From ???@??? Sat Oct 19 04:46:48 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@line222.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.222]) by gold.interlog.com(8.7.6/8.6.10) with ESMTP id RAA28142 for <iorfida@interlog.com>;Thu, 17 Oct 1996 17:38:43 -0400 (EDT) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received:from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9)with SMTP id OAA00515 for ccletters; Thu, 17 Oct 1996 14:35:48 -0700 Date:Thu, 17 Oct 1996 14:35:48 -0700 Message-Id: <199610172135.OAA00515@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: ai256@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: CC#03 First LTE Campaign VancouverHarm Reduction Rally X-UIDL: 38089601294c29a9136b83bdc25ddbf3
The Vancouver Harm Reduction protest event will be the subject of ourfirst letter campaign. It is detailed in the following announcement, whichyou all should have received from CClist last weekend. Please refer tothe next post to CCletters, titled "First LTE Campaign Info:...",before writing, as in that post I have outlined the nature of this letterwriting effort. I've given us all lots of time for this - almost a week- so relax and take your time. Chris ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is excerpted from a full page ad that will soon appearin Vancouver weekly newspaper "Terminal City". The full ad isat least eight times as long and goes into the history of the drug warand the current situation with the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.For more info email growpotkin@hempbc.com, or call (604) 253-6357
* Harm Reduction Club Free Market Tam-Tam
Free speech. Free music. Cheap pot.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 3PM (sharp) Grandview Park (William & CommercialDrive) For more info call 253-6357
Pot will be openly sold, but on and after the 19th, and only to clubmembers.
- In 1993, the hemp movement began to remove the shame from "possession"by holding rallies where many people could commit that crime, shamelessly.The government's reaction was to back off.
Well, it's now time to do the same thing with "trafficking".The Harm Reduction Club is an experiment. Right now it's just a personwho knows he has little to lose by risking five years less a day for trafficking,rather than letting the shame remain unchallenged, thereby risking a lifetimein a Singapore-style police state - or perhaps even an environmental nightmare.
Let's get together and remove the last remaining bits of shame associatedwith marijuana, using the profits from the sale of good organic herb to:
1) provide free legal services 2) fund education projects to teach peoplesmarter smoking strategies 3) provide medicinal and nutritional hemp information4) promote soft, natural drugs over hard, synthetic ones 5) teach druglessmethods of getting high 6) create an atmosphere of safety and toleranceto enjoy marijuana in 7) educate the public about the dangers of prohibition.
These are the seven goals of the Club.
Any money collected above a living wage will be put towards the sevengoals of the club. In addition, in exchange for cooperation from the government,we will donate 10% of all earnings to cash strapped charities - the needleexchange and the medical marijuana buyers club, for example.
But if the government continues to arrest us for something that theythemselves have indicated is a health issue, well then that 10% will goto legal defense - possession, trafficking, causing a disturbance, resistingarrest, toplessness, whatever - you're covered.
That's right, you heard correctly, free legal advice and defense, asafer-smarter-smoking guide and a gram sized joint for just 20 bucks. When'sthe next time you're gonna hear an offer like that?
Join the club.
The club will kick off it's illegal-yet-noble activities at the "FreeMarket Tam Tam" on Saturday, October 19th, at 3pm sharp, in GrandviewPark on William Street and Commercial Drive.
There will be an open microphone, and the club invites anyone who disagreeswith legalization to come out and give reasons why, and see if it can withstandcriticism (and see if the criticism can withstand criticism.... it shouldn'ttake too long to exhaust all the arguments to prohibition and get to thebottom of this mess).
If it turns out that someone possesses a compelling reason why we shouldn'tsell pot to anyone over the age of thirteen who a) signs a pledge not tooperate heavy machinery while impaired on our marijuana, and b) agreesto read our "safer-smarter-smoking" kit - hey, we'll bow to reason.We'll take our buds and split. The shame of being a pot "pusher"will remain. Big Brother will have won the day.
About the rally: Interstellar Rootcellar, SKAB, Wes and a number ofother musicians will perform some acoustic sets, and the club will smoke-upany other musicians or drummers who perform that day. We will also passthe joint to any videographers who hang out all day, ready to preserveand distribute the magic moment if and when the cops decide to bust us.
Bring Cameras, food, pot etc. to sell (this is, after all, a free market)but leave your aggression, hard drugs (especially alcohol) and shame athome. Be prepared to hug anyone who is getting arrested without reason- we may be stoned, but we're not going down so easy.
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and thepowerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral." -PauloFriere
A new world is growing inside the old one.
The club could end up becoming the path to freedom for many people,economically and politically. The medical marijuana buyers club in SanFrancisco had 90 employees - four people got hired full time just to weighout buds. The Vancouver Harm Reduction Club itself is non-profit and collectivelyrun.
The government is really to blame for this enterprise. They denied usany legal mode of evolution nor justification for a lack of evolution.If they use force, it will be because they lack reason. If the police getcaught on film using force without reason, prohibition is done for. Ifthey leave us alone, we'll out-grow the synthetics. The only way they canwin is to intimidate people away from joining up.
The Harm Reduction Club non-transaction info line is 253-6357. Pot willopenly be sold, but only on/after the 19th and only to club members.
Almost everybody knows the drugwar is a joke. The real crime is thatgood, potent, organic bud isn't easily available from a reliable, responsiblesource. How many times in your life will you again be given the opportunityto party, dance, sing, smoke pot and hug people in order to fight the powers-that-beand save the economy and ecology?
See you on the 19th.
