----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 01 Jul 2002 17:54:22 -0700
Subject:UK: Doctors Being NHS Cannabis Trials Up TOC
Newshawk: JimmyG
Pubdate: Mon, 01 Jul 2002
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2002
Contact: Letters_ts@scotsman.com
Website: http://www.scotsman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406
Author: Gethin Chamberlain

DOCTORS BEGIN NHS CANNABIS TRIALS

HOSPITAL trials have begun on a cannabis spray intended to relieve the
symptoms of multiple sclerosis sufferers and of other National Health
Service patients in need of long-term pain-relief treatment.

Doctors began prescribing the drug and a capsule version to NHS patients at
nine hospitals around Britain, including Gartnavel Hospital, Glasgow, after
permission for the trials was granted earlier this year.

At the time, GW Pharmaceuticals, the British firm manufacturing the
treatments, said it hoped to test the drug on up to 1,000 patients.

The trials come as ministers are said to be ready to press ahead with plans
to reclassify cannabis, a move which will be seen as the effective
decriminalisation of the drug.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, is expected to announce the changes
later this month after a pilot scheme in south London, which allowed police
to concentrate on more serious crimes, was judged to have been a success.

The purported medicinal benefits of cannabis have long been championed by
MS sufferers, but until the start of the clinical trials they have had to
buy the drug illegally.

If the trials are successful, the drug could be licensed by the Medicines
Control Agency and made available on prescription by 2004.

Early results from the first two phases of the tests were said to have been
encouraging, with MS sufferers and patients with spinal cord injuries
reporting significant improvements in their symptoms.

GW Pharmaceuticals is expected to use up to 90 tonnes of the drug each year
to produce enough for the trials, with 30 tonnes grown under greenhouses in
the south of England.

The drug is administered to patients under the tongue, either in the form
of a spray or a capsule.

Gartnavel Hospital is one of a number around the country taking part in the
trials, after the west Glasgow hospitals ethics committee gave permission
for the trials to go ahead. However, trials at Derriford Hospital, in
Plymouth, have halted after a charity refused a ?150,000 grant to extend
the project.

MS sufferers have frequently complained that they have been criminalised by
having to purchase the drug illegally, but, under the government's
proposals for the reclassification of cannabis, the drug should be more
readily available and with less risk of prosecution.

Cannabis is currently classified as a class B drug, possession of which can
bring a five-year prison sentence. As a class C drug, its possession would
merit only a police warning or a small fine.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 01 Jul 2002 20:41:40 -0700
Subject:CA: Medical Pot War Rages On Up TOC
     The Marin Independent-Journal ran a terrific first page
feature  concerning the struggle of  U.S. vs Marin Alliance for
Medical Marijuana 7/1/02  - DG
   http://www.marinij.com/news/stories/index4002327.html
Medical pot war rages on

BATTLE: Lynnette Shaw, founder of the Marin Alliance for Medical
Marijuana, is working to appeal an injuction against the club.
Photo: Jeff Vendsel
By Haley Nolde

Nearly every day, Clay Shinn takes the bus from his home in San
Rafael to St. Rita Church in Fairfax, then pilots his wheelchair
about a half-mile to the headquarters of the Marin Alliance for
Medical Marijuana. Sometimes he

goes for company, sometimes to buy pot that relieves his severe nausea.

Shinn, 46, was diagnosed with AIDS in 1992. He's been going to the
Marin Alliance's Cannabis Buyers' Club for five years. "It's made a
major difference in my life," he said.

After taking his medication morning, afternoon and evening, he said,
"I was always getting nauseated. ... I could set my watch by it. I
hate it. God, it's awful. Now I don't barf anymore."

To Shinn, extreme nausea is a far more forbidding menace than the
federal government which - in the person of a U.S. District Court
judge in San Francisco - issued a permanent injunction last month
against the Fairfax cannabis club and others in Northern California.

"I don't give a damn," Shinn said. "I'll smoke it anyway. ... I have
a choice of two evils and it's the better of two evils."

Despite the 1996 passage of Proposition 215, which authorized the use
of medical marijuana in California for those who have a doctor's
recommendation, the issue has remained contentious in Marin.

After several incarnations of a county-issued identification card
that patients largely boycotted for fear of being targeted by police
- - and a failed effort last year to recall District Attorney Paula
Kamena in part because of her medical marijuana policies - the
battlefield fell silent for a time.

