Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 09:48:30 -0700

Subject:OR: 'Funny Farm' Pot Operation Shut Down Up TOC

Newshawk: Ric
Pubdate: Fri, 21 Jun 2002
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)
Webpage: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/75525_marijuana21.shtml
Copyright: 2002 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Contact: editpage@seattle-pi.com
Website: http://www.seattle-pi.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/408
Author: Associated Press

'FUNNY FARM' POT OPERATION SHUT DOWN

Two Who Grew Medicinal Marijuana Given Probation

BEND, Ore. -- Two men who grew marijuana for people with AIDS have been
sentenced to probation by a Deschutes County judge.

Eugene Stanley Carsey, 59, and Michael Keith Craven, 57, were
sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to delivering marijuana and
frequenting a place where marijuana was sold, respectively.

Carsey and Craven run a roadside attraction called the Funny Farm,
which bills itself as a "park and playground of reuse and recycling."
They are also the founders of the Central Oregon AIDS Support Team.
The two men were arrested on Feb. 26 after police found evidence of a
commercial marijuana sales operation on their property, including 3
1/2 pounds of the drug. Carsey said later that about half the
so-called marijuana seized was actually catnip.

Oregon voters passed a medical marijuana law in 1998 that allows
certain patients, with a state permit, to use marijuana to ease their
symptoms But Carsey said it is difficult for people with AIDS and
other diseases to get marijuana prescriptions in Central Oregon.

Carsey was sentenced to three years of probation and 200 hours of
community service; Craven to one year of probation and 80 hours of
community service. Other charges against the men were dropped in a
plea deal.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake

 
 


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

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Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 09:51:12 -0700

Subject:US: It's NORML to Smoke Pot Up TOC

Newshawk: It's NORML to Smoke Pot http://www.norml.org/
Pubdate: Thu, 20 Jun 2002
Source: Desert Post Weekly, The (Cathedral City, CA)
Copyright: 2002 The Desert Post Weekly
Contact: mdecrini@palmspri.gannett.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2248
Author: Lanny Swerdlow, Desert Post Weekly
Note: For another report see http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n898/a05.html
Also: Conference videos http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5282 Photos
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5254 Photos by MAPsters
http://www.drugsense.org/pix/norml2002/
Cited: Human Rights and the Drug War http://www.hr95.org/
Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative http://www.rxcbc.org/
Los Angeles Cannabis Club http://www.lacbc.org
High Times http://www.hightimes.com/
Drug Policy Alliance http://www.drugpolicy.org
Schaeffer Commission
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/nc/ncmenu.htm
Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy http://www.cfdp.ca/
Drug Research Center of the University of Amsterdam http://www.cedro-uva.org/
Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics http://www.acmed.org/science/jcant.htm

IT'S NORML TO SMOKE POT

San Francisco is the most pot friendly large city in the country, so
it is no surprise that the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws (NORML) held its national convention there on April
18-20.

Over 570 people from all walks of life streamed to the Crowne Plaza
Union Square Hotel to hear speakers from State Senator John
Vasconcellos to the host of ABC-TV's Politically Incorrect Bill Maher.

Demanding that the government lay off pot smokers, mothers decried the
arrest of their children, medicinal marijuana users heralded its
beneficial properties, civil libertarians denounced the violations of
the constitution and pot smokers praised the plant for its enjoyable
effects and the lack of harm of any significant extent.

So what is a "pot" convention like? Like any other convention with
speeches, panel discussions, rubber chicken luncheons, exhibition
booths, tons of brochures and parties. Of course, the parties were a
little different as there was very little alcohol consumption. Instead
people in suits and ties, elegant dresses, GQ casual, Hollywood chic,
jeans and t-shirts and even a few died in the wool 60's style tie-dye
long hairs passed around joints and pipes with the herb that humans
have been using since before we were human.

DAY I

In a room filled to capacity, Keith Stroup, founder and executive
director of NORML, welcomed the attendees as he stood next to large
reproductions of NORML's $500,000 print, broadcast and outdoor
advertising campaign. The campaign features New York's newly elected
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his candid admission that he smoked pot
and "enjoyed it." Stroup's call for pot smokers to come out of the
closet set the tone for a conference featuring advocates for
legalization, medicinal use and respect for individual rights.

Following Keith Stroup, was the conventions keynote speaker, San
Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan. In 1996, he was the only
district attorney in the entire state of California to endorse
Proposition 215 which legalized medicinal marijuana. As District
Attorney, Hallinan opposes prosecution for marijuana possession and
follows a policy to not seek prison sentences for any marijuana
conviction. Pointing out the inconsistency that it required a
constitutional amendment to ban alcohol and only a legislative vote to
ban marijuana, Hallinan informed the audience that "to consider
marijuana in the same category as heroin and crack cocaine, as federal
statues do, makes no sense and does not reflect reality."