*
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp" Visit Cannabis Canada onlineat http://www.hempbc.com
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada Magazine! Suite 405, 21 Water St., Vancouver,BC, CANADA, V6B 1A1 Call Toll Free for more information: 1-800-330-HEMP
Join the Cannabis Canada News and Information Email List! Send an emailto cclist@hempbc.com with a subject of "subscribe"
From ???@??? Sat Oct 19 04:46:51 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@line222.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.222]) by gold.interlog.com(8.7.6/8.6.10) with ESMTP id RAA04792 for <iorfida@interlog.com>;Thu, 17 Oct 1996 17:52:42 -0400 (EDT) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received:from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9)with SMTP id OAA00669 for ccletters; Thu, 17 Oct 1996 14:50:11 -0700 Date:Thu, 17 Oct 1996 14:50:11 -0700 Message-Id: <199610172150.OAA00669@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: ai256@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: CC#04 First LTE campaign info:Vancouver Harm Reduction Rally (fwd) X-UIDL: d6c4a6d16b8a1fd82e85b45ac89c90dd
Welcome to Cannabis Canada's CCletters! For our first letter (LTE) campaign,this event is perfect. It will allow all of us to write about the War onDrugs in general, instead of limiting our focus to a single misrepresentationin a single article, with a single editor receiving the brunt of our displeasure.It will allow us to prepare before hand, in stages, and let first timewriters refine their prose over a couple of days, instead of a couple ofhours. It will also, hopefully, result in everyone having a generic letterof their distilled disgust about the WoD, complete with damning evidence,to store for future use when time does not allow them to fully take partin a LTE campaign they wish to have an impact upon. For this campaign,read over the post on the Vancouver Harm Reduction Rally scheduled forSaturday, Oct. 19 (I've titled it "First LTE campaign subject:...").The letter format that I suggest for new writers is a brief paragraph specificto the rally as an intro to your letter, and then around 200ish words ofwhy YOU think the prohibition of some substances is insane, immoral, evil,wasteful, destructive, nonsense, etc etc etc. Start the letter with a variationof "RE: your coverage of the Harm Reduction Rally last saturday etc."Please read my post entitled "Brief LTE Writers Guide" beforeyou start. If you don't want to clip that post, a version of it can befound on Mark Greer's MAP homepage, or Matt Elrod's homepage sometime nextweek. If you wish, you can wait until Friday to write, when I will posta fact/quote/cite page of relevant information that Matt Elrod and I willput together. However, for first time writers I suggest you get all youhave to say on the subject out of your system, and then edit it down toaround 200 to 250 words. Once you have distilled the essence of your ownviews on the subject, use the facts sheet to replace portions of your ownprose with cites and quotes to the same effect (making sure not to thensay the same thing in their own words), or just to add a damning quoteor two near the start of your letter. Don't be afraid to write too much,as often the best prose comes out of a long session where a sense of flowdevelops. The trick is to go back later and cut all the best prose out,and paste it onto a new page which then becomes your letter. This processwill hopefully leave most writers between 200-300 words, which they cansend to me over the weekend for feedback (I'll post my new email addresson Friday). I say 300 words knowing that it is a little long, but for thisLTE campaign some leeway on length seems appropriate. Remember though,the closer to 200 words your letter is, the more competitive it is forgetting published. Sunday and Monday, as press reports from Dana and Mattstart arriving, we can collect all the email addresses, and have each writereither send their letter off, or respond to the good, bad or ugly coverageof the event by modifying their letter. Hopefully some writers will takethe time to debunk any cliched pot myths that get repeated in a specificpaper's/TV station's coverage, or even just tailor the intro of their letterto the specific coverage they are responding to (ie. I applaud or am dismayedby your coverage). If you are looking for ideas for your first LTE anddon't want to wait until Friday, visit Matt's homepage at "www.islandnet.com/~creator/mattalk.htm"and look at some of the links. The Lindesmith center link should have thedefinitive debunking of Marijuana Myths, and that's always a good read.
If this seems a little complicated, don't worry. Future weekly LTE campaignswill consist of the article to be responded to, a post of relevant factualinfo, and that will be all. For this campaign I wanted to ease anyone unsureof their abilities into the process. Whether or not you use my addressor "letters@drcnet.org" for editing, please cc me a single copyof all letters written and sent in response to CCletters, so that Danaand I have a measure of the impact of the list. And please, this is CANNABISCanada's letters list. Though the prohibition of any substance is, in purelyphilosophical terms, difficult to defend, let's keep our focus on cannabisfor now. However, though I've seen this subject debated ad nauseum on DRCtalk,I will suggest that if you disagree with me, Matt is looking for a gooddebate on his MATTALK maillist, and you can discuss it there. For thoseof you not familiar with Mattalk, you should be subscribed to that listif you can handle 20-30 posts a day of mostly Canadian news on prohibition.Surf to Matt's homepage if you want to know more. Good luck on your letters,and don't worry if it's hard going at first. I've consciously given youalmost a week's notice, and I think you'll find that if you work at theletter a couple of days in a row and read my style guide, you'll have noproblems getting published. If nothing else, look at the letters publishedin any daily newspaper to see what style of writing DOES get published,and pattern your work after that.
Chris
-------------------------------------------------------------------------> Visit Cannabis Canada online at http://www.hempbc.com > > Subscribeto Cannabis Canada Magazine! > Suite 405, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC,CANADA, V6B 1A1 > Call Toll Free for more information: 1-800-330-HEMP> > Join the Cannabis Canada News and Information Email List! >Send an email to cclist@hempbc.com with a subject of "subscribe">
From ???@??? Sat Oct 19 04:46:53 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@line222.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.222]) by gold.interlog.com(8.7.6/8.6.10) with ESMTP id SAA09324 for <iorfida@interlog.com>;Thu, 17 Oct 1996 18:04:37 -0400 (EDT) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received:from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9)with SMTP id PAA00784 for ccletters; Thu, 17 Oct 1996 15:01:38 -0700 Date:Thu, 17 Oct 1996 15:01:38 -0700 Message-Id: <199610172201.PAA00784@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: ai256@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: CC#05 A Brief Style Guide for LTEWriting X-UIDL: 45fed50b73c5aaa588ad51dfb774ccf2
All sentences should have simple structures and be brief. If a sentencecan be easily written as two sentences, it should be.
ALWAYS use the spell checker, and do a visual check for the to/too andfrom/form typos the spell checker will miss.
Letters should be no more than 1 to 1 1/2 pages long, and the shorterthe better. This length restriction can be stretched for magazines or papersthat you know agree with your POV, but with our efforts the latter willbe rare.
Paragraphs are usually only one or two sentences long, with maybe onethree sentence paragraph per full page. Look at any front page news story,and you'll see exactly what I mean.
The lead sentence should not be more than 70 words long, should containthe name of the article or letter you are responding to, and a positionon that article. If you come up with a witty one liner, you can use itas your lead, as that is where it will have a chance to catch an editor'seye. Remember that editors are themselves writers who appreciate a cleveruse of words. If you do this, then include the name of the article (orsubject) you are responding to either as a title (re. blah blah) or inthe second sentence/paragraph.