Over the past few weeks, however, Marin's medical marijuana war moved
on several fronts, resulting in a series of ups and downs for
patients such as Shinn.

First, the Marin County District Attorney's Office and Department of
Health and Human Services announced a new program that allows police
to verify a patient's medical need for marijuana on the spot, with an
ID card that bears the patient's photograph and a serial number.

Police can check the number through a central dispatcher and, if it
clears, the patient won't be arrested or have the pot confiscated,
regardless of the amount. Sheriff Robert Doyle, all municipal police
chiefs in the county and College of Marin police signed off on the
program, which was hailed as a victory by the Marin Alliance.

"I'm very happy the county has come to its senses," said Lynnette
Shaw, director of the Marin Alliance. Before, police "were arresting
patients and letting them go later, and they were always losing their
medicine," Shaw said. "Now there's an agreement and (patients) are
treated with respect and left alone."

On June 12, only days after the county's announcement, U.S. District
Judge Charles Breyer ordered a permanent injunction against the Marin
Alliance and other Northern California cannabis clubs. Those who
continue to operate do so with the possibility of being held in
contempt of court.

But, at the Marin Alliance's modest headquarters on School Street
Plaza in Fairfax, the order was met with defiance and frustration.

"I'd like the federal government to be more understanding and
compassionate of us ill people that are dying of these diseases,"
said Tim Ogden, a 38-year-old Novato man who learned he was
HIV-positive about six years ago and now has AIDS.

"I'm poor. I can hardly afford to get my medical marijuana from Marin
Alliance. I'd like to grow my own plants," Ogden said. But, "federal
law supersedes state law and that worries me. If I start growing my
own plants, how can I be sure I'm not going to jail? I only have
three to six months to live and I don't want to die behind bars."

Ogden sat on a ragged couch in the club's small waiting room, facing
a white-board menu that listed five types of marijuana for sale,
ranging in price from $25 to $60 per eighth of an ounce. It's
organically grown by patients, Shaw said.

The sofa dwarfed Ogden, who said he has lost about 35 pounds this
year and weighs only 115. In addition to alleviating his nausea, "The
medical marijuana increases my appetite to allow me to eat a lot more
food," he said.

Shaw, whom Ogden called his caregiver, dismissed the government's
injunction as "just another piece of paper in a long line of pieces
of paper."

Represented by William Panzer, an Oakland-based attorney who helped
write Proposition 215, the Marin Alliance is gearing up for a
spirited appeal of the permanent injunction.

"It's a frightening thing to have the federal government shake their
fist and throw papers at you," Shaw said, "but the government's lies
about medical marijuana will no longer hold. I'd love to be the case
that cracks open the medical marijuana dam."

Mark Quinlivan, the Justice Department's attorney in the case, could
not be reached for comment.

The permanent injunction followed a preliminary injunction requested
by the Justice Department in 1998 against six cannabis clubs.
Government agents have since shut down two of them, the Cannabis
Cultivators Cooperative of San Francisco and the Santa Cruz Buyers'
Club.

The Flower Therapy Medical Marijuana Club in San Francisco
volunteered to close, leaving the Marin Alliance, the Ukiah Cannabis
Buyers' Club and the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative. While
still in existence, the Oakland operation does not dispense marijuana.

Panzer's strategy to appeal the injunction hinges on three main points.

Under the interstate commerce rules at the heart of the Controlled
Substances Act, Panzer asserted that Congress does not have the
authority to regulate or prohibit medical marijuana sales or use that
occur in California in accordance with Proposition 215.

"It's purely intra-state, grown in California for use by Californians
in California," he said.

Moreover, Panzer said he will question the rational basis for a
federal law completely banning medical use of cannabis. The
Constitution ensures that Congress, in curtailing rights, must have a
rational basis to do so.

Judge Breyer has said that he doesn't have the authority to hear a
rational basis argument once Congress has rendered a decision on the
matter, Panzer said - a claim he plans to fight as well.

"All I've ever wanted to do is put the facts in the courtroom," he
said. "Let's look at the science, the real science.

There are more studies of cannabis than of most drugs you can buy
over the counter. The government just doesn't like the results of the
studies."

Panzer must file his notice to appeal by today, and doesn't expect a
decision from the court for a minimum of six to nine months.

"I expect the government to take this to the Supreme Court because
Bush has had a lot of luck with the Supreme Court," he added.

Shaw said she's concerned that cracking down on medical marijuana
clubs will strengthen the black market for the drug.