A video message was then shown from Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura,
a long-time advocate of marijuana decriminalization, congratulating
NORML on the convention and to "show my support for the good work you
are doing."

The convention's first panel discussed the need to inform the public
about marijuana and marijuana users. Mikki Norris, founder of the
American Hemp Council and co-creator of the award-winning photo
exhibit Human Rights and the Drug War, brought the delegates to their
feet when she exclaimed "I want to see a time when we are judged on
the content of our character, not our urine."

Featured on the panel was Information Technology entrepreneur John
Gilmore. Coming out publicly, Gilmore declared "I'm a millionaire. I
smoke pot." Willing to put his money where he puts his joints, he has
pledged to fund NORML's efforts to end marijuana prohibition to the
tune of one million dollars a year for ten years. Claiming the use of
marijuana is widespread by "techies" he chided the many pot smoking
high tech entrepreneurs for not supporting NORML and other drug law
reform organizations.

Panel number two presented the latest information on drug testing. The
panel's moderator, Dr. John Morgan of the CUNY Medical School, pointed
to the 30,000 forensic drug tests undergone by Americans every day
creating a two and a half billion dollar a year "urine testing
industrial empire."

With the recent Drug Enforcement Administration busts of medical
marijuana providers, the panel on Patient Support Groups was full of
fire and indignation. The panel featured a trio of providers at the
center of the storm. Jeff Jones, director of the Oakland Cannabis
Buyer's Cooperative, discussed the nationwide attention his
organization received last May when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
the club could not use medical necessity as a defense against federal
law for distributing medicinal marijuana as allowed by California's
Proposition 215.

Also on the panel was Dr. Mollie Fry, director of the California
Medical Research Center, who denounced the theft of her patient's
medical records by the DEA. Scott Imler, director of the Los Angeles
Cannabis Club told how, over a six-hour period, DEA agents seized all
their records and equipment including the horticultural equipment used
to produce medicinal marijuana for their patients. HBO is producing a
documentary on the club and the impact the raid had on the club's
almost 1,000 patients, the majority of them suffering from
complications due to AIDS.

The following panel on the Continuing Legal Battles Over the Medical
Use of Marijuana amplified the callousness and indifference of our
local, state and federal governments to laws enacted by the electorate
that they do not approve. Don Abrahamson, Legal Counsel for the Drug
Policy Alliance, discussed how the unrelenting efforts by the Justice
Department to censure any discussion between doctors and their
patients violates the first amendment with its threats to revoke the
prescription writing authority of any doctor recommending marijuana.

David Nicks, who serves on NORML's legal committee and has represented
many of the medicinal marijuana providers targeted by the Justice
Department, discussed upcoming court battles. As part of the defense
strategy, he will be introducing recently discovered government files
that prove a conspiracy by government prosecutors and law enforcement
officials to circumvent and thwart the requirements of Proposition
215, thereby violating the very laws that they have been sworn to uphold.

A reception and award ceremony hosted by High Times magazine featured
San Francisco City Supervisor Mark Leno. During the reception a fire
alarm went off caused by the smoke from a couple pot aficionados
cloistered in a hallway. An electronic voice told everyone to
immediately vacate the premises by way of the nearest stairway. The
celebrating crowd new all too well what had really happened and
continued to gather round tables heaped with a variety of hotel style
hors d'oeuvres as they feted many of the major players in the
marijuana law reform movement. So ended the first day.

DAY II

The troops returned to convention headquarters at 8:30 a.m.to hear
State Senator John Vasconcellos, chief sponsor of Senate Bill 187.
This landmark legislation would set up a statewide registry and
establish guidelines for medical marijuana patients under Proposition
215. Having passed both the assembly and senate, the bill only awaits
the governor's signature. Senator Vasconcellos urged supporters to
"hold rallies, circulate petitions, contact Davis contributors and
appointees and urge them to let the governor know they want him to
sign the bill."

The senator pointed out that "marijuana is benign, yet it is portrayed
as the end of the world. It represents a cultural war against the
60's, which opened us up to each other. Marijuana is the symbol for
freedom, democracy and opportunity."

The first panel of the day featured a look back at the 1972 Schaeffer
Commission report on Marijuana and Drug Abuse. Featured on the panel
was Tom Ungerleider, a member of the commission who discussed the
report's history and how the commission came to recommend the
decriminalization of marijuana. Although President Nixon had appointed
every member of the commission, he denounced the commission's finding
and then launched the Drug War that still plagues America today.