A quote or cite soon after the lead sentence is a good idea. A citedfact or quote will give your opinion a broader context, and most journalist/editorswould publish your letter for the cite alone if they are impressed by itspertinence to the subject. Buckley's always good for a quote, and any scientificstudies that are relevant could be used as well.
If you are using cites to back yourself up, put them BEFORE your ownopinion. I've seen too many letters go by that have a good intro, thena few obvious pro-drug opinions, and then a good cite. You want the editorto see the cite and then the bulk of your opinions, as they are scanningdozens of letters and are quick to stop reading anything that strikes themas from the fringe. Also, don't waste words restating what you've cited.Draw a conclusion or apply it to the subject of your letter, but don'trestate it. Redundancy of any sort will invite the editor to move on tothe next letter, or worse, edit lines out of your letter.
If you find yourself writing way too much prose, don't worry. You'llnotice that most journalists sacrifice flow in order to put the most importantpoint first, second-most second, etc. Editors won't even notice if youtake what you think is your best line/paragraph and tack it in first, takeyour second best line and tack it in next, etc, until you hit 200 words.Use the cut and paste capabilities of your word processor, and don't worryif you leave a lot of prose out of this letter. There is always the nextone. Also, if you are using more than one quote, cut and paste them inwith an opinion, paraphrase, or other prose between them. Two or more separatequotes in a row does not look good. If a quote is really long, considercutting out part of it, or quoting half and then paraphrasing the rest(He also said....).
In general: the ideal letter is three to six short paragraphs long,with a short, witty lead sentence (that is usually a stand alone paragraph),a good quote up high in the prose, and some clear, pointed opinions tofinish. Be concise, and use tight, no nonsense prose without colloquialisms.If you quote or closely paraphrase the points you are responding to inyour letter, it makes your points look a little clearer. Flip to the editorialpage of whatever newspaper you are responding to, and use the letters thatpaper's editor[s] choose to publish as a template for your own.
Try to avoid using phrases coined by WoD propaganda: People are not"drug abusers," they are "people who choose to use currentlyprohibited substances" or "users of recreational drugs otherthan caffeine, nicotine, or alcohol" or "people who party withsubstances less harmful than alcohol" or even just "cannabissmokers." I don't want every writer quoting these, so try to makeup your own. Every time you find yourself calling pot "drugs"and pot smokers "drug users," realize that you are attachingthe baggage of a lot of WoD propaganda to your prose, and try to writearound it creatively.
An Incomplete List of points worth touching on in your first letter:(More info will follow on these subjects Friday)
The Dutch success History of Alcohol prohibition, parallels to the present(Crime and Corruption) The Frankfurt resolution Medical Uses, present andhistorical Hemp as a commercial crop The impact on courts and prisons Thewaste of peoples lives by imprisonment for non-violent, consensual "crimes"The disaster of American policy The Canadian Senates pro decrim pronouncementsBuckley/National review support for decrim Lancet support for medical usesSTATISTICS that support decrim The history of marijuana prohibition (thoughdo try to soft peddle the more extreme of Jack Herer's Emperor conspiracythemes, as some doubt has been cast on some of them. Still, Racism andthe WoD still flies, as well as hypocritical historic support (not to mentionmillions in lobbying funds) for cannabis prohibition from the alcohol,tobacco, and pharmaceutical industries).
Outside of mentioning the fact that 70% of Canadians think cannabisshould be decriminalized, and the fact that there are no deaths attributableto cannabis consumption ever, I think you should just pick a few of theabove and allude to them. If you try to mention more than a couple, itwill really make your letter either too long, or too much like a grocerylist. And if you are already an experienced writer DO YOUR OWN THING. Therewill be enough writers influenced by my posts to cause some suspiciousoverlap, so it is actually a good thing to completely ignore everythingI say;) Chris
ps. I was a journalist before my disability and chronic pain syndrome,and I've actually had to edit LTE's as part of my job at one paper I workedat. MAKE THEM BRIEF. It works.
pps. If you want to do a little research on your own go to: www.islandnet.com/~creator/mattalk.htmThere are links there to Cannabis Canada, and loads of other good placesto go in order to make your writing as informed as possible.
From ???@??? Sat Oct 19 04:46:56 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@line027.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.27]) by gold.interlog.com (8.7.6/8.6.10)with ESMTP id AAA28913 for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Sat, 19 Oct 199600:18:38 -0400 (EDT) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received: from hempbc.com(root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9) with SMTPid UAA00651 for ccletters; Fri, 18 Oct 1996 20:50:42 -0700 Date: Fri, 18Oct 1996 20:50:42 -0700 Message-Id: <199610190350.UAA00651@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: ai256@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: CC#06 War on Drugs and crime rateX-UIDL: 1c4a5aa80a2aa990f136cc3e6d54702f
The title and cite for the following study is a few pages in. Quotethe study, not the abstract presented in the next few pages. Chris [Thankyou Matt for posting this and the Marijuana Myths for our use]
THE WAR ON DRUGS INCREASES VIOLENT CRIME, NEW STUDY REVEALS . DIVERSIONOF CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESOURCES MAKES CITIZENS LESS SAFE.
OAKLAND, CA - Despite high hopes that America's "war on drugs"would reduce the rate of serious nondrug crime - assault, homicide, rape,robbery, and the like - the drug war has diverted scarce resources awayfrom fighting such crime, putting the lives and property of citizens atgreater risk, according to a new study released today by the IndependentInstitute. In Illicit Drugs and Crime, economists Bruce Benson and DavidRasmussen compare crime trends in Kansas (whose enforcement of drug lawslagged behind national trends) with trends in other states. They concludethat Kansans - and other states' residents - were relatively safer fromnondrug violent crime before escalating drug law enforcement. "Whena decision is made to wage a 'war on drugs,' other things that criminaljustice resources might do have to be sacrificed. Getting tough on drugsinevitably translates into getting soft on nondrug crime," Bensonand Rasmussen conclude. Policymakers mistakenly believe that combatingdrug use is an effective away to reduce violence and property crime. Butbecause only a small percentage of drug users commit large numbers of crimesagainst persons or property, efforts to combat these crimes by targetingdrug use have proven ineffective, Benson and Rasmussen argue. Combatingnondrug crime through direct means would utilize criminal justice resourcesfar more effectively, they maintain. Benson and Rasmussen are professorsof economics at Florida State University and research fellows at the IndependentInstitute, a public policy research organization in Oakland, California.The 60-page report can be obtained by contacting Carl Close, the Institute'sPublic Affairs Director, at 510/632-1366, or by e-mail at independ@dnai.com.Web site: http://www.independent.org
# # #
ILLICIT DRUGS AND CRIME An Independent Policy Report By Bruce L. Benson& David Rasmussen Professors of Economics, Florida State UniversityResearch Fellows, The Independent Institute
EXECUTIVE BRIEFING
In the early 1980s, policymakers and law enforcement officials steppedup efforts to combat the trafficking and use of illicit drugs. This wasthe popular "war on drugs," hailed by conservatives and liberalsalike as a means to restore order and hope to communities and familiesplagued by anti-social or self-destructive pathologies. By reducing illicitdrug use, many claimed, the drug war would significantly reduce the rateof serious nondrug crimes - robbery, assault, rape, homicide and the like.Has the drug war succeeded in doing so?
