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Forty Years And Still Waiting: National Commission On Marihuana Recommends Decriminalizing Cannabis |
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First And Only Federal Commission On Pot Policy
Determined, "The Criminal Law Is Too Harsh A Tool" To Apply To Possession Offenses:
Commission's Recommendations Still, If Not More, Applicable Today Washington, DC: Forty years ago, on March 22, 1972, the first and
to date only Congressional Commission ever to assess marijuana policy called
on Congress to amend federal law so that the possession and use of small
quantities of cannabis by adults would no longer be a criminal offense. The Commission, known as the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse (aka the
Shafer Commission), chaired by former Pennsylvania Governor Raymond P.
Shafer, determined that minor marijuana possession offenses -- including
those involving the not-for-profit transfer of cannabis by adults -- should
be 'decriminalized' under federal <continued
on page 3 > |
White Paper: Drug Testing Results Often
Inaccurate, Unreliable
Princeton,
NJ, USA: Drug screening results,
including those from federally certified labs, may not always be reliable,
according to a white paper published online by the National Workrights Institute
(NWI). "[Government] certified drug testing
laboratories have significant reliability problems and that the government's
assurances that false positive <continued
on page 4 > ___________________________________________ Many Cannabis Users Substitute Booze For Pot
After Age 21, Study Says
Denver,
CO, USA: Many adolescent
consumers of cannabis increase their use of alcohol and decrease their use of
marijuana shortly after turning 21 years of age, according to data published
in the Journal of Health Economics. <continued
on page 4 > |
Mayo Clinic Proceedings: "Bureaucratic Hurdles ...
Interfere With Legitimate Cannabis Research"
Rochester, MN, USA: Federal officials should reclassify cannabis under
federal law and permit "long-stifled research into a potential trove of
(the plant's) therapeutic applications," according to <continued
on page 4 > _______________________________ Government's Crackdown On Medicinal Cannabis
Not Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Rules
Sacramento, CA, USA: A federal judge in Sacramento last week dismissed a federal lawsuit
filed in November by members of the NORML
Legal Committee against the US Department of Justice, US
Attorney General Eric Holder, <continued
on page 4 > |
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* Volume 9, Issue 3 * March * 2012
* www.MercyCenters.org *
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* The MERCY News * |
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_____________________ The MERCY News Report is an
all-volunteer, not-for-profit project to record and broadcast news,
announcements and information about medical cannabis in Oregon, across
America and around the World. For more information about the MERCY News, contact us. Via
Snail Mail: The MERCY
News 1469 Capital
St. NE, Suite 100, Salem, Ore.,
97301 503.363-4588 E-mail: Mercy_Salem@hotmail.com Or
our WWW page: www.MercyCenters.org Check it
out! ___________________________ MERCY On The Tube!
in Salem,
Oregon area thru Capital Community Television, Channel 23.
Call In – 503.588-6444 - on Friday at 7pm, or See us on Wednesdays
at 06:30pm, Thursdays at 07:00pm, Fridays at 10:30pm and Saturdays at
06:00pm. Visit – http://mercycenters.org/tv/ |
About
MERCY – The Medical Cannabis Resource Center MERCY is a non-profit, grass roots organization
founded by patients, their friends and family and other compassionate and
concerned citizens in the area and is dedicated to helping and advocating for
those involved with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP). MERCY is based in the
Salem, Oregon area and staffed on a volunteer basis. The
purpose is to get medicine to patients in the short-term while working with
them to establish their own independent sources. To
this end we provide, among other things, ongoing education to people and
groups organizing clinics and other Patient Resources, individual physicians
and other healthcare providers about the OMMP, cannabis as medicine and
doctor rights in general. The mission of the organization
is to help people and change the laws. We advocate reasonable, fair and effective
marijuana laws and policies, and strive to educate, register and empower
voters to implement such policies. Our philosophy is one of teaching
people to fish, rather than being dependent upon others. Want to get your Card? Need Medicine Now? Welcome to The Club! MERCY – the Medical Cannabis Resource Center
hosts Mercy Club Meetings every Wednesday at - 1469 Capital
Street NE, Suite #100, Salem, 97301 – from 7pm to 9pm to
help folks get their card, network patients to medicine, assist in finding a
grower or getting to grow themselves, or ways and means to medicate along
other info and resources depending on the issue. visit – www.MercyCenters.org
- or Call 503.363-4588 for more. The Doctor is In ... Salem! * MERCY is Educating Doctors on signing for their
Patients; Referring people to Medical Cannabis Consultations when their
regular care physician won't sign for them; and listing all Clinics around
the state in order to help folks Qualify for the OMMP and otherwise Get their
Cards. For our Referral Doc in Salem,
get your records to – 1469 Capital Street NE, Suite
#100, Salem, 97301, NOTE: There is a $25 non-refundable deposit
required. Transportation and Delivery
Services available for those in need.