The following panel was a look at the policies on marijuana followed
by Canada and Western Europe. Eugene Oscapella from the Canadian
Foundation for Drug Policy stated that Canadian laws on marijuana are
considerably less harsh resulting in a "rate of incarceration for
marijuana offenses that is one-sixth of the U.S. rate." He denounced
the paid DEA informants operating surreptitiously in Canada as
violating his country's laws and sovereignty.

Peter Cohen, from the Drug Research Center of the University of
Amsterdam, spoke of the movement away from prohibitionist drug
policies to ones incorporating harm reduction throughout Western
Europe. Discussing the various legal reforms to decriminalize
marijuana, he singled out Portugal as one of the most progressive
which "on July1, 2000 decriminalized all drugs making use and
possession subject only to administrative sanctions."

  From tips on how to camouflage your crops to how to find a good
lawyer, the next panel entitled "Avoiding a Pot Bust and Surviving If
You Are Busted" presented down to earth information on current law
enforcement techniques to ensnare pot smokers. As panelist Jeff
Steinborn pointed out, "if you are smoking pot, you are being hunted
like a deer."

A panel of distinguished medical researchers and doctors comprised the
day's final panel and centered on "Marijuana and Health - Both The
Risks and Benefits." Leading off the discussion was Dr. Ethan Russo,
editor of the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics. His research with
smokers who utilized medicinal marijuana furnished by the United
States Government demonstrated that they suffered no significant
harmful side effects from their daily use of this medicine over
periods ranging from ten to fifteen years. During his presentation he
noted that marijuana not only provided relief from their debilitating
symptoms, but also enabled these patients to use significantly fewer
prescription drugs.

Another panelist, Dr. Donald Abrams, Professor of Clinical Medicine at
the University of California at San Francisco, recounted the
difficulty he encountered attempting to get marijuana from the U.S.
government to conduct his studies. Finally after several years, he was
able to obtain marijuana and conducted the study. In addition to
finding that marijuana had no negative interactions with any of the
AIDS "cocktail" drugs, he found conclusively that medicinal marijuana
would affect weight gain in men suffering AIDS Wasting Syndrome. A
distinguished AIDS research specialist, Dr. Abrams' research has been
published in a multitude of medical journals including the American
Journal of Clinical Pathology and the Journal of American Medical
Association, but his research utilizing marijuana has been rejected by
three journals. "Its all politics," he says, "just politics."

DAY III

In an attempt to demonstrate that marijuana law reform is not just
supported by those old wacky hippie communal pot freaks, the first
panel in the morning was entitled "Left and Right Agree on Ending
Medical Marijuana Prohibition." Featured on the panel was nationally
syndicated columnist and author Barbara Ehrenreich. A left-wing
progressive she argues that the War On Drugs is actually "a war on
poor people and people of color." Pulling no punches, she noted that
the upper echelons in business don't take drug tests explaining "you
squat and pee so you know where you are in the corporate hierarchy."

Joseph McNamara is a research fellow at the Hoover Institute, a
conservative libertarian think tank located on the campus of Stanford
University. As the Chief of Police in the cities of San Jose and
Kansas City, he was speaking from first hand experience when he said
"police are indoctrinated to hate drug users and see them as the
enemy." His Libertarian philosophy was evident when he explained, "in
the first 140 years of our country, you could ingest any drug. I want
to restore the freedom of those first 140 years." His understanding
that the War On Drugs was more than just politics was made clear by
his statement that "the drug war is a holy war and in a holy war you
don't have to win - you just keep fighting."

A panel of industrial hemp producers and hemp-product manufacturers
discussed the many uses of hemp and noted that many countries,
including our neighbor to the north, allow its farmers a significant
cash crop by allowing them to cultivate and harvest industrial hemp.
David Frankel, lawyer and industrial hemp activist decried how the
U.S. Justice Department is pulling the rug out from under this
fledging industry by "creating legal technicalities to criminalize
people."

Always crowded throughout the conference, the hotel's cavernous
ballroom was filled with a capacity exceeding standing room only crowd
anxious to hear Bill Maher, host of ABC's controversial program
Politically Incorrect. A long-time advocate for ending marijuana
prohibition, Maher called for "the vast silent majority" of pot
smokers to awaken the public and insisting on a new attitude when he
noted that "pot people are tolerant and open minded. We should be
intolerant." Alluding to the on-going scandal of sex abuse in the
Catholic Church, Maher protested that hundreds of thousands of pot
smokers are in jail, but "no cop ever kicked in a rectory door."

