Cannabis Study House - NORML Weekly News in Audio 2008.7.24

Weekly News in Audio

July 24, 2008

"Radical" Russ Belville
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Pot Compound Enhances Efficacy Of Anti-Cancer Agents, Study Says

California: Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act Qualifies For November Ballot

New Orleans: District Attorney Charging Minor Pot Offenders With Felonies

London, United Kingdom:
Pot Compound Enhances Efficacy Of Anti-Cancer Agents, Study Says

The administration of THC in combination with conventional anti-leukemia therapies enhances the effectiveness of anti-cancer agents in vitro (e.g., in a test tube or petri dish), according to preclinical data to be published in the journal Leukemia & Lymphoma.

Investigators at St George's University and St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London reported that THC acts synergistically with other cytotoxic agents (toxic agents that effect specific cells) to target and kill luekemic cells. "Overall, these results demonstrate for the first time that a combination approach with THC and established cytotoxic agents may enhance cell death," authors concluded.

Investigators had previously reported that THC was a "potent inducer of apoptosis" (cell suicide) in leukemic cell lines.

Earlier this year, the journal Cancer Research reported that the administration of cannabinoids halts the spread of a wide range of cancers, including prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and brain cancer.

Commenting on the study, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said that the findings might indicate a future role for cannabinoids as an adjunct to standard anti-cancer treatments like chemotherapy.

The study's authors estimated that anti-cancer drug derived from cannabinoids could become available within "two to three years."

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director.
Full text of the study, "Enhancing the in vitro cytotoxic activity of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in leukemic cells through a combinatorial approach," will appear in Leukemia & Lymphoma.

Sacramento, CA:
California: Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act Qualifies For November Ballot

State election officials have approved a measure for the November 2008 ballot that mandates probation for non-violent drug offenders and reduces pot possession penalties.

Sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance, Proposition 5 (aka the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act), would expand the diversion of non-violent offenders to drug treatment and increase funding for state-sponsored rehabilitation programs.

The proposal would also reduce minor marijuana possession penalties from a misdemeanor (punishable by a $100 criminal fine with a criminal record) to a non-criminal infraction (punishable by a $100 civil fine with no criminal record).

According to the NORA campaign website, "Because NORA would sharply limit the incarceration of nonviolent offenders, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office projects that the measure would save California $1 billion or more each year in prison and parole costs. … [T]he state would see additional net savings of $2.5 billion over several years as prison-construction costs would be reduced by NORA's reforms."

The California Democratic Party, the California Society of Addiction Medicine, the California League of Women Voters, and the California Academy of Family Physicians have each endorsed Proposition 5.

The DPA championed a similar, but less expansive statewide initiative (Proposition 36) in 2000, which passed with 61 percent of the vote.

For more information, please visit: http://noracampaign.blogspot.com.

New Orleans, LA:
New Orleans: District Attorney Charging Minor Pot Offenders With Felonies

Hundreds of low-level pot possession offenders are facing five-to-20 years in prison after being charged with felony offenses by The New Orleans new district attorney, according to an investigative report published this week by the newspaper New Orleans City Business.

The report finds that a disproportionate number of felony cases filed by District Attorney Keva Landrum-Johnson are related to the prosecution of small-time marijuana offenders who are facing their second or third possession offense.

Critics of the policy charge, including Steve Singer, the Chief of Trials for the New Orleans Public Defenders Office, charge that the filings have “clogged the courts with non-violent, petty offenses, drained the resources of the criminal justice system and damaged low-income African-American communities.”

Under Louisiana law, first time pot possession is a misdemeanor offense. However, DA's may charge repeat offenders with either a misdemeanor or a felony. Under state law, a second marijuana possession offense is punishable by up to five years in prison. A third offense is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The city's previous DAs routinely charged repeat pot possession offenders with misdemeanors rather than felonies, the paper reported.

It estimated that the city courts could handle nearly 4,000 marijuana possession cases this year.“District Attorney Landrum-Johnson may think she's being 'tough on crime,' but really she's being dumb on crime,” NORML Legal Counsel Keith Stroup said. “Her constituents are demanding that she crack down on violent crime. Instead, the DA is clogging the courts and wasting police and prosecutorial resources by throwing the book at pot smokers.”

For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML's Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500.

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