For our Physician Packet to educate your Doctor, or a List of Clinics
around the state, visit – www.MercyCenters.org
- or Call 503.363-4588 for more. Other Medical Cannabis Resource NetWork
Opportunities for Patients as well as CardHolders-to-be. * whether Social meeting, Open to public
–or- Cardholders Only * visit: http://mercycenters.org/events/Meets.html ! Also Forums - a means to
communicate and network on medical cannabis in Portland across Oregon and
around the world. A list of
Forums, Chat Rooms, Bulletin Boards and other Online Resources for the
Medical Cannabis Patient, CareGiver, Family Member, Patient-to-Be and Other
Interested Parties. * Resources > Patients (plus) > Online
> Forums * Know any? Let everybody else know!
Visit: http://mercycenters.org/orgs/Forums.html and Post It! |
2 mercycenter@hotmail.com * |
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<continued from FORTY YEARS AND STILL WAITING, page 1 > law. The Commission recommended that states
should similarly eliminate criminal penalties for minor pot offenses. "[T]he criminal law is too harsh a tool to
apply to personal possession even in the effort to discourage use,"
concluded the 13 - member Commission, which included nine hand - picked
appointees of then - President Richard Nixon. "It implies an over-whelming indictment of the
behavior which we "... Therefore, the Commission recommends ...
[that the] possession of marijuana for personal use no longer be an offense,
[and that the] casual distribution of small amounts of marihuana for no
remuneration, or insignificant remuneration, no longer be an offense." Members of the Commission further acknowledged that
marijuana did not meet the criteria of a schedule I controlled substance under federal law, a
classification that places cannabis along side heroin as a prohibited
substance without any therapeutic value. In July 2011, the Obama
administration upheld
cannabis' schedule I classification, stating, "At this time, the known
risks of marijuana use have not been shown to be outweighed by specific
benefits in well-controlled clinical trials that scientifically evaluate
safety and efficacy." In the four decades since the Nixon administration
and Congress rejected the recommendations of the Shafer Commission, an
estimated 22 million Americans have been arrested
for marijuana-related offenses, according to annual data compiled by the FBI.
Upwards of 80 percent of those arrested were |
charged with possession only offenses, not sales or
trafficking. "Failing to implement the recommendations issued by the
Shafer Commission to decriminalize minor marijuana offenses has costs
taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and unnecessarily ruined the lives of
millions of otherwise law abiding American citizens," said NORML's
Executive Director Allen St. Pierre. He adds: "Despite the federal government's
40-year 'war on pot,' today an estimated 45 percent of US adults acknowledge having consumed
cannabis at some point in their lives, with nearly 12 percent admitting
having done so in the past year. A majority of Americans now say that the plant should be
legalized and regulated for adults." St. Pierre concludes, "Forty years ago tomorrow
the Nixon administration had an unprecedented opportunity to enact a rational
pot policy. They were provided with the truth about cannabis, but they refused to listen.
It is time for the Obama administration to listen -- and to act. It is time
to make peace with pot." For more information, please contact Allen
St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director or Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at
(202) 483-5500.