"A lot of our patients are very dependent," she said. "They don't
want to go back to the streets and unsavory neighborhoods. (But) they
won't stop. Throwing the patients back to the gangsters is what this
will do."

A prominent figure in Marin's medical marijuana debate, Shaw joined
the movement after spending 80 days in jail in the East Bay on
marijuana charges in 1990. Once a battered woman, Shaw said she
suffers chronic pain and is allergic to most prescription drugs.

 From 1992 to 1996, she delivered marijuana brownies to patients
around Marin, while working on the Proposition 215 campaign. When
California voters approved the law in 1996, the Marin Alliance opened
its headquarters in Fairfax.

After a year of operating underground, the Fairfax Planning
Commission granted the club a use permit, provided that it comply
with 84 conditions.

The permit came up for review on June 20, a week after Judge Breyer
ordered the permanent injunction against the Marin Alliance,
prompting Shaw to galvanize supporters to attend the meeting.

To her relief, the commission voted unanimously to continue the
permit until its August meeting to allow time for the club to provide
a belated financial audit which, Commissioner Steve Shaiken said, the
club is trying to do.

Neither the review, nor the decision, he said, bore any tie to the
injunction. The commission did seek guidance from Town Attorney Joe
Brecher on the matter, and was advised that municipalities have
neither the obligation nor the right to enforce a federal injunction,
Shaiken said.

"By continuing the permit process we're not in any way stopping the
federal government from doing what they're going to do," Shaiken said.

"So long as they're in compliance and there's no legal impediment to
their operation, the majority of the commission is supportive of it."

Among the people of Fairfax, he added, the alliance is widely
supported. "Rarely does anyone complain, but numerous people have
come forward to support them."

Despite the injunction, the Fairfax Planning Commission's decision
and the county's new medical marijuana program were cause enough to
celebrate for the Marin Alliance, which hosted a victory party over
the weekend at Pete's 881 Club in San Rafael, featuring music by "4
Pot Peace." The band continued the celebration last night with a
performance at 19 Broadway in Fairfax.

"They have a pretty weak case," Shaw said of the federal government.
"I think they haven't pursued us because they know it's a can of
worms."

Contact Haley Nolde via e-mail at hnolde@marinij.com

------------------------------
Date: Mon, 01 Jul 2002 20:42:48 -0700
Subject:UK: Tory Warning Over Cannabis Reform Up TOC
Newshawk: JimmyG
Pubdate: Mon, 01 Jul 2002
Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Telegraph Group Limited
Contact: dtletters@telegraph.co.uk
Website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/114
Author: Andy McSmith

TORY WARNING OVER CANNABIS REFORM

Drug gangs have flourished in Brixton since the police began an experiment
under which cannabis was effectively decriminalised, Oliver Letwin, the
shadow home secretary, said yesterday.

The remarks by Mr Letwin, who is seen as one of the leading social liberals
in the shadow cabinet, suggests that David Blunkett will meet strong
Conservative opposition if he carries on with his proposal to soften the
law on cannabis.

Mr Blunkett is expected to announce this month that he intends to
reclassify cannabis so that possession of the drug for personal use ceases
to be a criminal offence.

In a pilot project in Lambeth, south London - which includes Brixton -
people caught with cannabis for personal use are let off with a caution and
confiscation of the drug, so that police can concentrate on more dangerous
drugs.

Scotland Yard's Deputy Commissioner, Ian Blair, hailed the scheme a success
just days ago, but Mr Letwin claimed that the experiment had created "an
appalling example" of power accruing to drug gangs.

He added: "There seems to be every evidence of these gangs and dealers
dragging people on from cannabis to other drugs."
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 01 Jul 2002 20:53:40 -0700
Subject:Canada: Experts Don't Agree On Marijuana Grow Op Problem Up TOC
Newshawk: Join CMAP (http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/lists.htm)
Pubdate: Tue, 25 Jun 2002
Source: Chilliwack Progress (CN BC)
Copyright: 2002 The Chilliwack Progress
Contact: editor@theprogress.com
Website: http://www.theprogress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/562
Author: Robert Freeman
EXPERTS DON'T AGREE ON MARIJUANA GROW OP PROBLEM

Defence lawyers - who stand to gain most from a crackdown on marijuana grow
operations - are lambasting Chilliwack's get-tough response to grow-ops here.

And even the authors of a University College of the Fraser Valley report on
marijuana grow operations in B.C. disagree on how best to deal with the
problem.