Not holding back, Maher exclaimed that he "can't forgive Bush and Gore
for their hypocrisy." Embarrassed by his colleagues who toke but don't
help, he deadpanned that "I don't want to mention any names, like
Harrison Ford and Ted Turner," as he lashed out at the rich and famous
for their refusal to stand up and end their own personal hypocrisy.
Racing up to a thundering finish, the audience rose to its feet
cheering as Maher declared "unless people start dying, it won't become
legal, so I volunteer to be the first victim. Somebody kill me with
pot tonight."

Appropriately following Maher was a panel entitled "Growing Your Own
Medicine" and featured expert marijuana cultivators.

Although hosting such a panel could bring the IRS down on NORML,
Anthony Feldstein of NORML's Legal Committee outlined the legal issues
surrounding marijuana cultivation with special emphasis on
California's Proposition 215. Focusing on indoor cultivation, Chris
Conrad, Bobby B. and Kyle Kushman discussed cultivation, costs and
camouflage.

The panel on "Future Leaders" was an appropriate ending panel. Kris
Krane, NORML's national chapter coordinator proclaimed "ending the
drug war is this generation's new anti-war movement," and then
presented students and youth leaders from Florida to Washington to
prove it. In addition to calling for an end to marijuana prohibition,
the panelists describing themselves as "the DARE generation" and "the
Turn In Your Parents Generation" called for an end to denying students
financial aid because of prior drug convictions, an end to student
drug testing and a boycott of companies that engage in drug testing.

Taking a view towards all of society, LeeAnn Ilminen from the
Univeristy of Minnesota in St. Cloud called for more women to become
involved, as "women are the fastest growing segment of non-violent
drug offenders in jail." One of the few minority representatives at
the conference, African-American civil rights activist Van Jones,
challenged the assembled audience and the youthful panelists by
declaring "when you end the prohibition of drugs, end the prohibition
of jobs, end the prohibition of clean air and water, then you will be
the greatest generation."

Encapsulating the essence of the conference in his closing remarks,
NORML Executive Director Keith Stroups told the cheering, emboldened
audience to take these messages home to their families, friends and
colleagues. "We are part of the human rights movement. We must come
out of the closet. We will have zero tolerance towards those who want
to arrest marijuana smokers. And foremost, this is a fight about
personal freedom."
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake

 
 


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

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Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 09:52:22 -0700

Subject:CA: County Works On Medical Pot Rules Up TOC

Newshawk: The War on Drugs IS Terrorism
Pubdate: Wed, 19 Jun 2002
Source: Tahoe Daily Tribune (CA)
Contact: tribune@tahoe.com
Copyright: 2002 Tahoe Daily Tribune
Website: http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/443
Author: Gregory Crofton, Tribune staff writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)

COUNTY WORKS ON MEDICAL POT RULES

Expect new possession guidelines for medical marijuana patients and their
providers by mid-July, said El Dorado County District Attorney Gary Lacy.

Lacy, who is running for re-election this fall, and a sheriff's captain met
with medical marijuana advocates in Placerville on Monday night for a third
time to discuss how much pot would be too much for patients and caregivers,
or pot providers, to possess.

"We have just about got guidelines for indoor and outdoor," Lacy said.
"We're awaiting Dale Schafer's proposal that will apply to caregivers."

Schafer, an attorney and a losing candidate for district attorney in the
March primary, said he expects to have his suggestions to Lacy on amounts
for caregivers by Friday.

He said his proposal will not ask law enforcement to allow more than 99
plants. Schafer, who also runs a medical marijuana clinic in the county with
his wife, Dr. Molly Fry, said any number greater than 99 is asking for
trouble from the federal government.

"At 100 plants, there is a federal sentencing guideline of five years in
prison," he said. "I don't advise anybody to go over 99 plants. If you do,
you better put a lot of money away for an attorney and put your affairs in
order cause you're going to prison."

 
 


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

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Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 09:52:52 -0700

Subject:Canada: Marijuana 'warrior' gets 18 months Up TOC

Newshawk: http://www.medicalmarihuana.ca/
Pubdate: Saturday, June 22, 2002
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Website: http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/
Address: P.O. Box 5020, 1101 Baxter Rd., Ottawa, ON K2C 3M4
Contact: letters@thecitizen.southam.ca
Webpage: http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/D7C6E15A-97F7-40D3-BBDB-23A16D34FF0A

Marijuana 'warrior' gets 18 months

Plants were intended for medicinal purposes, Turmel tells court

The Ottawa Citizen

Medicinal marijuana activist Raymond Turmel, a self-described "warrior for
marijuana," lost his battle yesterday when he was sentenced to 18 months'
detention for possessing and cultivating the drug with intent to traffic.