_____________________________________________________________ <continued from WHITE PAPER: DRUG TESTING RESULTS OFTEN INACCURATE,
UNRELIABLE,
page 1 > test results are a thing of the past is
untrue," the paper concludes. The NWI paper bases its conclusion on
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<continued from previous page> ·
"[C]ertified
labs do not always maintain a proper chain of custody." According to the paper, documented examples of
errors committed by federally certified labs are not uncommon. It finds,
"In the last four years alone, one laboratory had its certification
revoked and three others had their certification suspended." The paper acknowledges that federally certified labs
are likely to yield more reliable results than non-certified facilities, but
cautions that their procedures may still inadvertently produce false positive
results. Full text of the paper, "Latest Research
Reveals New Problems With Drug Testing," is available online at: http://workrights.us/. _____________________________________________________________ <continued from MANY CANNABIS USERS SUBSTITUTE BOOZE FOR POT AFTER
AGE 21, STUDY SAYS, page 1 > A team of international investigators from
the United States and Mexico estimated the causal effect of legal access to
alcohol on marijuana consumption. They reported: "Our results show that alcohol and
marijuana are substitutes. At age 21, we observe a sharp increase in alcohol
consumption but Authors stated that this purported substitution
effect "is substantially stronger for women than men." They concluded, "Our results show that legal
access to alcohol causes a significant decrease in marijuana use among young
adults close to the age of 21." Separate studies
of older cannabis consumers |
in states with limited legal access to both marijuana
and alcohol yield a less consistent trend, with data indicating that many
subjects that consume cannabis use reduced levels of alcohol or other
intoxicating substances. For example, a 2011
study of qualified medicinal cannabis consumers in California found that
respondents' "prevalence of alcohol use was significantly lower"
than that of the general population. Most recently, authors of November 2011 Institute for the Study of Labor paper,
"Medical Marijuana Laws, Traffic Fatalities, and Alcohol
Consumption," determined: "[The] legalization [of cannabis] is
associated with a nearly nine percent decrease in traffic fatalities, most
likely due to its impact on [reduced] alcohol consumption." For more information, please contact Paul Armentano,
NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of
the study, "The effect of alcohol availability on marijuana use: Evidence
from the minimum legal drinking age," appears online in the Journal of
Health Economics. _____________________________________________________________ <continued
from MAYO CLINIC PROCEEDINGS:
"BUREAUCRATIC HURDLES ... INTERFERE WITH LEGITIMATE CANNABIS
RESEARCH", page 1 > review
published in the February issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings,
a peer-reviewed journal sponsored by Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The
review, entitled "Blurred Boundaries: The Therapeutics and Politics of
Medical Marijuana," states: "Bureaucratic hurdles not erected for
other potential pharmaceuticals continue to interfere with legitimate
cannabis research. The federal government instituted its 1970 ban in the
absence of scientific evidence supporting its position. It maintains the ban,
despite scientific evidence suggesting that cannabis could have positive
effects on the many organ systems endocannabinoid activity modulates." It
concludes: "Because of this modern-day prohibition, opportunities to
further study marijuana's risks and benefits and develop <continued on next page> |
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<continued from previous page> new pharmacotherapies are squandered. It is
high time for the federal government to ... reclassify marijuana so that it
has the same status as certain opiates and stimulants. ... By forcing
marijuana to languish as a Schedule I drug with a 'high potential for abuse,
no accepted medical use, and no accepted safety for use in medically
supervised treatment,' the federal government thumbs an illogical nose at
contemporary public sentiment, recent scientific discoveries, and potentially
head-to-toe therapeutic breakthroughs. This reclassification would be a first
step toward reconciling federal and state law and permitting long-stifled
research into a potential trove of therapeutic applications to
commence." Full text of the review appears online at
the Mayo Clinic Proceedings website at: http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(11)00021-8/fulltext.
A video summary by the author appears separately at: http://www.scivee.tv/node/39225.
_____________________________________________________________ <continued from GOVERNMENT'S CRACKDOWN ON MEDICINAL CANNABIS NOT
UNCONSTITUTIONAL, FEDERAL JUDGE RULES, page 1 > and DEA Director Michele Leonhart. The lawsuit, one of four filed simultaneously in the state's
four federal districts, argues that the Justice Department's ongoing
crackdown against medical marijuana providers and distributors in
California is in violation of the Ninth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments to
the US Constitution because the use of cannabis therapeutically is a
fundamental right. Petitioners also argue, using the theory of judicial
estoppel, that the Justice Department had previously affirmed in public
memos and in statements made in federal court that it would no longer use
federal resources to prosecute cannabis patients or providers who are
compliant with state law. On Wednesday of last week, US District Judge Garland
Burrell, Jr., rejected those arguments and granted the respondent's dismissal
motion. He denied petitioners request for a public hearing prior to making
his ruling. Judge Burrell rejected plaintiffs' Ninth and
|
Tenth Amendment challenges, finding: "Since the
Supreme Court has held the that CSA's (federal Controlled Substances Act)
categorical prohibition of the possession, manufacturing, and distribution of
marijuana does not exceed Congress' authority under the Commerce Clause
(Article I Section 8, Clause 3 of the US Constitution), plaintiffs do not
have a viable ... claim." He also rejected plaintiffs' equal protection
arguments, finding that the Justice Department's actions in California mimic
efforts the federal government has taken against "similarly situated
individuals" elsewhere. Judge Burrell also cited court rulings finding
that defendants in previous challenges have failed to meet the "heavy
burden of proving the irrationality of the schedule I classification of
marijuana." Finally, Judge Burrell dismissed plaintiff's
judicial estoppel clam, which argues that defendants' "recent crackdown