"We've tried and spent a whole lot of money to eliminate the supply of the
stuff and it doesn't work," says Yvon Dandurand, head of the UCFV
criminology department. "It's time to try something new."

But exactly what, he isn't sure.

"If we were to decriminalize or legalize or regulate ... then we would
still have to worry about the huge black market south of the border," he
says. "There's no easy solution."

But he suggests one thing that could be done is direct police resources
more toward the organizers of the network feeding on the huge black market
demand for marijuana.

"There is a high level of organization," to the B.C. grow-ops, he says,
"but not organized in the sense we traditionally think of it."

"If you're looking for a kingpin you may not find one, but a network of
people," he says.

UCFV Professor Darryl Plecas, who co-authored the study, says the findings
show marijuana grow-ops are clearly not "mom and pop" operations growing a
couple of pot plants for a second income.

And the phenomenal growth recorded by the study shows that the
profit-making enterprise in B.C. is "outstripping the capacity of police to
respond," he says.

Most of the 8,010 cases of marijuana grow-operations found by police
between January 1997 and December 2000 came as a result of anonymous tips
and of searches on other criminal matters, not police investigations.

"The police aren't going out of way to get these grow-ops, but tripping
over them or getting anonymous complaints," Professor Plecas says.

Tougher court sentences in B.C. may be the key to driving grow-ops out of
business, he says.

"There are no grow-ops to speak of in Washington State," he points out,
"because the penalties are so severe, why would anybody risk it."

Prison sentences were imposed by B.C. judges in only 18 percent of the
cases, with an average length of 4.5 months, according to the study. Half
the suspects in B.C. grow-ops walk away without any conviction at all, and
more than half of those had prior drug convictions. Forty percent had
violent offences on their record.

"The notion that they are mom and pop operations going on in Chilliwack is
just not true," Prof. Plecas says.

He also notes that the convicted pot growers in B.C. had seven convictions
on record, sometimes for multiple counts of marijuana production, but "no
incremental penalties for prior convictions" imposed by court judges.

He says that only encourages growers to plant larger and larger operations
after a conviction brings no larger punishment. And the $130,000 income
from one grow operation, with the potential for three grows a year, is
incentive enough for anyone with no prospect of higher earnings by legal means.

"All of a sudden, you're making pretty good coin," Prof. Plecas says.

However, he does not believe that decriminalization or legalization would
significantly alter the grow-op situation because of the "incredible
market" for B.C. pot around the world.

Even if a standard marijuana product was legalized, he believes there would
still be a black market for strains of marijuana with boosted THC levels
that would not be tolerated even by governments that had legalized its use.

"The only thing I would say on the positive side of the ledger (of the UCFV
study)," he says, "is that there's hardly any incidents of violence at the
time when the police show up" to take down a grow-op.

Chilliwack City and RCMP officials have announced formation of a "strike
force" of four officers dedicated to busting marijuana grow-ops, and
directing more plainclothes and uniformed officers to drug enforcement duties.

But defence lawyer John Conroy says taking the profit out of black market
enterprises like marijuana grow-ops by legalizing or regulating the product
like government do with alcohol and tobacco is the only way to deal with
the problem.

"We just can't get it through the thick skulls of the people in power," he
says.

"Why don't they prohibit alcohol and tobacco, which are far more harmful,"
he says. Canadian courts have found as found as a fact that there is "no
significant" harm to smoking marijuana, he adds.

"The police want this (tougher enforcement) because it helps expand their
power to intrude into peoples' private affairs," he suggests.

"The whole thing is ludicrous," he adds, because it is the law
criminalizing marijuana that creates the black market that the grow-ops
feed on.

He says the only danger of the grow-ops is that they are forced to operate
underground, without safety inspections, because of the law.

But the police see enforcement as the only answer because they get to
"snoop around" neighbourhoods with their infra-red devices seeking the heat
generated by grow-ops, Mr. Conroy says.

"It's more fun," he suggests, than investigating the disappearance of
native women from the wrong side of Vancouver streets.

"It's absurd. The whole drug war is just a crock of absolute nonsense."

Defence lawyer Suzanne Paterson says she is not surprised by the Chilliwack
RCMP's request for additional resources as a result of the study findings.

"This is a new (RCMP) inspector and very quickly he has enlarged his
kingdom," she says, adding that the $160,000 now earmarked for two more
RCMP officers could be better spent on shelter and activities for children
in Chilliwack.