"I told the judge: 'Give me life or send me home to my wife,'" said Mr.
Turmel before he headed into court in Gatineau.

But Superior Court Justice Jean-Pierre Plouffe gave him neither yesterday in
a decision at the end of a very public trial.

In July 2000, Mr. Turmel was arrested after police raided his Hull apartment
and found 450 marijuana seedlings and 153 mature plants.

Mr. Turmel said the marijuana -- which the Crown testified could yield
between 30,000 and 60,000 joints -- was used medicinally and distributed to
his chronically ill wife, his mother, who was a cancer patient, and a
neighbour with back pain.

His wife, Denise Beaudoin, testified she smoked five or six joints a day --
more than 2,000 a year -- to ease chronic pain caused by a 1998 car
accident.

Mr. Turmel was found guilty of the charges in November.

The judge told the court he decided against a conditional sentence because
the charges against Mr. Turmel were aggravated by several factors, the most
serious being a previous conviction in 1992 for intention to traffic
cocaine.

Mr. Justice Plouffe also cited "the large quantity involved in this
sophisticated and large-scale operation," as well as Mr. Turmel's "way of
life" and his likelihood of recidivism.

Mr. Turmel, who acted as his own counsel throughout the trial, has already
prepared an appeal.

"This is a war to legalize marijuana and I'm one of the front-line
warriors," he said.

Quebec Crown prosecutor Anouk Desaulniers had recommended a 20-month
sentence based on Mr. Turmel's previous convictions going back to 1990.

"There is a risk that he will reoffend, given that he has not yet grasped
why what he did was illegal," Ms. Desaulniers said.

Mr. Turmel's mother and daughter, who attended the sentencing, were not
pleased.

"They say my dad is a danger to society, but I know he's not," said
Marie-Eve, 18.

During the trial, Mr. Turmel said he and his wife had tried, and failed, to
obtain permission to use and grow medicinal marijuana under Health Canada's
Medical Marijuana Access Regulations, which came into effect August 2001.

 
 


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

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Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 09:54:03 -0700

Subject:IA: Onward, Marijuana Warrior! Up TOC

Newshawk: carl-olsen
Pubdate: Wed, 19 Jun 2002
Source: Cityview (IA)
Section: Editorial/Opinion
Contact: editor@businesspublicationsdm.com
Copyright: 2002 Cityview
Website: http://www.dmcityview.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/572
Author: Erin Crawford, Cityview Managing Editor

ONWARD, MARIJUANA WARRIOR!

First, you should know that Carl Olsen stopped smoking pot 22 years ago. He
didn't stop because he had a bad trip. And he didn't quit because he
stopped enjoying weed. A tasty smoke is just as appealing now as it ever was.

Olsen quit because he believes great strides in pot advocacy will only come
from great self-sacrifice. So he laid down his pipe and took up politics.

Ever since, he's been marijuana's most vocal Iowa fan. Lately, his belief
that we should legalize marijuana, legalize medical marijuana and recognize
drug addictions as mental illnesses has become widely accepted, hardly
raising an eyebrow within the Democratic Party, where Olsen serves on the
county, district and state platform committees.

By using his Web site and signing people up at rock concerts, Olsen has
worked to mobilize marijuana supporters.

"People think marijuana turns you into a three-headed monster," he says.
"Once you've used it, it's hard to believe that."

(I always thought pot turned you into my friend Steve, who spent way too
much time in his basement watching bootleg Asian imports of "Pulp Fiction.")

At last weekend's statewide Democratic convention, language Olsen suggested
- - "Recognizing substance abuse as an illness and not as criminal behavior"
- - was placed within the Universal Health Care platform plank.

In the end, the Universal Health Care plank, including Olsen's provision,
was voted the party's No. 1 priority.

But just as he's making progress on behalf of weed, he finds himself
fighting a more immediate battle with The Man.

Olsen recently lost his job after 12 years with the Iowa Department of
Transportation's permit department. He says he was fired for mistakes he
made and insubordination, but the department can't officially comment on
the reasons for his dismissal. Olsen says he thinks the firing has nothing
to do with his work on behalf of pot. His union is representing him, but
the IDOT's first judgment was against him. His next step will be to go
before a grievance resolution panel.

There were a few big mistakes, Olsen says, but he claims other co-workers
made similar and worse mistakes all the time.

The more interesting charge is insubordination. Olsen says he was
constantly working to change the permit system and make it more efficient.
He thought it was ridiculous he was forced by the department's rules to
sometimes send customers from office to office for services he could provide.

