Cannabis Study House - NORML Weekly News in Audio 2007.5.31

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

Weekly News in Audio

May 31, 2007

NORML’s Daily Audio Stash Celebrates One-Year Anniversary - Web’s Most Pot-Friendly Podcast Serves Over 2.2 Million Downloads In First Year

Cannabinoids Enhance Analgesic Activity Of Opiates In Inflammatory Pain, Study Says

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

Washington, DC:
NORML’s Daily Audio Stash Celebrates One-Year Anniversary - Web’s Most Pot-Friendly Podcast Serves Over 2.2 Million Downloads In First Year

Audiences have downloaded episodes of NORML’s podcast, the Daily Audio Stash, more than 2.2 million times since the program’s premiere one-year ago, making it the most popular ‘pot-centric’ podcast available on the Web and ranking it as one of the Internet’s most listened to audio programs.

Since its initial broadcast on Monday, June 5, 2006, NORML’s Daily Audio Stash has consistently ranked among the top 15 ‘most subscribed’ podcasts in the ‘government and organizations’ category of Apple Computer’s iTunes Music Store. The show typically receives more downloads than podcasts produced by the White House and the Pentagon, as well as by federal politicians such as US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"The success of NORML’s Daily Audio Stash has greatly exceeded expectations and its popularity has grown significantly in recent months," said NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre 窶� who noted that more than 250,000 listeners downloaded the Audio Stash in April, and that the program’s one-hour April 20th broadcast has been downloaded more than 20,000 times.

"The popularity of NORML's Audio Stash shows that there are millions of Americans who desire fact-based, educational information about marijuana and marijuana law reform, and that this population is increasingly turning to NORML and away from the federal government and the mass media in order to obtain it."

Each edition of the Audio Stash features news, commentary, and exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names in politics, music, and cannabis culture.

Recent guests on the Audio Stash include US Congressman and Presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX), noted poet and political activist John Sinclair, recording artists Fishbone and the Kottonmouth Kings, PBS travel-host and author Rick Steves, comedians Tommy Chong and Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing), political columnist and commentator Clarence Page, and pot cultivation expert Ed Rosenthal.

More than 250 original 30-minute episodes of the NORML Daily Audio Stash are now available for download at: http://www.normlaudiostash.com.

"The popularity of NORML's podcast is proof positive that millions of Americans are interested in reforming this country's failed policy of marijuana prohibition," said Audio Stash producer Chris Goldstein. "In addition, the Daily Audio Stash provides a forum for politicians, celebrities, physicians, scientists, and citizen activists to participate in uninhibited conversations about marijuana and legal reform."

NORML’s Daily Audio Stash will celebrate its one-year anniversary next Tuesday with a special 58-minute ‘best of’ episode featuring exclusive interviews, commentary, and comedy from the past year.

Richmond, VA:
Cannabinoids Enhance Analgesic Activity Of Opiates In Inflammatory Pain, Study Says

THC, when administered in combination with morphine, acts synergistically to reduce symptoms of chronic pain, according to preclinical data to be published in the European Journal of Pharmacology.

Investigators at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Pharmacology assessed the antinociceptive interaction between cannabinoids and morphine in an animal model of arthritis. The administration of THC enhanced morphine’s anti-inflammatory activity on chronic pain, researchers concluded.

Preclinical data published last year in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia reported that the co-administration of cannabinoids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSIADS) also act synergistically to alleviate pain and reduce inflammation.

Clinical trial data published in 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.

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

This is your final opportunity to register to join the country’s top pot law attorneys, members of NORML’s staff and Board, as well as various select guests, at the 2nd Annual Aspen Legal Seminar. The conference will take place on Friday, 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.

Other speakers include Gerald Goldstein, past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and legal counsel for the late-Hunter S. Thompson; 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=6836

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), a silent auction, and a Sunday afternoon cookout at the fabled Owl Farm, Hunter Thompson's legendary Woody Creek home.

"Hunter's love of fine hashish was no secret and neither was his love for fine lawyers," said his widow Anita Thompson, who is hosting Sunday’s party. "This unique gathering will be a celebration, in true gonzo style, for those who work on the front lines of the criminal justice system that Hunter understood so well."

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