In ILLICIT DRUGS AND CRIME, Bruce L. Benson and David W. Rasmussen (Professorsof Economics, Florida State University, and Research Fellows, the IndependentInstitute), reply with a resounding no. Not only has the drug war failedto reduce violent and property crime but, by shifting criminal justiceresources (the police, courts, prisons, probation officers, etc.) awayfrom directly fighting such crime, the drug war has put citizens' livesand property at greater risk, Benson and Rasmussen contend.
"Getting tough on drugs inevitably translates into getting softon nondrug crime," they write. "When a decision is made to wagea 'war on drugs,' other things that criminal justice resources might dohave to be sacrificed."
To support this conclusion, Benson and Rasmussen compare data on druglaw enforcement and crime trends between states, and debunk numerous misconceptionsabout drug use and criminality.
DO DRUGS CAUSE CRIME?
One of the most prevalent misconceptions, Benson and Rasmussen, contendis the notion that a large percentage of drug users commit nondrug crimes,what might be called the "drugs-cause-crime" assumption implicitin the government's drug-war strategy. If true, then an effective crackdownon drug use would reduce nondrug crime rates. However, Benson and Rasmussenshow that the "drugs-cause-crime" assumption is false. Certainlymany violent and property criminals use drugs. But only a small percentageof drug users commit violent or property crimes. Drug offenders are farmore likely to recidivate for a drug offense than for a violent offenseor property crime.
Is drug use to blame for the crimes drug users do commit? Benson andRasmussen sug-gest that the reverse is closer to the mark: Many criminalswho use drugs did not begin to do so until after they began committingnondrug crimes. A Bureau of Justice Statistics survey of prison inmatesfound that about half of the inmates who had used a major drug, and about60 percent of those who used a major drug regularly, did not do so untilafter their first arrest for a nondrug crime.
"Similarly," Benson and Rasmussen note, "more than halfof local jail inmates who reported they were regular drug users in thesurvey . . . said that their first arrest for a crime occurred an averageof two years before their drug use. Once an individual has decided to turnto crime as a source of income, he or she may discover that drugs are moreeasily obtained within the criminal subculture and perhaps that the risksposed by the criminal justice system are not as great as initially anticipated.Furthermore, criminal activity generates income with which to buy goodsthat previously were not affordable, including drugs. Thus, crime leadsto drug use, not vice versa."
THE DRUG WAR'S FAILURE TO REDUCE CRIME
Because relatively few illicit drug offenders commit violent and propertycrimes and because criminal activity more often precedes drug use thanvice versa, targeting drugs is an inefficient strategy for combating nondrugcrime. And because it requires withdrawing a large amount of scarce criminaljustice resources from directly fighting nondrug crime, it is also an ineffective,often counterproductive, strategy for fighting such crime. Indeed, thetrade-off between fighting drugs and fighting nondrug crime is so severethat in some juris-dictions it seems to have led to an increase in nondrugcrime.
Benson and Rasmussen examined Florida crime data and found that increasingpolice efforts against drugs relative to the efforts against serious nondrugcrimes resulted in a lower probability of arrest for property crime. "Primarilyas a consequence of this reduced probability of arrest, the property crimerate in Florida rose 16.3 percent, from 6,892 offenses per 100,000 populationin 1983 to 8,019 in 1989." Violent crime also increased markedly inresponse to greater drug law enforcement, as drug dealers displaced bylaw enforcement invaded the turf of established dealers, and residentsof previously untapped markets fell prey to violent criminals. Since 1989,Florida has reduced its drug enforcement efforts, and its property crimerate has fallen.
Benson and Rasmussen also discuss how prison overcrowding due to increaseddrug law enforcement has compromised the punishment of other criminals.Although statistical studies of the impact of early prison release on overallcrime rates have not been performed yet, a growing number of violent felonshave been released early, only to commit more violent crimes.
THE DRUG WAR'S FAILURE TO REDUCE DRUG USE
Crime reduction was sold as one of the drug war's important side benefits.But what about its main mission, to reduce drug use? Despite the increasein the number of drug arrests and convictions, drug consumption overallhas not demonstrably fallen. While the drug war may have played a significantrole in reducing the demand for and supply of marijuana, access to cocainehas increased. From 1984 to 1990, the proportion of high school studentswho reported that cocaine was "fairly easy" or "very easy"to obtain rose by about 20 percent.
This failure is due in large part, Benson and Rasmussen explain, todrug entrepreneurs' adoption of new production techniques, new products,and new marketing strategies in response to greater law enforcement. Their"innovations" include lengthening the drug distribution chainand using younger drug pushers and runners (to reduce the risk of arrestand punishment), increasing domestic drug production (to avoid the riskof seizure at the border), smuggling into the country less marijuana andmore cocaine (which is harder to detect), development of "crack"cocaine (a low-cost substitute for higher priced powdered cocaine and formarijuana, which the drug war made harder to obtain), and development ofdrugs with greater potency (because they are less bulky and because punishmentis based on a drug's weight, not its potency).
WHAT TO DO ABOUT ILLICIT DRUGS AND CRIME?
Given the failure of the drug war to reduce crime and drug use, whatought to be done? Benson and Rasmussen offer seven public policy recommendations.
