Texas NORML

Thu, 29 Jul 2010; By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

On Tuesday, Congressional Representatives passed by voice vote H.R. 5143, the House version of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010.

NORML first blogged about this federal legislation back in November, and encouraged supporters to contact their members of Congress in favor of this much-needed reform. This week the House did their part. Now it is up to the Senate to do theirs.

Said the measure’s House sponsor, Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-MA). “Today our prison population is expanding at an alarming rate, with costs to the taxpayers that are unsustainable. … (This) bill passed … will assess the current crisis, reverse these disturbing trends and help save taxpayer money.”

House Bill 5143 is a companion bill to S. 714, championed by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA). Senate Bill 714 will establish a `National Criminal Justice Commission’ to hold public hearings and “undertake a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system, including Federal, State, local, and tribal governments’ criminal justice costs, practices, and policies. … The Commission shall make findings regarding such review and recommendations for changes in oversight, policies, practices, and laws designed to prevent, deter, and reduce crime and violence, improve cost-effectiveness, and ensure the interests of justice at every step of the criminal justice system.”

In January, members of the Senate Judiciary passed S. 714. The measure awaits action by the full Senate. Hopefully, this week’s House vote will spur the Senate into action.

It’s been many years since a federally appointed commission has taken an objective look at American criminal justice policies, and it’s been nearly 40 years since federal lawmakers have undertaken a critical examination of U.S. drug policy. Sen. Webb articulately explains why this examination is long overdue.

“America’s criminal justice system has deteriorated to the point that it is a national disgrace. … The United States has by far the world’s highest incarceration rate. With 5% of the world’s population, our country now houses nearly 25% of the world’s reported prisoners.

… Drug offenders, most of them passive users or minor dealers, are swamping our prisons. … Justice statistics also show that 47.5% of all the drug arrests in our country in 2007 were for marijuana offenses. Additionally, nearly 60% of the people in state prisons serving time for a drug offense had no history of violence or of any significant selling activity. … African-Americans — who make up about 12% of the total U.S. population population — accounted for 37% of those arrested on drug charges, 59% of those convicted, and 74% of all drug offenders sentenced to prison.

… It is incumbent on our national leadership to find a way to fix our prison system.”

NORML supporters can play a role in this ‘fix’ by contacting their U.S. Senators and urging them to support Senate Bill 714, The National Criminal Justice Commission Act.

Contact your U.S. Senator here: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=13046001

We would like to invite you to attend the “Texas Medical Marijuana 2011″
presentation and discussion organized and produced by The Texas Coalition for
Compassionate Care. http://www.texascompassion.com/

This Tuesday, July 27th, from 7:30-9:00pm, The Texas Coalition for
Compassionate Care will be hosting a presentation and discussion about the next
medical marijuana bill to be debated in Texas’ 82nd Legislative Session, which
begins in January.

This Texas Medical Marijuana 2011 presentation will be held at:
5555 N. Lamar, Suite L137
Austin, TX, 78751

Suite L137 in PSBusiness Parks complex (shown as Commerce Park on many maps)
near the intersection of Lamar and Koenig. The entrance is from Guadalupe
street, near 55th.

Over the past 10 years in Texas, an “affirmative defense” medical marijuana
bill has been pushed, first by Texans for Medical Marijuana (who sadly had to
close up shop) and then by The Texas Coalition for Compassionate Care.
We at Texas NORML would like to see a medical marijuana bill that, at the very
least, will protect patients from being arrested for possessing their medicine.
Also, we would like to see provisions made for medical marijuana patients to be
allowed to procure their medicine from legitimate sources, not the black market.
If you agree that should be a mandatory inclusion in a Texas Medical Marijuana
bill, please come to this meeting and join in the discussion.

I can say, from personal lobbying experience, that many of the elected
officials in Austin are concerned with passing a medical marijuana law that
doesn’t provide for legal avenues of obtaining that medicine. So, we would
like to see that concern alleviated with the next medical marijuana bill
introduced at the Capitol.

If you are a medical marijuana patient, you know someone who is, or you would
just like to see medical marijuana available in Texas, please mark your
calendar for this Tuesday, July 27th, 7:30pm, 5555 N. Lamar, Suite L137,
Austin, TX, 78751, and join us for this very important meeting.

Thanks for your continued support, and we will see you soon!

Cannabem Liberemus!

