Tag Archives: NORML.ORG
NORML.ORG CN AB: Alberta Seeks New Use For Hemp
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NORML – Working to Reform Marijuana Laws
NORML.ORG CN ON: Pot Activists Hail Ruling
Daily Headlines
by Dean Beeby, The Canadian Press, (Source:Globe and Mail)
15 Nov 2007
Ontario
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Pot Activists Hail Ruling
OTTAWA — Marijuana activists are hailing a recent court ruling as the beginning of the end of Canada’s prohibition on pot, but the Crown dismisses the decision as non-binding.
A trial judge in Oshawa, Ont., threw out charges of simple possession of marijuana against three young men on Oct. 19, relying on a previous court ruling that found Canada’s pot law unconstitutional. In making his decision, Judge Norman Edmondson cited a decision last July by a fellow judge of the Ontario Court of Justice.
In the earlier case, which is being appealed by the Crown, Judge Howard Borenstein accepted the defence lawyer’s argument that Ottawa must pass a law – rather than rely solely on government policy – to allow accredited medical marijuana users to possess pot.
Health Canada has been forced by a series of court decisions to set up a medical marijuana program authorizing patients struggling with chronic conditions to use dope to alleviate their symptoms.
And a court ruling in 2003 required Health Canada to provide government-certified marijuana to these patients so they don’t have to turn to the black market for their medicine.
In the July 13 Borenstein decision, defence lawyer Bryan McAllister successfully argued that the law itself should have been changed, not just the program. And because the law has not been rewritten to accommodate medical users, the prohibition on all use – including recreational use – collapses because the law is unconstitutional, the court ruled.
A spokeswoman for the Crown said the October decision in Oshawa will not be appealed.
“The decision of the trial judge is not binding upon any other trial judge and the [Borenstein] decision he relied upon … was wrongly decided,” Stephane Marinier, of the Brampton, Ont., office of Public Prosecution Service of Canada, said in a e-mail.
The Crown will make its counterarguments in an appeal of the Borenstein decision at Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice, Ms. Marinier said.
MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman
NORML.ORG US NC: Drought Helps Agents In Marijuana Battle
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NORML.ORG US: Web: ‘Cannabis’ May Halt Breast Cancer
Daily Headlines
(Source:BBC News)
19 Nov 2007
United States
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USA — A compound found in cannabis may stop breast cancer spreading throughout the body, US scientists believe.
The California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute team are hopeful that cannabidiol or CBD could be a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy.
Unlike cannabis, CBD does not have any psychoactive properties so its use would not violate laws, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics reports.
The authors stressed that they were not suggesting patients smoke marijuana
They added that it would be highly unlikely that effective concentrations of CBD could be reached by smoking cannabis.
CBD works by blocking the activity of a gene called Id-1 which is believed to be responsible for the aggressive spread of cancer cells away from the original tumour site – a process called metastasis.
Past work has shown CBD can block aggressive human brain cancers.
The latest work found CBD appeared to have a similar effect on breast cancer cells in the lab.
Future Hope
Lead researcher Dr Sean McAllister said: “Right now we have a limited range of options in treating aggressive forms of cancer.
“Those treatments, such as chemotherapy, can be effective but they can also be extremely toxic and difficult for patients.
“This compound offers the hope of a non-toxic therapy that could achieve the same results without any of the painful side effects.”
Dr Joanna Owens of Cancer Research UK said: “This research is at a very early stage.
“The findings will need to be followed up with clinical trials in humans to see if the CBD is safe, and whether the beneficial effects can be replicated.
“Several cancer drugs based on plant chemicals are already used widely, such as vincristine – which is derived from a type of flower called Madagascar Periwinkle and is used to treat breast and lung cancer. It will be interesting to see whether CBD will join them.”
Maria Leadbeater of Breast Cancer Care said: “Many people experience side-effects while having chemotherapy, such as nausea and an increased risk of infection, which can take both a physical and emotional toll.
“Any drug that has fewer side-effects will, of course, be of great interest.”
But she added: “It is clear that much more research needs to be carried out.”
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
NORML.ORG US ID: Davis Not Pleased With Pot Initiatives
Daily Headlines
by Terry Smith, Express Staff Writer, (Source:Idaho Mountain Express)
16 Nov 2007
Idaho
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Mayor-Elect Cites Abuse of Medical Marijuana Use Elsewhere
The people have spoken, but mayor-elect Rick Davis thinks the passage earlier this month of marijuana reform initiatives will harm the city of Hailey.
“We definitely got national attention, but is that the kind of attention that is going to draw new business here? I don’t think so,” said Davis, a 16-year City Council veteran elected Hailey’s mayor on Nov. 6.
Hailey voters approved three marijuana reform initiatives on election day: one to legalize medical use of marijuana, another to legalize industrial use of hemp and a third that would make enforcement of marijuana laws the city’s lowest police priority.
The electorate voted down a fourth initiative that would have required the city to tax and regulate sales and use of marijuana and that may have paved the way for full legalization of the drug.
Davis said he especially objects to the medical marijuana issue.
“I guess what I think about it is what I have seen in other communities that have passed medical marijuana initiatives–that it is heavily, heavily abused by those who use if for other than medical purposes. I think it’s dangerous.”
The approved initiatives are not the law yet in the Hailey. In fact, the initiatives specify that a Community Oversight Committee be formed to hammer out the details of implementation.
City officials are drafting a statement that will outline how the city will deal with the matter.
City Clerk Heather Dawson said the statement is still being reviewed by City Attorney Ned Williamson and likely won’t be available until next week.
“There are some options that are being investigated,” said Davis. “I’m not an liberty to go into them now and we’ll just have to see how it works out. It’s a very, very complex issue and there are a lot of issues that haven’t yet come to light that show the negative ramifications.”
Davis said he expects the initiatives to be costly for the city.
“There’s going to be litigation and the citizens of Hailey are going to have to pay for it one way or another,” he said. “It’s still illegal federally and statewide and I just don’t know how it’s going to shake out.”
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
