people work

with drug addicts and favor "harm reduction" strategies.

 

That means needle-exchange programs to stop Hepatitis C and AIDS, drug

substitution and compassionate counseling for addicts.

 

They disagree with the "just say no" approach.

 

Patt Denning is director of clinical services and research with the Harm

Reduction Therapy Center in San Francisco. In her words -- "Drug

prohibition is what causes the greatest harm, not drugs."

 

Denning dismisses the idea that users must hit rock-bottom before they can

be helped. And she criticizes methods of drug therapy that use punishment

to get addicts to kick their habits.

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