Cannabis Study House - NORML Weekly News in Audio 2006.12.28

http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6650

Weekly News in Audio

December 28, 2006

December 28, 2006 - Washington, DC, USA
2006: The Year In Review -- NORML's Top 10 Events That Shaped Marijuana Policy

#1: Cannabis Smoking Not Linked To Lung Cancer, UAT Cancers, Largest Case-Controlled Study Says

Smoking cannabis, even long-term, is not positively associated with increased incidence of lung-cancer, according to the findings of the largest population-based case-control study ever conducted. "We did not observe a positive association of marijuana use -- even heavy long-term use -- with lung cancer, controlling for tobacco smoking and other potential cofounders," investigators concluded. Their data further revealed that moderate lifetime users had an inverse association between cannabis use and lung cancer. The five-year trial was sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Full text of the study appeared in the October issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

#2: Nearly Half Of Americans Say Pot Should Be Regulated Like Alcohol

Nearly one out of two Americans support amending federal law "to let states legally regulate and tax marijuana the way they do liquor and gambling," according to a national poll of 1,004 likely voters by Zogby International and commissioned by the NORML Foundation in March. Forty-six percent of respondents -- including a majority of those polled on the east (53 percent) and west (55 percent) coasts -- said they supported legalization. Nearly two-thirds of 18-29 year-olds (65 percent) and half of 50-64 year-olds think federal law should be amended to allow states the option to regulate marijuana.

#3: Marijuana Arrests For Year 2005 Most Ever

Police arrested an estimated 786,545 persons for marijuana violations in 2005, the highest annual total ever recorded in the United States, according to statistics compiled in September by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. An American is now arrested for violating marijuana laws every 40 seconds.

#4: Clinical Trial: Vaporization Is A "Safe And Effective" Cannabinoid Delivery System

Vaporization is a "safe and effective" cannabinoid delivery system for patients desiring the rapid onset of action associated with cannabis inhalation, but who are seeking to avoid the respiratory risks of smoking, according to clinical trial data published this spring in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Vaporization delivers the "pulmonal uptake of THC [in a manner] comparable to the smoking of cannabis, while avoiding the respiratory disadvantages of smoking," the study concluded.

#5: Cannabinoids Curb Brain Tumor Growth, First-Ever Patient Trial Shows

THC administration decreases recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) tumor growth in humans, according to the findings of the first-ever clinical trial assessing cannabinoids' anti-tumor action. Previous preclinical studies indicate that cannabinoids and endocannabinoids can stave off tumor progression and trigger cell death in other cancer cell lines, including breast carcinoma, prostate carcinoma, colectoral carcinoma, skin carcinoma, and pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

#6: Democrat Shift In Congress Bodes Well For Cannabis-Law Reform

Democrats takeover this November of the House and Senate is likely to pay dividends for marijuana-law reformers in '07 and '08. Commenting on the election results, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said, "It is our hope that with new Democratic leadership we will finally be able to move forward with legislation and hearings on both the physician-approved medical use of marijuana as well as the decriminalization of cannabis for responsible adults."

#7: Court Says State Medi-Pot Policies Not Trumped By Federal Law

California's decade-old medical marijuana law is legal because it does not "require" conduct that violates federal law, a state superior court judge ruled in December. The decision rejected a lawsuit filed by San Diego County supervisors, who had argued that the state's medical cannabis laws should be pre-empted by the federal Controlled Substances Act. The supervisors have announced that they intend to appeal the decision.

#8: Congress Scales Back Ban On Student Aid For Drug Offenders

Congress approved legislation in 2006 lifting the ban on federal aid to students who have a prior, non-violent drug conviction. Under the amended law, students with past drug convictions will now be eligible to apply for federal financial aid, although those students who are convicted of a nonviolent drug offense while in college will continue to be stripped of their federal aid eligibility. Since 1998, some 200,000 students have been denied financial aid under the law.

#9: Court Strikes Down Alaska Pot Recrim Law

A 2006 Alaska law seeking to redefine minor marijuana possession as a criminal offense punishable by jail time is unconstitutional, a state superior court judge ruled in July. The ruling struck down sections of the new law criminalizing the possession of one ounce or less of cannabis, but leaves in place measures prohibiting the possession of greater amounts.

#10: New Report Finds Cannabis Can Halt Disease Progression

Recently published clinical and preclinical research on the therapeutic use of cannabis indicates that cannabinoids may curb the progression of various serious and life-threatening diseases -- particularly autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, as well as neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- according to a comprehensive new report published in September by the NORML Foundation. The report summarizes over 140 recently published trials assessing the therapeutic utility of cannabinoids for the treatment of more than a dozen diseases, including diabetes, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, and Tourette's syndrome.

▲