Josh Schimberg
Executive Director, Texas NORML
josh@texasnorml.org

http://www.texasnorml.org/

http://www.facebook.com/texasnorml

http://www.twitter.com/texasnorml

http://www.myspace.com/texasnorml

Wed, 21 Jul 2010, By: Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director

Following Recent Raids, Medical Marijuana Advocacy Groups Call on President Obama to Withdraw Nomination of Michele Leonhart to be DEA Administrator

You can take action on this issue right now by following this link, provided by the Marijuana Policy Project: https://secure2.convio.net/mpp/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=398

Obama’s DEA Head Must Follow Stated Medical Marijuana Policy, End Obstruction of Marijuana Research, and Base Marijuana Rescheduling on Science Rather than Ideology

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, a coalition of organizations supportive of medical marijuana patients and providers (see list of organizations below) are calling on President Obama to withdraw his nomination of Michele Leonhart to serve as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Ms. Leonhart, who is currently the DEA’s acting-administrator, has not demonstrated that she is capable of leading the agency in a thoughtful manner at a time when fourteen states have enacted medical marijuana laws and science is increasingly confirming the therapeutic benefits of the substance.

“It is clearly time for President Obama to insist that his appointees adhere to current Justice Department guidelines regarding state laws regulating the medical use of marijuana, and that marijuana be fairly evaluated by all federal agencies, based on science, not ideology,” said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the nation’s oldest marijuana legalization lobby. “The Obama administration should be working with us to eliminate criminal penalties for the responsible use of marijuana by adults, regardless of whether it is medical use or otherwise.”

Under Leonhart’s leadership, the DEA has staged medical marijuana raids in apparent disregard of Attorney General Eric Holder’s directive to respect state medical marijuana laws. Most recently, DEA agents flouted a pioneering Mendocino County (CA) ordinance to regulate medical marijuana cultivation by raiding the very first grower to register with the sheriff. Joy Greenfield, 69, had paid more than $1,000 for a permit to cultivate 99 plants in a collective garden that had been inspected and approved by the local sheriff.

Informed that Ms. Greenfield had the support of the sheriff, the DEA agent in charge responded by saying, “I don’t care what the sheriff says.” The DEA’s conduct is inconsistent with an October 2009 Department of Justice memo directing officials not to arrest individuals “whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.”

Ms. Leonhart has also demonstrated that she is unable to be objective in carrying out the duties of the administrator as it relates to medical marijuana research. In January 2009, she refused to issue a license to the University of Massachusetts to cultivate marijuana for FDA-approved research, despite a DEA administrative law judge’s ruling that it would be “in the public interest” to issue the license. This single act has blocked privately-funded medical marijuana research in this country. The next DEA administrator will likely influence the outcome of a marijuana rescheduling petition currently before the agency. It is critical that an administrator with an open mind toward science and research is at the helm.

You can take action on this issue right now by following this link, provided by the Marijuana Policy Project: https://secure2.convio.net/mpp/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=398

The following organizations are calling on President Obama to withdraw the nomination of Ms. Leonhart if she does not end the attacks on individuals acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws and commit to making decisions related to medical marijuana based on science, not a personal anti-marijuana bias:

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)

Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)

Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)

Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)

Texas NORML Members & Future Members,

We had a recent question from an online subscriber that we find important to address. We want you to know that we are listening!

Regarding our social networking and online content (website):  We repost many local,
state, and national news from other news organizations. From our volunteer  run, non-profit point of view, it’s much more practical to use content that is already out there (has been reviewed, edited, and published by another legit legalization, medical or news organization) and focus the majority of our efforts on growing our reach and membership in order to involve more Texas voters in the legalization movement.

Membership & Dues: Membership dues are used, in part, to pay for advertising on KOOP, merchandise, administrative supplies (fax number, mail box, brochure printing, etc) and in the past the Texas Cannabis Crusade, which is a statewide rally at the capitol seeking to change marijuana laws. Also, membership dues and other money we raise have gone to pay for an Activist Training Camp during the last legislative session. All other benefit parties that we organize (6th Street Smokeout, Bob’s Birthday, etc.) are paid for by cover charges and merchandise sales and raise additional money for the organization to be used in future endeavors. These benefit parties also allow more of our community to hear about Texas NORML and be exposed to our events and information, via the cities renowned pastime, live music.

In the meantime, we are doing community outreach (going to festivals and shows around Austin and Texas), cross-promotions with other progressive organizations, doing interviews for college students and class presentations, advertising with KOOP, and generally making our organization as visible as possible to the public. All of which is done by an all-volunteer board and membership base.

Texas NORML is registered as a not for profit, educational organization, and getting our message out to the public is what we do. Letting people know about how to get laws changed in Texas (by contacting your Legislators about it) is something that we have always done (when laws are being debated) and always will and is the only way we will reach our goal to re-legalize in Texas.

Remember, 2011 is a legislative session year, here in Texas and we’ll be in touch with more action alerts, helpful tips, and ways to educate yourselves and others.

If you would like to become a member and volunteer your time to grow our education campaign and help us prepare for the 2011 legislative session, please contact your membership coordinator at leah@texasnorml.org

Thank you for supporting this cause and enabling us to promote cannabis law reform.

