Cannabis Study House - NORML Weekly News in Audio 2008.5.29

Weekly News in Audio

May 29, 2008

"Radical" Russ Belville
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Pot Potency Claims Unfounded, Study Says "Claims ... about a 20- or 30-fold increase in cannabis potency and about adverse mental health effectsare not supported by the evidence"

Idaho: City Voters Once Again Approve Pot Liberalization Measures

Last Chance To Register For The 3rd Annual NORML Aspen Legal Seminar

Sydney, Australia:
Pot Potency Claims Unfounded, Study Says "Claims ... about a 20- or 30-fold increase in cannabis potency and about adverse mental health effectsare not supported by the evidence"

Allegations of a dramatic increase in worldwide marijuana potency are not supported by available evidence, according to a literature review to be published in the journal Addiction.

Investigators at the University of New South Wales, National Drug and Alcohol Research Center, conducted a meta-analysis of worldwide trends in cannabis potency. Researchers reviewed nine international studies, which analyzed the potency of more than 100,000 marijuana seizures over a period of three decades.

"Increased potency has been observed in some countries, but there is enormous variation between samples, meaning that cannabis users may be exposed to greater variation in a single year than over years or decades," authors concluded. "Claims made in the public domain about a 20- or 30-fold increase in cannabis potency and about the adverse mental health effects of cannabis contamination are not supported currently by the evidence."

The study criticizes a 2006 United Nations" report that claimed, "[T]oday, the characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs such as cocaine and heroin."

A previous study of European marijuana potency trends published by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction reported: "There is no evidence of a significant increase in potency. ... [The] effective potency of cannabis in nearly all EU countries has remained quite stable for many years, at around 6-8 percent THC."

Earlier this month, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Parliament to recriminalize pot possession, alleging that the potency of cannabis had increased to "lethal" levels.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500, or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org.
Full text of the study, "Cannabis potency and contamination: a review of the literature," will appear in Addiction.

Hailey, ID
Idaho: City Voters Once Again Approve Pot Liberalization Measures

For the second time in seven months, Hailey voters approved a trio of municipal ballot measures liberalizing local marijuana law enforcement policies.

On Tuesday, voters endorsed language legalizing the use of medical cannabis and hemp, and calling on local police to make marijuana law enforcement its lowest priority.

Voters had previously approved all three ballot measures in November, but city council members sued in January to have the measures declared illegal.

The council"s lawsuit remains pending.

"In the coming weeks and months, we will learn whether the long-held democratic notion of a government "by the people for the people" applies in Idaho or whether lawmakers are willing to cast democracy aside in order to bow at the altar of pot prohibition," NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500.

Washington, DC:
Last Chance To Register For The 3rd Annual NORML Aspen Legal Seminar

NORML is still accepting registrations from criminal defense attorneys and the general public for its third annual Aspen Legal Seminar. This year"s event takes place on Friday, June 6 and Saturday, June 7 at the Gant Hotel in downtown Aspen - one of the nation's most marijuana-friendly cities.

Speakers at this year"s event include John Wesley Hall, president elect of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Jeralyn Merritt, television legal analyst for MSNBC and host of the popular website TalkLeft.com; Gerald Goldstein, past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and legal counsel for the late-Hunter S. Thompson; NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano; and Paul Wright, editor and co-founder of Prison Legal News, the longest publishing independent prisoner rights magazine in US history.

Social events at this year's conference include an opening night reception, a benefit dinner catered by Aspen chef Chris Lanter of Cache Cache, and an afternoon cookout at the fabled Owl Farm, the legendary Woody Creek home of the late Hunter S. Thompson.

"NORML is proud to make this once-a-year legal seminar open to lawyers and the public," said NORML founder and Legal Director Keith Stroup. "Don"t miss this rare opportunity to join NORML"s staff and some of the nation"s top pot lawyers and activists in this "highly" unique and intimate setting."

Conference agenda and registration information (members of the general public may sign up at a reduced rate) for the 2008 Aspen Legal Seminar is now available online at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6823.

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