She also disputes Insp. Mercer's warning about violence around marijuana
grow-ops.

"I do a lot of cases with violence, but I can't think of one that's
associated with pot growing," she says.

There have been two drive-by shootings in Chilliwack, both of them in 1996,
and neither directly related to marijuana grow-operations. Keitha Joan
Llewellyn, 59, was shot to death in her Tretheway Avenue home in March
1996, and 31-year-old Gary Autenreith was shot and killed while standing in
a front window of his Hazel Street home the same month. The two shootings
were not related.

Psychologist Rob Lees fears increased enforcement could backfire and drive
the price of pot up further making grow-ops "more risky" than ever for the
general public.

"If you stack marijuana up against tobacco or alcohol, there aren't many
people around who would say it's worse," says Mr. Lees, who advocated
marijuana decriminalization as an election candidate for the New Democratic
Party.

He says Chilliwack City and RCMP officials may be focusing too tightly on
the local picture and "making the assumption, if you try and limit the
supply then it will stop people from using a substance."

But he says the experience of addiction counsellors, where a supply is
limited, "the addiction goes elsewhere" and no real solution achieved.

He says the goal of child psychologists is "resilient kids making healthy
choices" rather than children fearing harsh punishment for breaking the rules.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 01 Jul 2002 20:54:43 -0700
Subject:UK: Lambeth Cannabis Pilot: The Facts Up TOC
Newshawk: JimmyG
Pubdate: Tue, 02 Jul 2002
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Contact: letters@guardian.co.uk
Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Nick Hopkins
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)

LAMBETH CANNABIS PILOT: THE FACTS

. The cannabis pilot was launched on July 2 last year and was due to last
six months. The Met now says it will continue until the home secretary has
ruled on reclassification.

. In the first six months officers and civilian staff saved more than 2,500
hours and led to a 19% increase in arrests of class A drug dealers. The
number of arrests for dealing cannabis rose 11%.

. The Police Federation claimed the initiative had confused children and
encouraged crack cocaine dealers. This view was supported by a Mori poll
commissioned for the Police Foundation. Forty-one per cent of those asked
said they knew nothing about it and out of the 56% who claimed they did,
some believed that cannabis had been legalised or decriminalised.

. The police said the poll of 2,055 Lambeth residents showed 83% either
supported the experiment outright or conditionally. But critics pointed to
other statistics which indicated that while half of all white residents in
Brixton supported the experiment, the majority of black and Asian residents
opposed it.

. Schools that replied to a police questionnaire about the use of cannabis
by pupils suggests that the experiment had had no adverse effect on
behaviour. Data suggests that the idea of an influx of drug tourists into
Lambeth is a myth.
__________________________________________________________________________
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: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 08:19:33 -0700
Subject:Japan: Gene glitches link pot with schizophrenia Up TOC
July 1 , 2002
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=3D01072002-113615-3662r
http://www.upi.com
author: Charles Choi

Gene glitches link pot with schizophrenia
 From the Science & Technology Desk
Published 7/1/2002 5:06 PM

OKAYAMA, Japan, July 1 (UPI) -- Genetic anomalies tied with
marijuana-activated brain chemicals appear linked to schizophrenia, Japanese
researchers report.

"This result provides genetic evidence that marijuana use can result in
schizophrenia or a significantly increased risk of schizophrenia," lead
researcher Hiroshi Ujike, a clinical psychiatrist at Okayama University,
told United Press International.

Schizophrenia is one of the greatest mental health challenges in the world,
affecting roughly one of every 100 people and filling about a quarter of all
hospital beds in the United States. For years, clinical scientists have
known that abusing marijuana, also known as cannabis, can trigger
hallucinations and delusions similar to symptoms often found in
schizophrenia. Prior studies also show that cannabis used before age 18
raises the risk of schizophrenia six-fold.

The hallucinogenic properties of marijuana, the researchers explained, are
linked to a biochemical found abundantly in the brain. The chemical, called
cannabinoid receptor protein, studs the surfaces of brain cells and latches
onto the active chemical within marijuana known as THC.

"These sites are where marijuana acts on the brain," Ujike said.

Ujike and his team examined the gene for the marijuana receptor in 121
Japanese patients with schizophrenia and an average age of 44. When they
compared this gene in schizophrenics with the same gene in 148 normal men
and woman of the same average age, they found distinct abnormalities in DNA
sequences called nucleotides among the schizophrenics. Some of their
nucleotides in the marijuana receptor gene appeared significantly more often
than normal while others appeared less frequency.

