Cannabis Study House - NORML Weekly News in Audio 2006.11.30

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Weekly News in Audio

November 30, 2006

Patients With Out-Of-State Medi-Pot Docs Not Protected Under State's Marijuana Law, Washington Supreme Court Rules

Moderate Pot Use Positively Effects Treatment Outcomes For Cocaine Dependent Patients, Study Says

US Criminal Justice Population Tops 7 Million

Olympia, WA:
Patients With Out-Of-State Medi-Pot Docs Not Protected Under State's Marijuana Law, Washington Supreme Court Rules

Washington's Supreme Court ruled 6-3 last week that patients who possess a recommendation to use medical cannabis from an out-of-state doctor may not be afforded legal protections under the state's eight-year-old medical marijuana law.

The decision upheld a lower court ruling convicting defendant Sharon Tracy on marijuana possession and manufacturing charges. Tracy was arrested in 2003 after police seized her California doctor's recommendation, four marijuana plants, and an ounce of marijuana from her home. Tracy had previously lived in California to take care of her terminally ill mother before returning to Washington in 2003.

Writing for the majority, Justice Tom Chambers opined, "[Although] Tracy may have been exactly the kind of patient the voters of this state had in mind when they enacted the medical marijuana initiative, I-692, in 1999, ... only qualifying patients are entitled to use the defense." The Court determined that 'qualifying patients' are defined under the law as only those patients who have been authorized to use medical cannabis by an in-state physician.

"The initiative could have, but did not, define a qualifying doctor as one with a valid license from any state," Chambers wrote.

In his dissent, Justice James Johnson argued that Washington voters clearly intended for citizens like Tracy to be protected under state law. "Initiatives susceptible to reasonable alternative interpretations, such as I-692, are to be construed in order to effectuate the intent of the electorate," he wrote. "The majority offers no persuasive rational for holding that the people of Washington understood, let alone intended, that an otherwise qualified patient would be excluded from protection by I-692 simply because the patient's treating physician was licensed in [a state other] than Washington."

Tracy may be sentenced to up to 90 days in jail for violating the state's marijuana laws.

New York, NY:
Moderate Pot Use Positively Effects Treatment Outcomes For Cocaine Dependent Patients, Study Says

Cocaine dependent patients are more likely to complete drug treatment if they use cannabis intermittently, according to clinical trial data to be published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Investigators at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University assessed the effects of marijuana smoking on treatment retention in a clinical trial of 90 subjects enrolled in a 14-week outpatient program for cocaine dependence and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Researchers reported that those volunteers who used moderate amounts of cannabis during treatment were more likely to complete the program than were abstainers and/or subjects who used pot chronically.

"At week 14, retention rates were 24 percent among abstainers, 57 percent among intermittent/moderate users, and 39 percent among heavy/consistent users," investigators found. They noted that similar results also have been reported among subjects seeking treatment for opiate dependence.

Cannabis use also was associated with higher rates of abstinence among cocaine users. Among those subjects in the study who reported using pot intermittently, 39 percent achieved two or more weeks of abstinence from cocaine, compared to only 26 percent of subjects who reported not using cannabis during treatment.

The study is the first to assess the use of cannabis on treatment outcomes in patients diagnosed with cocaine dependence, investigators said.

Washington, DC:
US Criminal Justice Population Tops 7 Million

A record 7 million citizens approximately one out of every 32 American adults is either incarcerated, on probation, or on parole, according to statistics released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) this week.

The DOJ Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that 2.2 million Americans are behind bars and more than 4.1 million Americans are on probation. Nearly 800,000 citizens are on parole.

The report states that the incarceration of drug offenders is primarily responsible for the record growth of America's prison population, noting that from 1995 to 2003, federal drug inmates accounted for almost 50 percent of the total federal prison population growth. Drug offenders also represent the largest source of jail population growth, up nearly 40 percent since 1996.

Among state prisoners, approximately 21 percent are behind bars for drug violations.

In October, the BJS released data indicating that nearly one in eight drug prisoners in America are behind bars for marijuana-related offenses.

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