" hey told me I was the only one who didn't understand," Olsen says. "I got
really upset."

Occasionally when he was talking to a customer, Olsen would complain to
them about the department's bureaucracy. His bosses thought it was bad
customer service, but you've got to wonder whether the government has the
right to stop a citizen from criticizing it.

Before he was fired, he began working with state Rep. Ed Fallon (D-Des
Moines) to make changes in the system. It's a complex case, Fallon says.

"It seems Carl has made some mistakes, but that's not uncommon," he says.
"He's been very aggressive about telling legislators what changes could be
made to improve the IDOT's service and also save money. It looks to me like
it could be some retribution because of his proactive stance. ... He's made
some really good points, and some have since become law."

The state denies Olsen's quest to better the government has anything to do
with his dismissal. Shirley Andre, director of the department's Motor
Vehicle Division, says the IDOT encourages employee suggestions, and it has
several systems in place to encourage suggestions.

This marijuana advocate may be a party player, but he's now partly
depending on the Democrats, through Fallon's assistance, to help him
navigate the system and get his job back. Just as Olsen found himself in a
winning position, he has to fight for his livelihood, not just his hobby.
__________________________________________________________________________
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

 
 


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

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Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 14:24:09 -0700

Subject:CA: Brian Epis: SAC ASA ALL DAY RALLY Up TOC

Sacromento ASA is planning an all day rally
before and after jury service against Fed. Court Case(Brian Epis)  Staring 
June 24th 7:30am- after coutr. Until the trial rests. 501 I st. nurishment 
will be provided.  : ) Thank you for your support. If you could please post 
this every where!! thank you!!!!
- ---
AmandA
whittemore@angelfire.com   (916) 628-2716

More info on trial: http://lindenarms.com/court/

*** There is an attachment in this mail. ***
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi 
hope everythings going grate!   Sac ASA is planning an all day rally before 
and after jury service against Fed. Court Case(Brian Epis)  Staring June 
24th 7:30am- after coutr. Until the trial rests. 501 I st. nurishment will 
be provided.  : ) Thank you for your support. If you could please post this 
every where!! thank you!!!!
- ---
AmandA



 
 


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

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Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 15:11:16 -0700

Subject:NJ: Blowin' Smoke Up TOC

Blowin' Smoke
Philadelphia Weekly
May 29, 2002
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/columns.asp?IssID=81
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/article.asp?ArtID=2375

TIM WHITAKER (twhitaker@philadelphiaweekly.com)

I can hear it now.
What are you guys smoking over there?

Spring explodes, and the Weekly starts digging around for their stash?

Well, not exactly.

Fact is, there are surprisingly few tokers here (no survey taken; just an 
educated guess), and you'll just have to trust me that nobody walks around 
sporting a JUST DOOB IT! T-shirt.

And while there's likely much support for at least decriminalizing 
marijuana--both in this office and in the city at large--no one's making 
much of an argument to put it on a ballot in Pennsylvania. In fact, best we 
know, nobody even fired any marijuana law questions at the gubernatorial 
candidates during the recently completed contest.

There are reasons why the political and legal system fails to confront the 
inequities governing marijuana use. The biggest, perhaps understandably, is 
that our politicians fear that in even discussing the issue they'll be 
perceived as being in favor of drug use.

This is, like, such a big drag, man.

While there are important issues surrounding marijuana use and the 
potential repercussions for getting caught using it, the very topic of weed 
is--let's face it--rife with comedic potential. It's not for nothing that 
Cheech and Chong made a fortune.

There was this guy. He was the publisher of a small fledgling publication. 
This was a while ago.

The publisher was young and ambitious. From the time he was a kid he always 
worked. Twelve-hour days, often seven days a week. He wasn't real good at 
having fun.

One day while delivering the journal he published, one of the circulation 
guys in the truck offered him a toke from his joint. The publisher, trying 
to be one of the boys, threw fate to the wind.

He had never felt anything quite like this. It made him happy.

He soon bought some marijuana for himself. And he began to smoke it. At 
first the young publisher smoked it at home late at night, but then he 
began smoking a little during the day too. He didn't think anyone would 
notice.

For some reason, though, smoking dope had a strange physiological effect on 
this young publisher. Every time he smoked it his mouth would get dry, 
profoundly dry, and his upper lip would curl upwards. His lip would climb 
higher and higher as he spoke until eventually it would get stuck to the 
bottom of his nostril. Stranger yet, perhaps because he was so stoned, he 
never seemed to notice it was happening.