"This finding is the first to report a potential abnormality of the
cannabinoid system in schizophrenia," said clinical neuroscientist Carol
Tamminga at the University of Maryland in College Park. "The importance of a
finding here cannot be overstated, in that it would form a tissue target for
drug development and allow targeted treatments to emerge for the illness."

It appears malfunctions in the brain's marijuana-linked circuitry may make
one vulnerable to schizophrenia, Ujike said. This holds especially true for
a condition called hebephrenic schizophrenia, which is marked by
deterioration of personality, senseless laughter, disorganized thought and
lack of motivation. These symptoms are similar to psychotic behavior
sometimes triggered by severe cannabis abuse, which could mean the marijuana
receptors in schizophrenics are far more active than they should be.

Ujike stressed there is no evidence yet these genetic abnormalities can
affect how the marijuana receptor actually acts in the brain. "We would also
like to replicate our findings with different ethnic populations and more
people," he added.

The researchers described their findings in the scientific journal Molecular
Psychiatry.
(Reported by Charles Choi, UPI Science News, in New York)
Copyright =A9 2002 United Press International
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 08:20:48 -0700
Subject:NV: Nevada's Marijuana Laws Could Go From Strict To Lenient Up TOC
Newshawk: M & M Family
Pubdate: Mon,  1 Jul 2002
Source: Reno Gazette-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2002 Reno Gazette-Journal
Contact: rgjmail@nevadanet.com
Website: http://www.rgj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/363
Author: Associated Press

NEVADA'S MARIJUANA LAWS COULD GO FROM STRICT TO LENIENT

Until last October, Nevada had the strictest marijuana law in the nation.
Puffing on a single joint was a felony offense punishable by prison term of
a year or more.

Such penalties were rarely imposed, and the law didn't stop Nevadans from
approving the use of medical marijuana in 2000. State legislators in 2001
also passed a law making possession of less than one ounce a misdemeanor.

Now, Nevadans might vote this fall to loosen the pot prohibition law even
more, essentially giving the state the most relaxed marijuana law in
America.

The Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington, D.C.-based organization, was
able to collect signatures of 109,000 Nevada voters on a petition that seeks
to legalize possession of up to three ounces of marijuana.

If enough signatures are found valid, the question would be put to voters
this November and again in 2004.

It still would be illegal for minors to possess the drug, and driving under
the influence laws would still hold. It also still would be illegal to use
marijuana in public places. A distribution system also would be set up to
provide low-cost medical marijuana.

"We know most people in Nevada don't think people should be arrested and
sent to prison for small amounts, "said the Marijuana Policy Project's Billy
Rogers. "Most people think it is a waste of tax dollars for law enforcement
to go after people with small amounts of marijuana."

Rogers' group set up a state organization called Nevadans for Responsible
Law Enforcement. The group spent more than $300,000 in collecting the
signatures.

County clerks have until next Monday to verify the signatures are accurate.
The group needs only 61,336 valid signatures to put the proposal before
voters.

Past votes by Nevadans have reflected a tolerant approach to marijuana use.
State voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow medical marijuana
twice: 59 percent of voters backed the plan in 1998 and 65 percent approved
it in 2000.

Following the second vote, Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas,
pushed through a bill to set up a medical marijuana program and to relax the
state's marijuana possession laws. Possession of less than one ounce of
marijuana now is a misdemeanor. Offenders can be fined as much as $600, but
don't get any jail time.

Currently, 185 people with medical problems have been given state permits to
grow up to seven marijuana plants. Cecile Crofoot, who manages the medical
marijuana program, said police haven't had any problems with participants
abusing the program.

But Crofoot said the complaint she hears from almost every legal user is
they find it difficult to grow marijuana.

Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Stan Olsen said police in Las Vegas have
not taken an official stance on the latest marijuana petition, but probably
will oppose it.

"Three ounces is quite a bit ,"said Olsen, the department's legislative
lobbyist. "If we legalize it, what is next? A lot of people don't use drugs
now because they are illegal and they stand to lose in their personal or
professional lives if they use."

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, said
that new law, which went into effect Oct. 1, makes Nevada one of 12 states
that have decriminalized the drug.