Contact us directly, anytime:

Executive Director: josh@texasnorml.org

Assistant Director: amy@texasnorml.org

Public Relations Director: jeremy@texasnorml.org

Treasurer: clayton@texasnorml.org

Secretary: cheyanne@texasnorml.org

Volunteer Coordinator: jax@texasnorml.org

Membership Director: leah@texasnorml.org

Veteran’s Liaison: chuck@texasnorml.org

Officer – Subchapter Liaison – michael@texasnorml.org

Officer – Subchapter Liaison – ryan@texasnorml.org

July 1st, 2010 By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

US News & World Report recently probed the subject of cannabis science, publishing a pair of stories on the subject here, http://health.usnews.com/health-news/managing-your-healthcare/cancer/articles/2010/06/30/medical-claims-for-marijuana–just-blowing-smoke.html?s_cid=related-links:TOP, and here, http://health.usnews.com/health-news/managing-your-healthcare/cancer/articles/2010/06/30/8-facts-you-might-not-know-about-medical-marijuana.html.

Neither story particularly breaks any new ground, though the author (who I spoke with extensively prior to the stories publication) does note that investigators are now assessing the use of cannabis for a wide range of disease conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and the so-called ’superbug’ MRSA (multi-drug resistant bacterial infections).

Quoted in the story is Columbia University researcher Margaret Haney. I’ve written about Haney’s clinical work with cannabis before. In particular, Haney was the lead author of a 2007 clinical trial concluding that inhaled cannabis increased daily caloric intake and body weight in HIV-positive patients in a manner that was far superior to the effects of oral THC (Marinol aka Dronabinol). The study further reported that subjects’ use of marijuana was well tolerated, and did not impair their cognitive performance.

Yet Haney’s comments in US News and World Report ring tepid at best.

“I am not anti-marijuana, I’m not pro-marijuana. I want to understand it.” Haney expresses frustration at what she considers wrongheaded efforts by states to legalize medical marijuana. There is too much, she says, that scientists do not know.

Haney’s refrain is a common one, and at first glance it appears to make sense. After all, who among us doesn’t want to better understand the interactions between the marijuana plant and the human body? Yet placed in proper context this sentiment appears to be little more than a red herring. Here’s why.

Marijuana is already the most studied plant on Earth, and is arguably one of the most investigated therapeutically active substances known to man. To date, there are now over 20,000 published studies or reviews in the scientific literature pertaining to marijuana and its active compounds. That total includes over 2,700 separate papers published on cannabis in 2009 and another 900 published just this year alone (according to a key word search on the search engine PubMed).

And what have we learned from these 20,000+ studies? Not surprisingly, quite a lot. For starters, we know that cannabis and its active constituents are uniquely safe and effective as therapeutic compounds. Unlike most prescription or over-the-counter medications, cannabinoids are virtually non-toxic to health, cells, or organs, and they are incapable of causing the user to experience a fatal overdose. Unlike opiates, cannabinoids do not depress the central nervous system, and as a result they possess a virtually unparalleled safety profile. In fact, a 2008 meta-analysis published in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association (CMAJ) reported that cannabis-based drugs were associated with virtually no serious adverse side effects in over 30 years of investigative use.

We also know that the cannabis plant contains in excess of 60 active compounds that likely possess distinctive therapeutic properties. These include THC, THCV, CBD, THCA, CBC, and CBG, among others. In fact, a recent review by Raphael Mechoulam and colleagues identifies nearly 30 separate therapeutic effects — including anti-cancer properties, anti-diabetic properties, neuroprotection, and anti-stroke properties — in cannabinoids other than THC. Most recently, a review by researchers in Germany reported that since 2005 there have been 37 controlled studies assessing the safety and efficacy of cannabinoids, involved a total of 2,563 subjects. By contrast, most FDA-approved drugs go through far fewer trials involving far fewer subjects.

Finally, we know that Western civilization has been using cannabis as a therapeutic agent or recreational intoxicant for thousands of years with relatively few adverse consequences — either to the individual user or to society. In fact, no less than the World Health Organization commissioned a team of experts to compare the health and societal consequences of marijuana use compared to other drugs, including alcohol, nicotine, and opiates. After quantifying the harms associated with both drugs, the researchers concluded: “Overall, most of these risks (associated with marijuana) are small to moderate in size. In aggregate they are unlikely to produce public health problems comparable in scale to those currently produced by alcohol and tobacco. On existing patterns of use, cannabis poses a much less serious public health problem than is currently posed by alcohol and tobacco in Western societies.”

That, in a nutshell, is what we ‘know’ about cannabis. I’d say that it’s ample enough information to, at the very least, cease the practice arresting people who possess it. As for what else Dr. Haney and others of a similar mindset would still like to know — and how many additional studies would it take to provide them with that information — well, that’s anybody’s guess.