Top Ten Events That Shaped Marijuana Policy Source: NORML December 31, 2003 - Washington, DC, USA #1: Brits Vote To Abolish Pot Prohibition The British Parliament voted in November to downgrade marijuana from a Class B to a Class C scheduled drug so that its possession is no longer an arrestable offense. The policy change will take effect on January 29, 2004, and will be similar to the laws in 12 US states where the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana is no longer punishable by criminal arrests and/or jail time. Read the full story at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5835 #2: Democratic Presidential Candidate Promises To Regulate Pot Like Alcohol In one of the strongest and most progressive endorsements of marijuana law reform ever made by a prominent Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) announced in December that, if elected, he would end federal criminal prohibitions on the use of marijuana for recreational purposes, and establish national guidelines to regulate it like alcohol. "A Kucinich administration would reject the current paradigm of 'all use is abuse' in favor of a drug policy that sets reasonable boundaries for marijuana use by establishing guidelines similar to those already in place for alcohol," Kucinich promised. Read the full story at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5850 #3: Inhaled Marijuana Found To Be Safe And Beneficial For HIV Patients Short-term use of oral and inhaled marijuana does not elevate viral load in individuals with HIV infection who are receiving antiretroviral medications and may provide some therapeutic benefits, according to the results of clinical trial data published in August in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. "These findings suggest no major, short-term harmful effects and possibly some beneficial effects of cannabinoids in HIV-infected patients taking protease inhibitors," editors of the journal summarized. Read the full story at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5731 #4: Supreme Court Says Doctors Can Recommend Medicinal Marijuana The Supreme Court in October declined to review a unanimous Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding the rights of physicians to discuss the medicinal use of marijuana with their patients. By rejecting the government's appeal, the Court upheld the Ninth Circuit's order enjoining the Justice Department from revoking physicians' federal licenses to prescribe medicine if they recommend marijuana to their patients. Read the full story at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5785 -Tie for #5- #5 Feds Lack Authority To Arrest Pot Patients The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on December 16 that federal prosecution of patients who possess and cultivate marijuana for their own medicinal use is an unconstitutional exercise of Congress' Commerce Clause authority. As a result, the court ordered a preliminary injunction barring the Justice Department from arresting the plaintiffs - California medical marijuana patients Angel Raich and Diane Monson - for violating the Controlled Substances Act. "As applied to the limited class of activities presented by this case, ... the cultivation, possession and use of marijuana for medicinal purpose and not for exchange or distribution is not properly characterized as commercial or economic activity," as defined by the CSA, a majority of the court determined. "This conclusion, coupled with the public interest considerations and the burden faced by the appellants if, contrary to California law, they are denied access to medicinal marijuana, warrants the entry of a preliminary injunction." NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup praised the Ninth Circuit's opinion. "This is a crack in the blanket federal prohibition of marijuana, the first ever recognized by the federal courts." Read the full story at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5860 #5: Pot Possession Ruled To Be Legal In Alaska The Alaska Court of Appeals ruled in August that the right to privacy in the state constitution precludes any penalty against private use and possession of marijuana by adults. The ruling upheld a 1975 state Supreme Court decision allowing for individuals to possess up to four ounces of marijuana for recreational purposes, and struck down a 1990 state initiative recriminalizing pot. Read the full story at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5743 #6: Largest Ever Clinical Pot Study Finds Cannabinoids Effective For MS Oral administration of synthetic THC and/or a cannabis oil capsule ameliorates multiple sclerosis (MS) associated pain and improves patients' mobility compared to placebo, according to clinical trial data published in November in the British medical journal Lancet. The study, involving over 600 volunteers, was the largest ever to examine the effects of cannabinoids on MS. Authors' of an accompanying commentary on the study wrote, "We now have as much evidence to support the use of these oral cannabinoids as we do for many standard therapies for [MS-associated] spasticity." Read the full story at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5820 #7: Federal Judge Rejects Prison Time For Ed Rosenthal A federal judge in June sentenced noted marijuana author and cultivation expert Ed Rosenthal to one day in prison with credit for time served. Rosenthal could have faced as many as 60 years in prison after being convicted in January on three counts related to marijuana cultivation. Rosenthal grew marijuana to supply local patients who use it in accordance with state law, but the jury who convicted him was barred from hearing that evidence. The jury later renounced their verdict. Read the full story at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5659 #8: Netherlands Becomes First Nation To Offer Prescription Pot In Pharmacies In September, the Netherlands became the first country to make cannabis available as a prescription drug in pharmacies. Dutch Ministry of Health spokesman Bas Kuik told the Associated Press that the legal change ensures that patients have consistent access to medicinal quality cannabis. "Doctors are prescribing marijuana to their patients anyway, and there are many medicinal users, so we may as well regulate it," he said. Read the full story at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5744 #9: Feds Indict 55 People, Sentence Actor Tommy Chong To Prison In Unprecedented Paraphernalia Crackdown Federal authorities indicted 55 people and raided more than 100 homes and businesses in February for selling glass pipes commonly associated with marijuana smoking. Among those indicted, 65-year-old actor/comedian Tommy Chong was sentenced to nine months in prison for his role as head of Nice Dreams Enterprises, a business that sold glass pipes via the Internet. Read the full story at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5568 #10: NORML Organizes Patient Rally On Capitol Hill In Support of Medical Marijuana On September 22 and 23, NORML organized a patient lobby day and Capitol Hill press conference calling on Congress to allow the state-sanctioned use of marijuana as a medicine. More than 20 seriously ill patients flew in from around the nation to testify and tell their members of Congress that marijuana is the only medicine that safely and adequately alleviates their suffering. As a result of the meetings, several additional Representatives signed on to federal legislation seeking to liberalize the use of medicinal marijuana. Read the full story at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5753 DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5872 Source: NORML Foundation (DC) Published: December 31, 2003 Copyright: 2003 NORML Contact: norml@norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/