NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- February 10, 2005

[IndianaToker]

Weekly Press Release
Source: NORML



2005 Marijuana Law Reform Legislation Introduced In States Nationwide February 10, 2005 - Washington, DC, USA

Washington, DC: Over a dozen state legislatures will be debating proposals to liberalize state marijuana penalties this spring. Already, several state bills to depenalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use and/or to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana under a physician's supervision have been introduced, and several more are pending. Below is a summary of this year's more prominent state legislative proposals.

Medical Marijuana

Bills to legalize the use of medicinal marijuana by qualified patients are currently before the legislatures of Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, New Jersey, New Mexico and Tennessee. In Texas, lawmakers are also debating a proposal to allow medicinal cannabis patients to raise an affirmative defense of medical necessity at trial. Next week, legislation protecting medical cannabis patients from state prosecution is scheduled to be introduced in Alabama and Ohio, while similar bills are anticipated to be introduced in Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.

Decriminalization

To date, two states are considering bills to remove criminal penalties for the possession of minor amounts of marijuana. In New Hampshire, House Bill 197 seeks to remove marijuana from the state's "Controlled Drug Act" so that individuals found in possession of cannabis will no longer face criminal penalties. The bill is currently before the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, where it is scheduled to be heard next week. In Texas, lawmakers are considering legislation, House Bill 254, to reduce the penalties on the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana to a Class C misdemeanor. If passed by the legislature, individuals charged with simple marijuana possession will face a ticket and a fine in lieu of criminal prosecution.

For detailed information on these state bills or other related legislation, or to receive legislative "action alerts" and/or to send letters in support of marijuana law reform, please visit: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/

DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6435




Science Refutes Latest Marijuana And Cognition Claim

February 10, 2005 - Washington, DC, USA

Washington, DC: Research published this week in the journal Neurology speculating that marijuana's effects on the cerebrovascular system may bring about residual cognitive deficits in longtime users is not supported by the majority of available clinical evidence.

Numerous prior reviews of marijuana's potential impact on neurocognitive performance include:

A 2003 meta-analysis published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society that "failed to reveal a substantial, systematic effect of long-term, regular cannabis consumption on the neurocognitive functioning of users who were not acutely intoxicated;"

A 2002 clinical trial published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that determined, "Marijuana does not have a long-term negative impact on global intelligence;"

A 2001 study published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry that found that long-term cannabis smokers who abstained from the drug for one week "showed virtually no significant differences from control subjects (those who had smoked marijuana less than 50 times in their lives) on a battery of 10 neuropsychological tests." Researchers added, "Former heavy users, who had consumed little or no cannabis in the three months before testing, [also] showed no significant differences from control subjects on any of these tests on any of the testing days;"

A 1999 clinical trial published in the American Journal of Epidemiology that found "no significant differences in cognitive decline between heavy users, light users, and nonusers of cannabis" over a 15-year period.

More recently, a study published last fall in the journal Psychological Medicine examining the potential long-term residual effects of cannabis on cognition in monozygotic male twins reported "an absence of marked long-term residual effects of marijuana use on cognitive abilities."

In addition, a scientific review published earlier this month in the journal Current Opinion in Pharmacology concluded, "There is little evidence ... that long-term cannabis uses causes permanent cognitive impairment. ... Overall, by comparison with other drugs used mainly for 'recreational' purposes, cannabis could be rated a relatively safe drug."

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500.

DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6434




Cannabis To Be Tested As Crohn's Disease Treatment

February 10, 2005 - Munich, Germany

Munich, Germany: Researchers at the University Hospital of Munich have begun the first ever clinical patient trial examining the efficacy of cannabis extracts as a treatment for Crohn's disease, according to a press release issued by the hospital. Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammation of the intestine, characterized by severe abdominal pain, nausea, and weight loss.

Clinical research published last year by the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich found that cannabinoids prevent an experimental inflammation of the colon in animals. Researchers in Italy had previously speculated that modulating "the endogenous cannabinoid system could provide new therapeutics for the treatment of a number of gastrointestinal diseases," including gastric ulcers and Crohn's disease.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500.

DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6433

Source: NORML Foundation (DC)
Published: February 10, 2005
Copyright: 2005 NORML
Contact: norml@norml.org
Website: http://www.norml.org/

[smoke_the_dank]

LOL, cannibis for Crohns disease, thats just too perfect!
thanks for the read indy!