... against medical cannabis patients flouts the representations made on the
record by the Department of Justice" in public memos and statements in
court. Responding to this challenge, Judge Burrell determined, "Since
judicial estoppel does not apply unless 'a party's later position [is]
'clearly inconsistent with its earlier position,' and the Ogden memo does not
contain a promise not to enforce the CSA, defendants' enforcement of the CSA
is not inconsistent." Commenting on the ruling, Attorney David Michael of
San Francisco, who along with Matt Kumin of San Francisco and Alan Silber of
Roseland, New Jersey were the lead attorneys in these four challenges, said,
"We are disappointed, but not discouraged, that the District Courts have
thus far denied us the relief we had sought. They are constrained by existing
precedent, and the result was not unexpected. It is the Ninth Circuit where
we hope to find a receptive audience, and, with the Lawrence v. Texas
decision, we may also have a more receptive audience in the Supreme Court,
should the issue go there." <continued on next page> |
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<continued
from previous page> Judges for the Ninth Circuit had previously determined
in Raich v Gonzalez: "For now, federal law is blind to the
wisdom of a future day when the right to use medical marijuana to alleviate
excruciating pain may be deemed fundamental. Although that day has not yet
dawned, ... (it) may be upon us sooner than expected." For more information, please contact Keith
Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500. _____________________________________________________________ Synthetic Cannabinoid Halts Progression Of
Multiple Sclerosis, Study Says
Madrid, Spain: The administration of a cannabinoid agonist halts
the advancement of multiple sclerosis, according to preclinical data
to be published in the journal Neuropharmacology. Investigators at Complutense University in Madrid
assessed the impact of WIN55,512-2, a synthetic cannabinoid agonist, in an
animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers reported that the treatment moderated disease progression
and reduced MS symptom, including spasms and tremors. "In summary, the treatment of EAE (experimental
autoimmune encephalomyelitis) mice with the cannabinoid agonist WIN55,512-2
reduced their neurological disability and the progression of the
disease," authors concluded. "This effect was exerted through the
activation of CB(1) receptors, which would exert a positive influence in the
reduction of inflammatory events linked to the pathogenesis of this
disease." In 2008, investigators at the University of
California at San Diego reported that inhaled cannabis significantly reduced
objective measures of pain intensity and spasticity in patients with MS in a
placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. Researchers concluded,
"[S]moked cannabis was superior to placebo in reducing spasticity and
pain in patients with multiple sclerosis and provided some benefit beyond
currently prescribed |
treatment." Clinical trial data
assessing the use of Sativex, a spray containing organic cannabinoid extracts,
in MS patients reports, "[L]ong-term use of (the drug) maintains its
effect in those patients who perceive initial benefit." Sativex is
presently available
by prescription for the treatment of multiple sclerosis in Canada, Denmark,
Germany, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom." According to survey data published in 2004 in the
journal Neurology, an estimated one
in seven patients with MS reports using cannabis therapeutically to treat
symptoms of the disease. For more information, please contact Paul Armentano,
NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of
the study, "Cannabinoids ameliorate disease progression in a model of
multiple sclerosis in mice, acting preferentially through CB(1)
receptor-mediated anti-inflammatory effects," will appear in the journal
Neuropharmacology. _____________________________________________________________ THC Neuroprotective In Model Of Parkinson
Disease
Plymouth, United Kingdom: The administration of THC is protective
against neuronal injury in a human Parkinson's disease (PD) cell culture
model, according to data to be published in the journal Neuropathology
and Applied Neurobiology. Parkinson's
disease is a degenerative brain disorder marked by involuntary movements.
Investigators at the University of Plymouth in the
United Kingdom assessed the protective properties of THC on brain cells
exposed to PD-relevant toxins. Researchers reported that THC was protective against
all three of the toxins tested in the study. By contrast, separate
administration of the non-psychotropic cannabinoid CBD
(cannabidiol) and the synthetic cannabinoid agonist WIN55,212-2 "were
unable to elicit the same neuroprotection." Previously reported survey
data of patients <continued on next page> |
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<continued from previous page> diagnosed with PD found that nearly half of respondents
who tried cannabis experienced therapeutic benefit from it, including the
relief of tremors and muscle rigidity.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano,
NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of
the study, Δ(9) -THC exerts a direct neuroprotective effect in a human
cell culture model of Parkinson's disease, appears online in the journal
Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology. _____________________________________________________________ Cannabinoid Agonist Moderates HIV Progression,
Study Says
New York, NY, USA: The activation of specific endogenous cannabinoid
receptors moderates the progression of the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV), according to preclinical data published online in the journal PLoS ONE. Investigators at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine
in New York City assessed whether the administration of a selective
cannabinoid agonist could regulate HIV-1 infectivity. Researchers reported that activation of the CB2 receptor inhibits HIV
infection in culture. Authors concluded, "[T]he clinical use of
(selective CB2) agonists in the treatment of AIDS symptoms may also exert
beneficial adjunctive antiviral effects ... in late stages of HIV-1
infection." Last year, investigators at the Louisiana State
University Health Sciences Center reported that the long-term administration
of delta-9-THC, the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana, is associated
with decreased
mortality in monkeys infected with the simian immunodeficiency virus
(SIV), a primate model of HIV disease. Writing in the journal AIDS Research and Human
Retroviruses, authors concluded: "Contrary to what we expected, ...
delta-9-THC treatment clearly did not increase disease progression, and
indeed resulted in generalized attenuation of classic markers of SIV disease.