It wasn't long before the entire staff noticed the publisher had this weird 
thing going on with his upper lip. For a while, thinking maybe it was the 
onslaught of some kind of unfamiliar muscle disease, everyone was quite 
polite about it. But the staff was young, and it was hard to get much past 
them.

Soon there were other telltale signs that the boss had taken to toking up 
during the workday. He had become a little too happy, he laughed a lot, 
found most everything silly. Word was out: The publisher was a stoner.

0ne day the publisher decided he needed to have a staff meeting. Sales were 
off and morale had begun to flag. The publisher gathered all his 
employees--some 25 or 30 of them--into his spacious office, where he 
planned to give a spirited pep talk. He was a fine public speaker, and had 
often gone on the stump to promote his publication to advertisers and 
community groups. He was known for delivering inspirational orations.

But unfortunately, instead of simply relying on his natural-born skills, 
the young publisher took a toke or three for good measure just minutes 
before everyone filed into his office. He began his talk smartly enough, 
complimenting the staff for their brilliant minds and solid work ethic. But 
just as he started pointing to the charts that he had made especially to 
show his goals for the upcoming quarter, his upper lip began to 
soar--slowly at first, but then, inextricably, higher and higher. And then 
it got stuck.

When it stuck, his words became incomprehensible--and then, after a little 
while, he began to sound a bit like Elmer Fudd. He noticed, finally, that 
things weren't right, and tried to push his lip down with his finger. But a 
moment or two later, it would begin to soar again, and in no time he'd be 
back to making Fudd-like sounds.

Soon the whole scene became too much for the staff to bear. The art 
director, guffawing uncontrollably into his hands, was the first to stumble 
out of the meeting. She was followed quickly by the staff photographer. 
Then the ad director.

In short order, there was a mass exodus.

None of what is written about pot in this issue should be misconstrued as 
promoting its use. Smoking pot can cause problems. For some, it can prove 
addictive and permanently blunt reality. It's expensive, it's not good for 
your lungs, and it can get you in trouble. And in some very rare cases, it 
can cause your upper lip to stick to the bottom of your nostril.

Still, when used in moderation, marijuana is almost always a threat to no 
one. It tends to have a mellowing effect.

The easiest--and most repeated argument for legalizing marijuana--is to 
compare its effects to those of alcohol consumption.

What might be worst about marijuana are the laws that regulate it and the 
way those laws are enforced--which is to say, for the most part, arbitrarily.

You'll read in this issue how some Philadelphia police officers believe 
that busting a pedestrian user on the street is a waste of time. Which is a 
kind of decriminalization in practice, if it weren't for the fact that 
enforcement is often a judgement call.

Would the police feel differently if, for example, the user in question 
looked suspicious, or was of a specific race or ethnicity?

And anyone who has seen someone get relief from chemo treatments by smoking 
a little pot will wonder why its use for medicinal purposes is still an 
issue with anybody.

And finally, there are those--including a PW staffer who makes his case in 
our pages this week--who believe in strict enforcement of our marijuana laws.

There are issues here, and it's high time we dealt with them. 

------------------------------
Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 11:37:48 -0700

Subject:US: A New Leaf Up TOC

Newshawk: Ariel
Pubdate: Wed, 29 May 2002
Source: Philadelphia Weekly (PA)
Copyright: 2002 Philadelphia Weekly
Contact: editmail@philadelphiaweekly.com
Website: http://www.phillyweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1091
Author: Sara Kelly
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?323 (GW Pharmaceuticals)

A NEW LEAF

Getting Patients High Is The Least Of What Pot-derived Drugs Can Do

Though it would be nice to think that chronic pain sufferers could at least
enjoy a legal pot buzz once in a while, medicinal marijuana, with the
exception of a few lucky folks grandfathered into a state-sponsored plan
from the '70s, isn't really about getting wrecked. But that--no doubt due
to our nation's queer puritanical hang-ups--doesn't seem to matter much to
anti-pot activists. To them, the thought of doling out weed in any form
just ain't gonna cut it. This, in a society where, like, half the
population's on prescribed mood lifters. The mind reels.

But that's not to say cannabis-based drugs--chock full of friendly
substances derived from the marijuana plant--don't have a bright future in
medicine. In fact, quite the opposite is true. And right here in the good
old regressive U.S.

Aside from those who tap the government's stash--300 joints a month,
professionally rolled in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park, says Paul
Armentano, director of research for the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, a Washington-based pot lobby (don't be
jealous, he adds; the stuff's not quality)--a great number of people
suffering from the nausea brought on by chemotherapy treatment for cancer
or the debilitating effects of AIDS take Marinol, which was brought to
market in 1985 and today remains the only cannabis-based drug approved by
the Food and Drug Administration.