"Over one third of the adults have tried the drug, including former
presidents and Supreme Court justices,"said Paul Armentano, a NORML
spokesman."It is time to admit it is part of the culture."
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 09:06:21 -0700
Subject: Canada: Hundreds Get High On A Cause
Newshawk: http://www.marijuanaparty.org/
Pubdate: Tue, 02 Jul 2002
Source: Daily News, The (CN NS)
Webpage: http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/008C212B-CE94-4B6D-BC07-F0049B74654E
Copyright: 2002 The Daily News
Contact: letterstoeditor@hfxnews.southam.ca
Website: http://www.canada.com/halifax/dailynews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/179
Author: Beverley Ware, of The Daily News
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)



Canada Day Finds Christians, Cannabis Together On Commons

Cannabis lovers and Christians celebrated together at the Dartmouth Commons
Monday, but their messages weren't exactly in harmony.

It's the second year the two groups have shared the same locale for their
Canada Day celebrations.

The pot smokers are there for Cannabis Day, the churchgoers are there for
Christian patriotism.

"We want to bring the Christian communities together, we need to
participate more than we have been," said Pastor George Campbell of the New
Life Church in Dartmouth. "We believe this country was founded upon the
principles of the Bible and we should be more patriotic."

The two groups pretty much kept to themselves, though it seems some
weed-smokers ended up with the munchies. "We're really selling a lot of
hotdogs," Campbell laughed. "Somebody's hungry."

But the money goes to a good cause -- it helps send kids to summer camp.

Rain drove the Christian celebrants home early. Slightly more than a dozen
remained by mid-afternoon. Campbell said it was too dangerous for the nine
scheduled gospel groups and their electric equipment to keep going in the
wet weather.

But hundreds mellowed out at the top of the hill, unaffected by sporadic
downpours.

"I like to smoke pot," Greg stated simply, and that's why he showed up.

"It's a great opportunity to smoke pot in public, just to show everybody
that it should be legal, it doesn't hurt anybody," said 22-year-old Matt,
as he drew on a marijuana cigarette. "Drunks cause a lot more problems than
we do."

Indeed, the whole event was quite laid back. Groups of young people
leisurely played hacky-sack or kicked a soccer ball around. Others lounged
under trees chatting or playing music.

Matt said he believes public attitudes toward pot are changing, that it's
becoming more acceptable. "I'm really for decriminalization as opposed to
legalizing, because if it gets legalized government gets its hands on it,
and they start taxing it just like everything else."

"If it wasn't somewhat publically accepted, today wouldn't happen, this
would not be available to us," drawled 21-year-old Melissa, sporting a hemp
necklace.

This was her first cannabis day. "I moved to Halifax last summer, I'm still
here and this is an awesome place to be right now. Like, it's a good time.
People chilling all over the place. I love the dogs."
__________________________________________________________________________
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
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 09:08:46 -0700
Subject:  
from Paul Chang
Guardian Unlimited, UK
http://www.guardian.co.uk/drugs/Story/0,2763,747748,00.html
My drugs policy is working
A string of myths is being used to rubbish the Lambeth experiment

Brian Paddick
Tuesday July 2, 2002
The Guardian

In 1982, I was a sergeant in charge of a "front line" community policing
team in Brixton. The locals actively helped us when we were chasing robbers,
but we had doors slammed in our faces when chasing cannabis smokers.
Different communities tolerate different types and levels of criminality. If
you want community support for policing, you must concentrate on the crimes
at the top of the community's list. In Lambeth, crack cocaine, heroin and
street robbery were at the top; cannabis was nowhere to be seen. Some even
saw cannabis as an excuse for officers to stop, search and criminalise young
people. Everyone saw the difference between "hard" and "soft" drugs in terms
of policing priorities.

A month before I arrived in Lambeth, Brixton Constable Ross Callaghan failed
a targeted "integrity test" set by the Metropolitan police's department for
professional standards. He threw away cannabis left in a car rather than
booking it in at the police station. He was charged with misfeasance in a
public office and sent for trial at the Old Bailey. His team insisted they
would no longer turn a blind eye to cannabis or put it "down the drain".
They were going to arrest everyone they found with cannabis.

We had a problem. What would be the effect on a community already suspicious
of police motives if there was a massive increase in arrests for even the
smallest amount of cannabis? The only solution was a formal, officially
sanctioned policy for dealing with cannabis informally.

I discussed the idea with my boss, local people and a trusted journalist,
who ran the story in the London Evening Standard in March 2001. The ensuing
debate came out positively: even sceptics at Scotland Yard could not escape
the futility of arresting people for small amounts of cannabis. The Met
commissioner, Sir John Stevens, officially sanctioned a pilot scheme in
Lambeth to run from July.