1) Reduce Crime and Drug Abuse by Cracking Down on Juvenile Criminals.Punishing youthful offenders early might divert them from further crimeand remove them from the crime sub-culture where they are more likely tobegin drug use.
2) Emphasize Treatment Over Drug Law Enforcement. Treatment is morecost-effective because it cuts consumption directly, whereas law enforcementworks indirectly, by raising the price of drugs.
3) Abolish Civil Forfeiture Laws. Civil forfeiture laws give the illusionthat drug law enforcement is self-financing. They give law enforcementagencies incentives to pursue counter-productive policies that violatedue process.
4) Make Public Safety the Main Police Priority. Law enforcement agenciesshould be evaluated on the basis of their effectiveness in preventing crime,not merely in responding to it after the fact. Improved citizen cooperationand sense of public safety should also be high priorities.
5) Make Sentencing Guidelines Reflect the Highest Priorities. Sentencingguidelines must allow officials to consider prison capacity, so that dangerousprisoners are not released prematurely to make space for the less dangerous.
6) Decentralize the Prisons. Keeping prosecutors and judges in the samejurisdictions as the prisons to which they send convicts would reduce thelikelihood of dangerous prisoners being released prematurely.
7) Decriminalize Drug Use. Decriminalization would free up scarce criminaljustice resources in order to focus on violent and property crime. Prohibition,especially of less dangerous drugs, is ultimately a self-defeating policy.*
The entire text of ILLICIT DRUGS AND CRIME is on the Independent Institute'sWeb Site: http://www.independent.org. A hard copy of the 60-page reportis available for $7.95 + $3.00 (S/H) from the Independent Institute, 134Ninety-Eighth Avenue, Oakland, CA 94603 (USA). Credit card orders accepted.510-632-1366 (ph), 510-568-6040 (fax), independ@dnai.com (e-mail).
From ???@??? Sat Oct 19 04:47:00 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@line027.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.27]) by gold.interlog.com (8.7.6/8.6.10)with ESMTP id AAA03034 for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Sat, 19 Oct 199600:30:16 -0400 (EDT) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received: from hempbc.com(root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9) with SMTPid UAA00657 for ccletters; Fri, 18 Oct 1996 20:50:45 -0700 Date: Fri, 18Oct 1996 20:50:45 -0700 Message-Id: <199610190350.UAA00657@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: ai256@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: CC#07 According to a study by theAustralian Government: X-UIDL: f6c97ee2234ffbe02b61d87e08ccacd3
[once again, thank you Matt. More info will follow tomorrow (Saturday).]
The health and psychological consequences of cannabis use chapter 8
National Drug Strategy Monograph Series No. 25
__________________________________________________________________________
8. The therapeutic effects of cannabinoids
8.1 Historical background
Cannabis has had a long history of medical and therapeutic use in Indiaand the Middle East (Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1993; Mechoulam, 1986; Nahas,1984) where it has been variously used as an analgesic, anti-convulsant,anti-spasmodic, anti-emetic, and hypnotic. Cannabis was introduced to Britishmedicine in the mid-nineteenth century by O'Shaugnessy (1842) who had gainedclinical experience with the drug while an Army surgeon in India (Mechoulam,1986; Nahas, 1984). He recommended its use for the relief of pain, musclespasms, and convulsions occurring in tetanus, rabies, rheumatism and epilepsy(Nahas, 1984). Partly as the result of his advocacy, cannabis came to bewidely used as an analgesic, anti-convulsant and anti-spasmodic throughoutthe middle part of the 19th century in Britain and the USA.
The medical use of cannabis declined around the turn of the presentcentury. Because the active constituents of cannabis were not isolateduntil the second half of the twentieth century, cannabis continued to beused in the form of natural preparations which varied in purity and, hencein effectiveness. The use of cannabis was largely supplanted by other pharmaceuticallypurer drugs, which could be given in standardised doses to produce moredependable effects. These included the opiates, aspirin, chloral hydrate,and the barbiturates (Mechoulam, 1986; Nahas, 1984). In the early partof the century, the medical use of such crude cannabis preparations wasfurther discouraged by laws which treated cannabis as a "narcotic"drug and severely restricted its availability. It finally disappeared fromthe American pharmacopoeia in the early 1940s after the passage of theMarijuana Tax Act (Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1993), although it continuedto be used in Australia into the 1960s (Casswell, 1992).
THC, the major psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, was not isolateduntil 1964 (Goani and Mechoulam, 1964), shortly before cannabis achievedwidespread popularity as a recreational drug among American youth. Itswidespread recreational use, and its symbolic association with a rejectionof traditional social values, undoubtedly hindered pharmaceutical researchinto its therapeutic uses. Consequently, the rediscovery of some of itstraditional therapeutic uses was largely serendipitous, as was the discoveryof some newer uses. For example, its value as an anti-emetic agent in thetreatment of nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy seems to have been rediscoveredby young adults who had used cannabis recreationally prior to undergoingchemotherapy for leukemia (Grinspoon, 1990).
>From the mid-1970s some clinical research on the therapeutic valueof cannabis and cannabinoids was undertaken. On the whole, however, thisresearch has been very thin and uneven, and, consequently, many of theclaims for the therapeutic efficacy of cannabinoids rely heavily, and,in the case of rare medical conditions, solely upon anecdotal evidence,that is, the testimonies of individuals who claim to have derived medicalbenefit from its use (e.g. Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1993; Randall, 1990),and small numbers of cases reported by physicians (e.g. Consroe et al,1975; Meinck et al, 1989).
Evidence will be reviewed for the best-supported therapeutic uses ofcannabinoids. The review begins with the evidence on the effectivenessof cannabinoids as anti-emetic drugs for nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy,and as agents to control intra-ocular pressure in glaucoma. Briefer reviewsare provided of the evidence in favour of other putative therapeutic usesof cannabinoids which are less well supported by clinical evidence, chiefamong which are its uses as an anti-convulsant, an anti-spasmodic, andan analgesic agent. The value and limitations of the largely anecdotalevidence of efficacy in these latter conditions will also be briefly considered.The review will include a discussion of the controversy in the United Statesabout "marijuana rescheduling" which has coloured much recentdiscussion of the issue. This controversy concerns the vexatious issueof whether smoked cannabis should be available for medical use in additionto synthetic cannabinoids such as THC.
