Cannabis Study House - NORML Weekly News in Audio 2007.7.19

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Weekly News in Audio

July 19, 2007

Willie Nelson To Headline August 10, 2007 NORML Benefit Concert -- Join NORML at the Austin Freedom Fest in Texas to help end marijuana prohibition

Oral Pill Arrests Marijuana ‘High,’ Study Says

Landlords of Los Angeles Medi-Pot Dispensaries Threatened With Forfeiture, 20 Years in Prison

Washington, DC:
Willie Nelson To Headline August 10, 2007 NORML Benefit Concert -- Join NORML at the Austin Freedom Fest in Texas to help end marijuana prohibition

Country music legend and NORML Advisory Board Co-Chair Willie Nelson will be headlining the 2007 Austin Freedom Fest 窶� a benefit concert to help end marijuana prohibition in America.

Tickets for this special event 窶� which takes place on Friday, August 10, at The Backyard Amphitheater in Austin, Texas 窶� are available for purchase online at: www.gettix.net.

Also performing at the Freedom Fest will be veteran country music artists Asleep at the Wheel, blues guitarist Carolyn Wonderland, and comedian Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling.

The event will be hosted by NFL pro-bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion (with the Dallas Cowboys) Mark Stepnoski. Mr. Stepnoski also serves on NORML’s Advisory Board.

Additional members of NORML’s staff and board of directors 窶� including Advisory Board member Valerie Corral-Leveroni 窶� co-founder of the Wo/mens Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Santa Cruz, California 窶� will also be in attendance.

"Willie Nelson has been the most prominent proponent for legalizing marijuana in America for several decades, and he has never wavered from his commitment," said NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre. "The 2007 Austin Freedom Fest is a wonderful opportunity for NORML supporters to gather for a celebration in a unique, and to demonstrate their support for ending America’s laws criminalizing cannabis."

The Backyard Amphitheater has been called the "Best Open Air Venue" by The Austin Chronicle, and the "Best Place to Hear Live Music" by Citysearch.com.

Proceeds from the benefit will be used to assist the educational and legislative reform activities of NORML and the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). One-third of the night’s proceeds will also be used to support WAMM’s hospice and support services.

Baltimore, MD:
Oral Pill Arrests Marijuana ‘High,’ Study Says

Daily administration of the oral cannabinoid receptor antagonist Rimonabant (also known as Acomplia) significantly decreases subjective effects of smoked cannabis, according to clinical trial data to be published in the journal Psychopharmacology.

Investigators with the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) reported that the administration of 40-mg oral doses of Rimonabant once daily for eight days reduced subjective measures of intoxication after cannabis inhalation, as measured by subjects’ responses to the questions: "How high do you feel right now?" and "How stoned on marijuana are you now?"

By contrast, daily administration of the drug for 15 days was not associated with an attenuation of cannabis’ subjective effects, researchers found.

Nevertheless, authors speculated that the drug may have "therapeutic potential for a wide range of addictions, including cannabis dependence … via modulation of the endocannabinoid system."

Rimonabant blocks the binding of endogenous and exogenous cannabinoids to the neuronal CB1 receptors. The pill, marketed in Europe by pharmaceutical manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis as a prescription dietary aid, was recently determined by an independent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel to be unsafe for human consumption.

Panelists for the FDA reported that patients prescribed 20-mg daily doses of Rimonabant in clinical trials experienced increased incidences of depression, nausea, vomiting, and suicidal tendencies. Adverse neurological symptoms, including multiple sclerosis, have also been documented in subjects administered the drug.

Los Angeles, CA:
Landlords of Los Angeles Medi-Pot Dispensaries Threatened With Forfeiture, 20 Years in Prison

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has sent letters to the landlords of several medical cannabis facilities in Los Angeles warning owners that they risk arrest and the loss of their property if they continue renting to cannabis dispensaries.

A spokeswoman for the DEA told the Los Angeles Times that the letters were intended to "educate" property owners that they could face federal prosecution for housing medical marijuana dispensaries. It is estimated that approximately 180 dispensaries are operating in the Los Angeles area.

"This letter shall serve as notice that, after a thorough investigation, the DEA has determined there is a marijuana dispensary operating on the above described property," the letter states. "Federal law allows for the seizure of assets, including real property, which have been used in conjunction with the distribution of controlled substances. … It is not a defense to this crime or to the seizure of the property that the facility operating on the property is providing ‘medical marijuana’ under California law including the provisions of California Prop. 215. Violation of this law is a felony crime, and carries with it a penalty of up to 20 years in prison."

California NORML Coordinator Dale Gieringer called the DEA’s threat a "a serious attack on patients' access to medical marijuana under California law," and noted that the letters were mailed just days before the federal House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on an amendment limiting the US Justice Department’s ability to federally prosecute patients and caregivers who are compliant with state medical marijuana laws.

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