Cannabis Study House - NORML Weekly News in Audio 2007.4.26

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

Weekly News in Audio

April 26, 2007

Join NORML, Tommy Chong, And The Nation's Top Pot Law Attorneys At The 2nd Annual NORML Aspen Legal Seminar

NORML Responds To White House's 'Potent Pot' Scare Campaign

Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist Significantly Reduces Post-Operative Pain, Study Says

Washington, DC:
Join NORML, Tommy Chong, And The Nation's Top Pot Law Attorneys At The 2nd Annual NORML Aspen Legal Seminar

Criminal defense attorneys, members of NORML's Legal Committee, marijuana-law reform advocates, and members of the general public are all invited to join NORML in Aspen, Colorado this June for the 2007 Aspen Legal Seminar.

This two-day conference will take place Friday evening, June 8 through Sunday, June 10 at the Gant Hotel in downtown Aspen, one of the nation's most marijuana-friendly cities.

Featured speakers at this year's event include NORML Advisory Board Member Tommy Chong and famed San Francisco attorney J. Tony Serra.

Chong, best known for his work as one-half of the comedy duo "Cheech and Chong," was the victim of a selective federal prosecution in 2003 when authorities sentenced him to nine months in prison for selling marijuana-related paraphernalia over the Internet.

Serra, whose legendary clients have included members of the Black Panther Party, the Hells Angels, and the Symbionese Liberation Army, also recently served 10 months in federal prison for failing to pay federal taxes --- an act he defined as one of civil disobedience. This will be one of the first times he has spoken publicly about his experience.

Other speakers at this year's conference include Gerald Goldstein, past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys (NACDL) and legal counsel for the late-Hunter S. Thompson; former Seattle Police Chief and current NORML Advisory Board Member Norm Stamper; Aspen Sheriff Bob Braudis; Denver attorney Harold Haddon, whose clients have included pro basketball star Kobe Bryant, Jon and Patsy Ramsey, and the late-Hunter Thompson; and Jeralyn Merritt, television legal analyst for MSNBC and host of the popular website TalkLeft.com. A complete speakers' list and conference agenda is available online at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6823.

After-hours festivities at this year's event include a Friday night opening reception, a special Saturday night benefit dinner (hosted by Chris and Gerry Goldstein and catered by Aspen chef Chris Lanter of Cache Cache), and a Sunday afternoon cookout at the fabled Owl Farm, Hunter Thompson's legendary Woody Creek home.

Non-lawyers and members of the general public will be able to attend NORML's 2007 Aspen Legal Seminar and social events for a reduced price of $150. Don't miss this unique opportunity to listen to and mingle with national legal experts on issues of marijuana law reform, as well as members of NORML's staff and Board of Directors.

Washington, DC:
NORML Responds To White House's 'Potent Pot' Scare Campaign

Data published this week by the University of Mississippi's Marijuana Potency Monitoring Project indicating an increase in the strength of cannabis' primary psychoactive ingredient THC is further evidence of the failure of criminal pot prohibition, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said today.

"The federal government spends billions of dollars each year enforcing criminal marijuana laws and what does it have to show for it: more marijuana users, greater marijuana availability, and stronger pot," he said.

St. Pierre added, however, that more potent marijuana is not necessarily more dangerous. "Marijuana poses no risk of fatal overdose, regardless of THC content," he said. "In addition, studies indicate that cannabis consumers readily distinguish between high and low potency marijuana and moderate their use accordingly, just as an alcohol consumer would drink fewer ounces of (high potency) bourbon than they would ounces of (low potency) beer."

St. Pierre also denied claims that the availability of stronger cannabis was responsible for the rise in so-called "marijuana treatment" admissions. "The overwhelming majority of young people in the US referred to 'treatment' for marijuana are there because they violated state pot laws, not because they or their loved ones believed they were suffering ill effects from cannabis," he said. "In reality, this surge in treatment admissions is an outgrowth of enhanced marijuana law enforcement, not enhanced marijuana potency."

London, United Kingdom:
Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist Significantly Reduces Post-Operative Pain, Study Says

The intravenous administration of low doses of the cannabinoid receptor agonist cannabinor significantly reduces post-operative pain compared to placebo, according to clinical trial data released this week by the Israeli biotechnology company Pharmos Pharmaceuticals.

Investigators at London's University College Analgesia Centre assessed the efficacy of single doses of the selective CB2 receptor agonist cannabinor on nociceptive pain (nerve pain due to tissue damage) in 100 volunteers participating in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Researchers reported that the intravenous administration of a 12-milligram dose of cannabinor produced a statistically significant decrease in patients' overall pain versus placebo. However, larger doses of the drug did not result in pain relief, investigators noted.

Patients in the trial reported no adverse side effects from the drug. Investigators said that the findings are sufficient to warrant additional clinical trials on the use of cannabinor to treat various chronic and/or neuropathic pain conditions.

A previous trial found that the intravenous administration of cannabinor reduced both pressure-induced and heat-induced pain in the skin of healthy volunteers.

Separate clinical trial data published last year in the journal Anesthesiology reported that low doses of cannabis plant extracts significantly relieved post-operative pain in patients who had undergone knee replacement surgery.

Most recently, the February 2007 edition of the journal Neurology reported that inhaled cannabis significantly reduces HIV-associated neuropathy, a painful nerve condition that often goes untreated with standard pain medications.

▲