The only significant voice of dissent came from a local Conservative
councillor who ultimately objected only because it was not being extended
across London. A Mori poll showed only 7% of white residents, 10% of black
and 7% of Asian residents interviewed opposed the pilot. Street crime in
Lambeth has halved and burglary has continued to fall while it is rising in
other parts of London, so why all the fuss? Could it be that a number of
myths have taken hold?

"It has made children more vulnerable to drugs." The Met has surveyed all
primary and secondary head teachers in Lambeth. Primary heads report no
instances of intoxicated pupils and secondary heads report, if anything, a
fall in drugs incidents. If there seem to be more children smoking, perhaps
they are being more blatant about it, or people are more aware of what has
been happening in Lambeth for years. The Mori poll showed more than 80% in
favour of the way the pilot deals with young people. No one wants their
child to get a criminal record over cannabis. Children at risk may be a
perception rather than a reality.

"It has attracted more drug users and dealers into Lambeth." The Met has
looked at the addresses of all those arrested for drugs offences during the
pilot. This shows a decreasing percentage of people from outside Lambeth
being arrested. Cannabis and other drugs are so easily available in all
parts of London, who would want to come to Brixton for them? Particularly
when you consider the way Brixton is portrayed in the media as some kind of
dangerous, lawless wasteland (another gross exaggeration). Drug tourism
appears to be the expectation rather than the reality.

"No matter where they come from, there have been more drugs arrests since
the pilot began." Thank goodness! The increased arrests must be for class A
drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, or for dealing. An increase in drugs
arrests is more likely to be the result of more police effort, focusing on
class A possession and drug dealing, rather than more drug users.

"Whatever the results, people think cannabis is legal." We tried to explain
that the pilot was not a change in the law but a change that allowed
officers to use their discretion. We tried to explain that cannabis was more
likely to be confiscated than before. We tried to explain that dealing
cannabis was not part of the scheme. So why is there so much confusion?

The home secretary is minded to reclassify cannabis from a class B to a
class C drug. All the responsible agencies say it is in the wrong category
in terms of the harm that it causes. If cannabis were reclassified, people
could still be prosecuted for possession and receive a maximum two-year
sentence. Dealing in the drug would carry a five-year maximum term. Yet even
on Sunday a broadsheet newspaper announced: "Cannabis to be 'legalised'
within year." No wonder people are confused.

Brian Paddick has been moved from his post as Lambeth commander to
Scotland Yard pending the outcome of an inquiry into allegations about his
private life.
comment@guardian.co.uk
Guardian Unlimited Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002
~~~ ~ ~~~
Paul Chang
mail:
PO Box 24, Laughlands
St. Ann, Jamaica, WI
delivery:
Chukka Cove Villa Six
Chukka Cove Polo Club/Richmond Farms
Laughlands, St. Ann, Jamaica, WI
paul_chang@cwjamaica.com
876.381-4736   cellular for Paul
876.972-0817   telephone 1
876.794-8086   telephone 2
876.794-8087   facsimile
~~~ ~ ~~~
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 11:05:36 -0700
Subject: 
Newshawk: chip
Pubdate: Tue, 02 Jul 2002
Source: Charleston Gazette (WV)
Copyright: 2002 Charleston Gazette
Contact: letters@wvgazette.com
Website: http://www.wvgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/77
LEGALIZE?

War On Narcotics

BELIEVE it or not, an American religious denomination has called for
legalizing all narcotics, which would halt the billion-dollar national "war
on drugs" and free hundreds of thousands of prison inmates.

Meeting last week in Quebec City, the Unitarian Universalist Association
passed a resolution saying:

"Drug abuse issues are essentially matters for medical attention. We do not
believe that drug use should be considered criminal behavior." It indicated
that narcotics should be regulated through channels similar to those used
for prescription drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

The denomination's president, who is black, said:

"The so-called 'war on drugs' is creating violence, endangering children,
clogging the criminal justice system, eroding civil liberties, and
disproportionately punishing people of color. It's time for a cease-fire."

Of course, conservative politicians will denounce this proposal and call
instead for locking up more Americans. But we think the church stand
reflects a lot of wisdom.

Prohibition, America's historic attempt to ban alcohol, was a colossal
flop. And the "war on drugs" is virtually a carbon copy of it.
__________________________________________________________________________
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
------------------------------
End of Restore-Digest V2002 #122
********************************