8.2 Cannabinoids as anti-emetic agents
Profound nausea and vomiting can be such serious complications of chemotherapyand radiotherapy for cancer that patients may discontinue potentially life-savingtreatment (Institute of Medicine, 1982). Although various types of drugs(e.g. the phenothiazines) have been shown to be effective in controllingnausea and vomiting in cancer patients, substantial minorities of patientsdo not benefit from these drugs. The seriousness of the problem of chemotherapy-inducednausea, and the incomplete success of existing treatments, prompted oncologistsin the late 1970s and early 1980s to take a particular interest in theanti-emetic properties of cannabinoids (Institute of Medicine, 1982).
8.2.1 Clinical trials
One of the earliest trials of the effectiveness of THC as an anti-emeticwas prompted by patient reports that smoking marijuana relieved nauseaand vomiting (Sallan et al, 1975). In this study, 22 patients (10 malesand 12 females, average age 30 years) with a variety of neoplasms werestudied. In 20 patients, the nausea and vomiting had proven resistant toexisting anti-emetic drugs. A randomised placebo-controlled trial withcrossover was used, in which patients were randomly assigned to receiveoral THC (10mg per m2) and placebo in one of four different orders (THC-placebo-THC;THC- placebo-placebo; placebo-THC-placebo; placebo-THC-THC). Outcome wasassessed by grading patients' self-reports of nausea and vomiting afterTHC and placebo into three categories: complete response if there was vomitingafter placebo but not after THC; partial response if there was a greaterthan 50 per cent reduction in nausea and vomiting after THC compared toplacebo; and no response if there was a less than 50 per cent reductionin nausea and vomiting.
Ten patients completed all three courses of THC and placebo and vomitedon at least one trial. After excluding one trial because of a variationin the chemotherapy dose, there were 29 trails available for analysis,14 of placebo and 15 of THC. All 14 placebo trials resulted in no response,while in the 15 THC trials there were five complete responses, seven partialresponses, and three no responses. This difference was statistically significantwhen full and partial responses were combined. Most patients (13/16) reporteda "high" after receiving THC, an experience which was correlatedwith the anti-emetic effect. The most common side-effect was somnolencewhich curtailed activities for two to six hours in a third of patients.Only two patients experienced any symptoms of toxicity, (both after receiving20mg doses of THC), namely, visual distortions and hallucinations and depressionlasting several hours. Sallan et al reported "preliminary" observationsfrom several patients that smoking marijuana produced an equivalent anti-emeticeffect to oral THC.
A trial by Chang et al (1979) largely supported the findings of Sallanet al. In this study 15 patients with osteogenic sarcoma (10 males andfive females, average age 24 years) served as their own controls in thecourse of monthly high dose methotrexate therapy. They were assigned toreceive three THC and three placebo trials in randomised order during sixtreatment sessions. THC (10mg per m2 of body area) and placebo were administeredorally five times at three hourly intervals, beginning two hours beforechemotherapy. If the patients vomited, the remaining doses of either THCor placebo were administered by smoking a cigarette using a standardisedsmoking technique. The effect of THC and placebo were assessed by nursingstaff who rated various endpoints (e.g. number of vomiting and retchingepisodes, volume of emesis, degree and duration of nausea) without beingaware of which treatment patients had received. Patient response was gradedinto three categories: excellent (greater then 80 per cent reduction afterTHC by comparison with placebo in each of these endpoints); fair (greaterthan 30 per cent and less than 80 per cent reduction), and no response(less than 30 per cent reduction).
The results showed that eight patients had an excellent response, sixa fair response, and one had no response. On all endpoints THC produceda statistically significant reduction in nausea and vomiting by comparisonwith placebo. There was also a dose-response relationship between bloodlevels of THC and the incidence of nausea and patient reports of feeling"high". Generally, higher THC blood levels were achieved whenmarijuana was smoked than when THC was taken orally. There were few sideeffects reported, with sedation being the most common (12/15 patients).Four patients experienced five dysphoric reactions in the course of 281THC drug doses (2 per cent), none of which lasted more than 30 minutes,and all of which were successfully managed with simple reassurance.
In a second phase of the study, four patients who had an excellent responseto THC in the first phase were retested under double-blind conditions usingtwo placebo trials in the next 10 treatments. A small number of patientswho had a fair response were also studied using an increased dose of THC.All patients showed a reduction in the average anti-emetic benefit of THC,decreasing from excellent to fair in the case of previous excellent responders,and from fair to no response in the case of the fair responders. Changet al hypothesised that the decline in effect reflected either the developmentof tolerance to the effects of THC, or the development of conditioned nauseaand vomiting that was resistant to the anti-emetic effects of THC.
Since these early studies, a large number of controlled clinical studieshave been conducted which compared the effectiveness of THC with eithera placebo or with other anti-emetic drugs (see Carey et al, 1983; Posteret al, 1981; Levitt, 1986 for reviews). The results of this literaturehave sometimes been unfairly described as "confused" (e.g. Careyet al, 1983; Nahas, 1984). This description betrays an unreasonably highexpectation of the consistency of results from studies which have generallyused small samples of heterogenous patients who have received various formsof chemotherapy. It also ignores the fact that the cross-over studies comparingthe anti-emetic effects of THC with placebo have generally reported greateranti-emetic effects for THC than placebo (Poster et al, 1981); the singleexception to this finding was a study which had a sample size of only eightpatients.
Comparisons of the effectiveness of oral THC with that of existing anti-emeticagents have been less consistent than the results of comparisons with placebo.Nonetheless, the results have generally indicated that THC is at leastequivalent in effectiveness to the widely used anti-emetic drug prochlorperazine(Carey et al, 1983; Levitt, 1986). The inconsistencies in this case arisebecause some studies have shown THC to be superior, probably because ofthe practice in some trials of enlisting patients whose nausea had previouslyproven resistant to prochlorperazine (Carey et al, 1983).
