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Weekly News in Audio
March 23, 2006
Chris Goldstein
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Lawsuit Challenges Financial Aid Ban For Student Drug Offenders
Cannabis Spray Reduces Spasticity In MS Patients Unresponsive To Other Treatments
California: State Officials Ask Court To Reject Prop. 215 Challenge
Washington, DC:
Lawsuit Challenges Financial Aid Ban For Student Drug Offenders
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Drug Law Reform Project,
along with Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), has filed a
federal class action suit against the US Department of Education
challenging the constitutionality of a Congressional ban on financial
aid for students convicted of a minor drug crime while attending
college.
The Congressional ban, known as the "Aid Elimination
Provision" of the Higher Education Act, has denied federal financial
aid to an estimated 200,000 students since its enactment in 1998.
Though Congress amended the law earlier this year so that students with
past drug convictions may now apply for federal financial aid, students
who are convicted of a nonviolent drug offense, including minor
marijuana possession, while in college continue to lose their federal
aid eligibility under the law.
The lawsuit contends that the
federal ban is unconstitutional because it amounts to double jeopardy,
further penalizing students who have already been criminally sanctioned
by the courts. The suit also argues that the law violates students'
right to due process, and disproportionately impacts minorities.
"This
lawsuit seeks to ensure that no student will ever again have to worry
about losing their financial aid, and with it, their access to higher
education, because of a minor drug conviction," SSDP Executive Director
Kris Krane said. He added that SSDP and the ACLU are actively seeking
additional plaintiffs to join in the class-action lawsuit.
London, United Kingdom:
Cannabis Spray Reduces Spasticity In MS Patients Unresponsive To Other Treatments
The administration of Sativex, an oral spray consisting of natural
cannabis extracts, significantly improves spasticity in Multiple
Sclerosis (MS) patients who have failed to respond to currently
available anti-spasticity treatments, according to the preliminary
results of clinical trial data announced last week by the British
technology firm GW Pharmaceuticals.
Three hundred and thirty five patients with MS-associated spasticity participated in the 14-week
randomized, placebo-controlled trial. "Analysis of the per protocol
population (those patients that complied with the study protocol)
showed positive and statistically significant improvement ... in
spasticity as measured on a 1-10 numeric rating scale," the company
stated in a press release. "All patients entering the study were taking
the best available anti-spasticity medication and remained on such
medication through the trial. ... [I]mprovements seen in the trial were
obtained over and above currently available treatment."
Patients
in the trial who did not comply with the study's protocol also gained
relief from Sativex, though not to a degree that reached statistical
significance. Investigators attributed this result to a larger than
expected placebo-response, thus reducing the size of the difference
between the experimental and control groups.
The company also
announced that a separate analysis of the three clinical trials now
completed on Sativex and MS-associated spasticity, incorporating a
total of 652 patients, shows the spray to be significantly superior to
placebo.
Earlier this year, United States regulatory officials
authorized the first-ever clinical trial in the US investigating the
efficacy of Sativex for the treatment of cancer pain. Sativex is
currently available by prescription in Canada and on a limited basis in
Spain and Great Britain for patients suffering from neuropathic pain,
Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and other conditions.
Two additional
Phase III clinical trials investigating the use of Sativex on
peripheral neuropathic pain are scheduled to be completed later this
year.
Sacramento, CA:
California: State Officials Ask Court To Reject Prop. 215 Challenge
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer is requesting the state Superior Court to
throw out a lawsuit filed earlier this year by San Diego County
supervisors alleging that California's ten-year-old medical cannabis
law should be pre-empted by the federal Controlled Substances Act. San
Diego supervisors filed suit rather than comply with a 2004 state law
mandating the county to issue identification cards to authorized
medical marijuana patients.
In motions filed this week in Superior Court, state officials argue that
San Diego County supervisors "dislike" California's medical cannabis
law, but have no legal standing to challenge it. "Because the courts
can only hear cases that involve factual disputes between opposing
parties, and because there is no actual dispute here, such a request
for an advisory opinion requires dismissal of the charges," he said.
The court is expected to rule on the state's motion in May.
According to a recent telephone poll of San Diego County voters, 78 percent of
respondents said that they opposed the supervisors' lawsuit.
Sixty-seven percent said that they support the state's medical cannabis
law.
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