... These results indicate that chronic delta-9-THC does not increase viral
load or aggravate |
morbidity and may actually ameliorate SIV disease
progression." Separate trials in human subjects have previously documented
that the short-term inhalation of cannabis does not adversely impact viral
loads in HIV patients, and may even improve immune function. For more information, please contact Paul
Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of
the study, "Cannabinoid Receptor 2-Mediated Attenuation of CXCR4-Tropic
HIV Infection in Primary CD4+ T Cells," appears online in PLoS ONE.
Additional studies documenting the disease modifying potential of marijuana
is available in the NORML handbook, Emerging Clinical Applications For
Cannabis & Cannabinoids: Fourth Edition, available online at: http://norml.org/library/recent-research-on-medical-marijuana. _____________________________________________________________ Over Two-Dozen Controlled Trials Demonstrate
Cannabinoids' "Statistically Significant Pain Relieving Effects"
New
York, NY, USA:
Cannabis and its active constituents appear to be safe and modestly effective
treatments in patients suffering from a variety of chronic pain conditions,
including neuropathy (pain due to nerve damage), according to a literature review
to be published in The Clinical Journal of Pain.
Of the 56 hits generated, 38 published RCTs met
inclusion criteria. <continued on next page> |
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<continued from CANNABINOIDS'
"STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT PAIN RELIEVING EFFECTS", previous page>
Of these, "71
percent (27) concluded that cannabinoids had empirically demonstrable and
statistically significant pain relieving effects, whereas 29 percent (11) did
not." Cannabinoids appeared to be most effective in
treating hard-to-treat neuropathic pain conditions. "[F]or notoriously
difficult to treat conditions such as HIV neuropathy, ... cannabinergic pain
medicines, particularly inhaled cannabinoid botanicals, are one of the only
treatments that have been shown to be safe and effective with the highest
levels of evidence," the review states. Five to ten percent of the US population is
estimated to suffer from neuropathic pain at some point during their lives. The study concludes, "Overall, based on the
existing clinical trials database, cannabinergic pain medicines have been
shown to be modestly effective and safe treatments in patients with a variety
of chronic pain conditions. ... Incorporating cannabinergic medicine topics
into pain medicine education seems warranted and continuing clinical research
and empiric treatment trials are appropriate." A separate paper,
published in January in the Harm Reduction Journal, concluded:
"Prescribing cannabis in place of opioids for neuropathic pain may
reduce the morbidity and mortality rates associated with prescription pain
medications and may be an effective harm reduction strategy." For more information, please contact Paul Armentano,
NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of
the study, "Cannabinergic pain medicine: A concise clinical primer and
survey of randomized controlled trial results," will appear in The
Clinical Journal of Pain. |
Synthetic Cannabinoid Protective Against
Stroke-Induced Cell Death, Study Says
San Francisco, CA, USA: The
administration of a cannabinoid agonist is neuroprotective in subjects with cerebral
ischemia (a condition characterized by insufficient blood flow to the
brain resulting in cell death), according to preclinical data
published online in the journal Neuroscience. Investigators at the
University of California, San Francisco, Neonatal Brain Disorders Center
assessed the neuroprotective impact of WIN55,512-2, a synthetic cannabinoid
agonist, on the brains of infant rats following cerebral ischemia. "WIN administration
... attenuated infarct volume (necrosis resulting from obstructed blood flow
to the brain)," authors concluded. "Cumulatively, our results show
that the cannabinoid agonist WIN protects against neonatal focal stroke in
part due to inhibitory effects on microglia." Separate studies have
previously documented that the administration of organic cannabinoids,
including the non-psychotropic compound CBD
(cannabidiol), is protective in animal models of cerebral
and cardiac
ischemia, as well as against alcohol-induced
neurotoxicity. For more information, please contact Paul Armentano,
NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of
the study, "Reduced infarct size and accumulation of microglia in rats
treated with WIN 55,212-2 after neonatal stroke," appears online in
Neuroscience. |
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mercycenter@hotmail.com > (503)
363-4588 <
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