The equivalence of THC and prochlorperazine has been supported by theresults of one of the largest and best conducted studies (Ungerleider etal, 1982). In this study 214 patients with a variety of forms of cancer(carcinomas, sarcomas, lymphomas and leukemias) were recruited if theyhad already undergone chemotherapy and experienced nausea and vomiting,or they were to receive a form of chemotherapy which had a high emeticpotential. Patients were randomly assigned to receive a paired trial ofeither oral THC followed by prochlorperazine or vice versa. The dose ofTHC was dependent on body surface area (7.5mg if less than 1.4m2, 10mgfor 1.4 to 1.8m2, and 12.5mg for greater than 1.8m2). Separate analyseswere conducted on three groups of patients: patients who received theircancer chemotherapy on a single day some weeks apart (N=98); patients whoreceived their chemotherapy on a daily basis over several successive days(N=41); and patients who discontinued the trial after a single episodeof either THC or prochlorperazine. Outcomes were patient self-ratings ofnausea and vomiting, and a variety of mood states and behaviours.
The results showed that there "were no statistically significantdifferences in the anti-nausea/anti-emetic effect of THC and prochlorperazine"(p640) in any of the three patient groups, even though there were differencesbetween patients in the single- and multiple-day chemotherapy regimensin the time course of the nausea. There were differences in mood and behaviourbetween the THC and prochlorperazine trials, with patients reporting greaterimpairment of concentration and less social interaction after receivingTHC. There were also more side effects from THC than prochlorperazine,with sedation, sleepiness and mental clouding being the most common. Therewas no difference in the frequency of panic attacks between the two drugs.Despite these differences in side effects there was a small patient preferencein favour of THC as an anti-emetic, with 41 per cent experiencing lessnausea on THC, 31 per cent experiencing less nausea on prochlorperazine,and 29 per cent reporting no difference in effectiveness. The effectivenessof THC was not related to age or prior experience with marijuana, but itwas related to the experience of side effects, with patients experiencingthem reporting less nausea.
Given the wide variety of patients who have been studied in terms ofage and type of cancer, the wide variety of chemotherapeutic agents thathave been used to treat their cancers, and the variety of different anti-emeticswith which THC has been compared, the fact that findings of these studiesare generally positive for THC is more impressive than the apparent differencesin outcome. The positive results from the controlled trials also seem tobe borne out by clinical experience with cannabinoids in managing cancerpatients. A recent survey of a large sample of American oncologists, forexample, found that 44 per cent of oncologists had recommended marijuanato at least one cancer patient, and 64 per cent of these physicians reportedthat it was successful controlling nausea in at least half of their patients.Overall, just under half of the oncologists in the sample (44 per cent)believed that cannabinoids could be safely used in the treatment of nauseacaused by chemotherapy and radiotherapy (Dobin and Kleiman, 1991). A similarproportion (48 per cent) reported that they would prescribe marijuana fortheir patients if it was legal.
The general conclusion on the available literature is that THC is superiorto placebo, and equivalent in effectiveness to other widely-used anti-emeticdrugs, in its capacity to reduce the nausea and vomiting caused by somechemotherapy regimens in some cancer patients. There are a number of issuesthat remain to be resolved in deciding upon the clinical role of cannabinoidsas anti-emetic agents in cancer chemotherapy. These issues include: thetypes of nausea against which it may be most effective, and hence the typesof patients for which they are most appropriately prescribed; the degreeof patient tolerance of the psychotropic side effects of THC and othercannabinoids; the potential seriousness of possible THC induced immunosuppressionin patients who are already immunologically compromised; the most effectivedosing schedules for THC as an anti-emetic; the potential use of THC incombination with other anti-emetic drugs; and the extent to which the motivationfor the use of THC may have been reduced by the availability of newer anti-emeticdrugs that are more effective than prochlorperazine (the main anti-emeticdrug in the 1980s).
8.2.2 Which patients?
Which patients with what types of nausea are the most suitable for treatmentwith cannabinoids as anti-emetics? Patients with various forms of cancerhave been the most extensively investigated patient group, but the numbersof different types of cancer have been too small to allow convincing analysesof differences in patient response. The same point can be made about typesof chemotherapy regimens; they have varied widely in these studies, andhave often not been reported, but there has been no systematic analysisof the effectiveness of cannabinoids in controlling emesis produced bydifferent agents. It is uncertain to what extent the cannabinoids may beeffective against nausea from other causes. The mechanisms that producenausea are not well understood but there are believed to be one or moreprotective mechanisms located in the brain stem that can be triggered bya variety of emetic agents. This raises the possibility that cannabinoidsmay be therapeutically useful against nausea from a variety of causes.
8.2.3 Side effects
The psychoactive effects of cannabis which are prized by recreationalusers - euphoria, relaxation, drowsiness - are not always welcomed by olderpatients, most of whom are cannabis-naive. In some studies a substantialminority of such patients have discontinued the use of THC because of theunwelcome dysphoria and somnolence (Levitt et al, 1986). This has not beena universal experience, so further research is required to discover towhat extent this has been the result of unnecessarily large doses, or poorpatient preparation for these effects, and failure to adequately managethem by reassurance. What does seem to be the case is that the experienceof some psychological effects of THC, including the "high", isnecessary for the occurrence of a clinically significant anti-emetic effect.This fact has led to the search, so far unsuccessful, for cannabinoid derivativesof THC which possess its anti-emetic properties but not its psychoactiveones. The recent discovery of the cannabinoid ligand and receptor, andreceptor subtypes (see pp7-8) has encouraged researchers to believe thatthis may be an achievable goal (Iversen, 1993).
A potentially more serious side effect of therapeutic THC is its possibleimmunosuppressive effect. Any such effect would limit its use as an anti-emeticin the treatment of cancer, since cancer patients experience immune suppressionas a side effect of their treatment. There are several reasons why thismay be less serious an issue that it seems at first glance. First, thereare doubts about the existence of any immunosuppressive effect of cannabinoids(see Section 6.2 on the immune system, pp62-68), and the effect is smallin those studies which report one. Second, the clinical significance ofany such effects is doubtful in the use of THC in cancer chemotherapy.Such use would be intermittent, and relatively short-term, and the possiblegain in increased life expectancy from being able to complete a courseof cancer chemotherapy is such that most patients would be prepared totake the risk, in the same way that they chose to undergo the highly toxicchemotherapy in the first place.
8.2.4 Unresolved clinical issues
If THC has a place in the management of nausea from cancer treatment(Poster et al, 1981), and perhaps other causes, a number of clinical issuesremain to be resolved (Levitt, 1986). Foremost among these is the bestway in which to administer the drug. Should it be given well in advanceof treatment at low doses to ensure a stable blood level, or should itbe given in larger doses shortly before chemotherapy or radiotherapy? Thisissue has not been systematically studied (Levitt, 1986).