A synthetic version of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), pot's most famous
ingredient, Marinol was recently reclassified from a Schedule II drug (the
second-most controlled category) to a less intimidating Schedule III. It's
exceedingly rare, says a spokeswoman for Unimed, the Illinois company that
manufactures Marinol, for a drug to be reclassified downward in this
fashion. And it bodes well for the future acceptance of cannabis-based
pharmaceuticals.

Marinol is so safe and established, in fact, that whatever controversy
still surrounds it remains pretty limited to the problem of delivery. Since
it comes in pill form, Marinol might not take effect for two to four hours.
That's a long time to wait if you're trying not to vomit. And when it hits
the liver, the drug is converted into a stronger compound than what you'd
get from bogarting a fatty. So users, says NORML's Armentano, get more
messed up than casual tokers. (A tragedy, that.)

For this reason, Unimed plans to team up with another company to make an
inhaler that would introduce the drug in a fashion much closer to smoking it.

Attempting to improve upon Marinol, New York City-based Atlantic Technology
Ventures is in the early testing phase of CT-3, a synthetic THC derivative
whose technical specs are quick to assure a drug-fearing society that it
prevents inflammation and eases pain to sufferers of neurological diseases,
cancer, glaucoma gastrointestinal and other disorders without that annoying
high. (Told you medicinal marijuana isn't as fun as it seems.)

The cannabis-based dexanabinol is another promising drug engineered
specifically for traumatic brain injury. Gale Smith, a spokeswoman for the
New Jersey-based Pharmos, describes her company's product as a synthetic
cannabanoid that's the exact mirror image of THC. (Twisting cannabis in yet
another new direction, the French company Sanofi-Synthelabo is now working
to reverse one of the substance's most well-known side effects--the
munchies--for the treatment of obesity.) Smith says fiddling with the
compound's structure robs the drug of its psychotropic effects, giving
users "all the medicinal effects without the high."

"People ask us why we've taken that out," she laughs, "because we could've
made a lot more money otherwise." (Don't expect to see that on Pharmos'
application to the FDA.)

Dexanabinol is designed to prevent brain damage and inflammation after
trauma. To explain the drug's effect, Smith describes a car accident in
which the driver suffers a head injury. Though rescue workers find him
lucid at the scene, the driver slips into a coma before reaching the
hospital. This is because the neurons that died from the initial impact
send biochemical signals that kill off previously unaffected brain cells.

The hope is that a dexanabinol injection at the accident scene can prevent
the added damage that occurs after what Smith describes as "this cascade of
toxic compounds" invade the brain. The drug's anti-inflammatory properties
should also prevent the brain from swelling dangerously after injury.

Dexanabinol, which had its origins at Hebrew University in Israel, is in
the final phase of its clinical trials, which could have its application
for approval before the FDA by year's end. Down the line, Smith says Pharma
hopes to win approval in treating the side effects of stroke, multiple
sclerosis, diabetes, cancer and "anything in the central or peripheral
nervous system," as well as cardiovascular problems. The drug's one major
downside, she adds, is that "the administration could get tricky," as it's
now available only for injection. But the company's investigating an oral
alternative.

Taking medicinal marijuana to a whole new breadth is the British GW
Pharmaceuticals' "portfolio" of cannabis-based drugs used to treat
sufferers of everything from AIDS to spinal cord injury, phantom limb pain
and arthritis, to brain diseases such as depression, schizophrenia and even
Tourette's Syndrome. These drugs, like most of the medicinal marijuana
alternatives to come about since Marinol was approved almost two decades
ago, utilize more than just THC. They remain in the testing phase, each
drug being put through its paces separately for use in treating each
symptom or disease.

GW's drugs offer varied ratios of THC and another pot-derived compound,
Cannabidiol (CBD), to treat common symptoms of neurological diseases. The
portfolio boasts pain relief, anti-convulsant, anti-psychotic,
anti-inflammatory, appetite-stimulant and similar properties.

Derived from actual pot plants (guess you can do that sort of "research" in
England) and administered as an under-the-tongue spray, GW's products, say
its spec sheets, draw from "hundreds of years of cannabis use" that offer
"compelling evidence of safety."

The specs go on to explain that the ratio between a normal and a lethal
dose of cannabis is 40,000 to 1--which is especially impressive considering
morphine's ratio is 50 to 1, and aspirin's a shocking 23 to 1. And like
most companies that manufacture cannabis-based drugs, GW wants you to know
that you can reap the drugs' medical benefits without actually getting high.

So much for baking on your sick bed.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Ariel

 
 


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

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End of Restore-Digest V2002 #115
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