Cannabis Study House - NORML Weekly News in Audio 2007.9.13

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Weekly News in Audio

September 13, 2007

Pot Compound Protective Against ‘Mad Cow’ Disease, Other Fatal Brain Disorders, Study Says

California: Hemp Cultivation Bill Sent To Governor

Tens Of Thousands Expected To Attend Boston ‘Freedom Rally’ This Saturday

Valbonne, France:
Pot Compound Protective Against ‘Mad Cow’ Disease, Other Fatal Brain Disorders, Study Says

The administration of the nonpsychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) inhibits prion accumulation in the brain and protects neurons against prion toxicity, according to preclinical data published in the September 5th edition of the Journal of Neuroscience.

Prion accumulation (the accumulation of abnormal, protein-based infectious particles in the brain) is the cause of various transmissible, fatal neurodegenerative diseases in both humans and animals 窶� including bovine spongiform encephalopathy (commonly known as ‘Mad Cow’ disease) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. No therapeutic treatments for prion-diseases are currently available.

Investigators at the National Center for Scientific Research in France reported that the administration of CBD "limited the cerebral accumulation of protease-resistant prion protein and significantly increased the survival time" in a dose-dependent manner in animals infected with a strain of prion disease.

"Our results suggest that CBD may protect neurons against the multiple molecular and cellular factors involved in the different steps of the neurodegenerative process, which takes place during prion infection," authors concluded. "When combined with its ability to target the brain and its lack of toxic side effects, CBD may represent a promising new anti-prion drug."

Previous preclinical studies of CBD have shown the compound to inhibit malignant cancer cell growth and protect neurons against alcohol-induced brain damage.

Other studies have demonstrated that cannabinoids can delay disease progression in animal models of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

Sacramento, CA:
California: Hemp Cultivation Bill Sent To Governor

California legislators approved bi-partisan legislation this week defining industrial hemp as an "agricultural field crop" and establishing regulations governing its cultivation by state-authorized farmers. Assembly Bill 684 窶� known as the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007 窶� now awaits action from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R).

Under the measure, the legislature would institute a pilot program permitting farmers to cultivate hemp in four California counties: Imperial, Kings, Mendocino, and Yolo. The proposal defines hemp as varieties of cannabis containing less than 0.3 percent THC (the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana). Farmers would be required by law to submit random samples of their plants to an authorized laboratory to assure that their crop does not contain greater THC potencies.

Industrial hemp is currently grown commercially in Canada and in the European Union for its fiber content. According to a 2005 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, the United States is the only developed nation that fails to cultivate the plant as an economic crop.

Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill last year, citing concerns that the measure could negatively impact law enforcement efforts prohibiting the recreational use of marijuana.

A statewide telephone poll performed earlier this year by Zogby International found that 71 percent of Californians supported allowing authorized farmers legal access to cultivate the crop.

Boston, MA:
Tens Of Thousands Expected To Attend Boston ‘Freedom Rally’ This Saturday

Event organizers expect nearly 50,000 attendees for Saturday’s 18th annual ‘Boston Freedom Rally,’ taking place at the Parkman Bandstand on the Boston Common at ‘high noon.’ Sponsored by the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition/NORML (MassCann/NORML), the event is the largest marijuana law reform gathering on the east coast.

NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre and NORML founder Keith Stroup will speak at the event. Representatives from High Times Magazine, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and the Drug Policy Alliance will also appear.

Musical artists Darkbuster, Three Day Threshold, and several others will be performing. A complete list of featured speakers and entertainers is available online at: http://www.masscann.org/rally08details01.shtml

MassCann/NORML will also be hosting a pre-party fundraiser on Friday evening at Boston’s Bullfinch Yacht Club (on Friend Street next to North Station).

Since 2000, the organization has successfully sponsored non-binding voter initiatives in support of scaling back marijuana law enforcement in 127 Massachusetts communities.

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