Cannabis Study House - NORML Weekly News in Audio 2007.12.13

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Weekly News in Audio

December 13, 2007

House Judiciary Leader Criticizes DEA’s Attacks On Medi-Pot Dispensaries

Passage Of Medical Marijuana Laws, ‘Deprioritization’ Measures, Coincides With “Significant, Long-Term Reductions” In Teen Pot Use

Migraine May Be Related To Underproduction Of Cannabinoids, Study Says

Washington, DC:
House Judiciary Leader Criticizes DEA’s Attacks On Medi-Pot Dispensaries

Efforts by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) urging landlords in California to evict tenants who legally dispense medical cannabis to state-authorized patients has drawn public criticism from US Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

In a statement issued Friday by the 21-term Congressman, Conyers said: "I am deeply concerned about recent reports that the Drug Enforcement Administration is threatening private landlords with asset forfeiture and possible imprisonment if they refuse to evict organizations legally dispensing medical marijuana to suffering patients. The Committee has already questioned the DEA about its efforts to undermine California state law on this subject, and we intend to sharply question this specific tactic as part of our oversight efforts."

In July, DEA administrators mailed letters to dozens of landlords in Los Angeles warning owners that they risk arrest, up to 20 years in prison, and the loss of their property if they continue renting to cannabis dispensaries. Since that time, similar letters have been sent to the landlords of other medicinal cannabis providers throughout the state, including several in San Francisco, leading to the closure of various high-profile dispensaries.

Last week the Arts District Healing Center, a Los Angeles-based medical cannabis provider, filed a federal lawsuit in US District Court claiming that the DEA extorted its landlord by sending a letter threatening imprisonment and property seizure.

House oversight hearings regarding the DEA’s actions are anticipated to take place early next year.

Washington, DC:
Passage Of Medical Marijuana Laws, ‘Deprioritization’ Measures, Coincides With “Significant, Long-Term Reductions” In Teen Pot Use

Self-reported rates of adolescent marijuana use are declining at the same time that numerous states and municipalities are removing criminal penalties on the use of pot by patients and minor offenders, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said today in response to a White House report touting a 25 percent reduction in teen cannabis use from 2001 to 2007.

"The sharp decline in adolescent marijuana use cited by the White House actually began in 1997 窶� one year after voters in California enacted legislation approving the legal use of cannabis by authorized patients 窶� and this downward trend has continued since that time," St. Pierre said. "During this same period, twelve states 窶� that’s more than one-fifth of the US population 窶� have enacted laws allowing for the authorized possession and cultivation of medical marijuana. In addition, numerous large municipalities 窶� such as Denver, Colorado and Seattle, Washington 窶� have enacted laws making the investigation and prosecution of minor marijuana offenders the cities’ ‘lowest law enforcement priority.’

"In every case, these measures were opposed by law enforcement and the Drug Czar’s office on the premise that they would greatly increase teen marijuana use. However, as this week’s White House briefing shows, these legal changes have coincided with a ‘significant, long-term reduction’ in adolescent pot use."

St. Pierre concluded: "It is evident that the Drug Czar’s fears were unfounded then and they are unfounded now. The continued opposition by the White House and law enforcement personnel to the enactment of these compassionate and common sense legal reforms has nothing to do with protecting public safety or addressing teen drug use. These groups’ zealous opposition to marijuana law reform is more closely tied to their addiction to bloated budgets and maintaining control over the general public through the coercive tactics associated with criminal prohibition."

Perugia, Italy:
Migraine May Be Related To Underproduction Of Cannabinoids, Study Says

Patients with a history of migraine headaches may be suffering from a clinical deficiency of the endocannabinoid system, according to clinical trial data published in the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

Investigators at Italy’s University of Perugia, Department of Public Health, reported that patients with chronic migraines possessed "significantly lower" levels of the endogenous cannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG) in their platelets compared to age-matched controls.

"These data support the potential involvement of a dysfunctioning of the endocannabinoid and serotonergic systems in the pathology of chronic migraine and medication-overuse headaches," researchers’ concluded.

A previous paper published in the journal Neuroendocrinology Letters similarly suggested that migraine, fibromyalgia, and other treatment-resistant conditions may be associated with dysfunctions in the endocannabinoid system. This system is believed to play a primary role in regulating humans' mood, appetite, skeletal development, motor coordination, digestion, and reproduction.

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