An additional question is whether there is any clinical benefit to bederived from combining THC with existing anti-emetic agents. There is suggestiveevidence that there might be, since the mechanisms of action, while notwell understood, appear to be different, raising the possibility that theremay be positive synergistic effects from the combination of THC and otheranti-emetics. One single-blind study of the combination of dronabinol andprochlorperazine, for example, suggested that the combination of thesedrugs may have a superior anti-nausea effect to either drug used alone(Plasse et al, 1991). Clearly, more research is warranted on this issue,especially as it may enable cannabinoids to be used as anti-emetics atlower doses with fewer unwanted psychotropic effects.
It seems surprising that the desirability of undertaking research ondosing and combined use of cannabinoids was highlighted by Poster et alin 1981 and by the Institute of Medicine in 1982. Yet very little researchhas been done, and THC has not been routinely incorporated into the managementof nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy. One of the likely reasons hasbeen the American controversy about the rescheduling of marijuana underthe Controlled Substances Act, which some argue has discouraged clinicalresearch on cannabinoids (see below). Another reason has been that themotivation for further research on the anti-emetic properties of THC hasbeen removed by the recent development of newer anti-emetic drugs whichare superior to prochlorperazine (Iversen, 1993), the "gold standard"drug when the major controlled trials were conducted on cannabis in the1970s and 1980s. In the absence of trials comparing THC with these newerdrugs, its comparative efficacy is unknown, although given its approximateequivalence to prochlorperazine it is likely to be inferior to the newerdrugs.
8.3 Cannabinoids as anti-glaucoma agents
Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the United States, affectingtwo million people and producing 300,000 new cases each year (Adler andGeller, 1986). It is a condition "which is generally characterisedby an increase in intraocular pressure ... that progressively impairs visionand may lead to absolute blindness" (Adler and Geller, 1986, p54).Although its causes are not understood, it is believed to involve an obstructionto the outflow of the aqueous humour in the eye leading to a gradual increasein intraocular pressure (IOP) which, if untreated, may damage the opticnerve, resulting in blindness. Its incidence increases over the age of35, especially among individuals who are myopic (i.e. short-sighted). Althoughvarious drugs are available which reduce IOP, all possess unwanted side-effectsand patients may become tolerant to their therapeutic effects.
The effects of cannabis in reducing IOP were discovered serendipitouslyby researchers and patients in the early and middle 1970s. Hepler and hiscolleagues (1971, 1976) observed a substantial decrease in IOP while researchingthe effects of cannabis intoxication on pupil dilation. They demonstratedthat both cannabis and oral THC produced substantial reductions in IOPin both normal volunteers and patients with glaucoma (Hepler and Petrus,1976; Hepler et al, 1976). Subsequent research identified THC as the agentresponsible for producing this effect (Adler and Geller, 1986).
Around the same time, patients with glaucoma who had used cannabis recreationallyalso discovered its therapeutic effects. One such patient, Robert Randall,used cannabis daily to control his glaucoma. When arrested for possessionand cultivation of cannabis, he successfully used the defence of "medicalnecessity" arguing, with the support of his physicians, that he wouldgo blind if he stopped his cannabis use. He subsequently was given legalaccess to cannabis for medical purposes (Randall Affidavit, in Randall,1988).
Although there have been a number of case reports of the successfuluse of cannabis in the management of glaucoma (e.g. Grinspoon and Bakalar,1993; Randall, 1990), there have not been any controlled clinical studiesof its effectiveness and safety in the long-term management of glaucoma.Informed clinical opinion has been that THC is an effective anti-glaucomaagent when used acutely, but there are doubts about its effectiveness withchronic use because of the development of tolerance to its effects on IOP(Jones et al, 1981). Ophthalmologists who are opposed to the clinical useof THC point to a number of major disadvantages. First, because THC isnot water-soluble, it cannot, unlike other anti-glaucoma agents, be appliedtopically to the eye to ensure that enough is absorbed to produce a clinicallysignificant reduction in IOP. Second, as a consequence, THC must be absorbedsystemically in order to produce a therapeutic effect on IOP, which meansthat patients must experience the psychoactive effects of THC in orderto derive its therapeutic benefits against glaucoma. Third, because glaucomais a chronic condition, THC or cannabis would need to be taken in substantialdoses on a daily basis over long periods of time, if not for the remainderof adult life. There has been an understandable concern about the healthrisks of chronic daily cannabis use (e.g. Hepler, 1990; American Academyof Ophthalmology, 1990).
The position adopted by the American Academy of Ophthalmology has beento insist that cannabis has no accepted medical use in the management ofglaucoma, and cannot have such medical use until a large controlled trialhas been conducted into its safety and effectiveness in daily chronic use.There has been no evidence that the Academy has any interest in, or hasgiven any encouragement to, the conduct of such a trial. Consequently,its position is that THC and other cannabinoids should not be used be inthe management of glaucoma.
A contrary position has been taken by Randall, who has argued that patientsshould be allowed to make the choice between the uncertain health risksof chronic cannabis use and the more certain risks to sight of poorly controlledglaucoma:
"People with life- and sense-threatening diseases are routinelyconfronted by stark choices ... [between] the devastating consequencesof a debilitating, progressive disease ... [and] often highly damagingbiological and mental consequences of the toxic chemicals required to checkthe progression of disease. .. Viewed in this medical context, marihuanais more benign and far less damaging that the synthetic toxins routinelyprescribed by physicians" (cited in Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1993, p153)
8.4 Cannabinoids and neurological disorders
8.4.1 Anti-convulsant
Historically one of the commonest medical uses of cannabis preparationshas been as an anti-convulsant. O'Shaughnessy (1842), for example, recommendedthe use of cannabis to control seizures in epilepsy, tetanus and rabies(Nahas, 1984). Animal studies have provided some support for this use inshowing that THC has dual effects on convulsions, i.e. they can produceconvulsions in susceptible animals, and suppress the maximum severity ofconvulsions from a variety of causes, while cannabidiol (CBD) appears tobe a potent anti-convulsant (Chesher and Jackson, 1974; Consroe and Snider,1986; Institute of Medicine, 1982).
Despite this animal evidence, there is very limited evidence on thetherapeutic effects of cannabinoids in humans with epilepsy. There area small number of case studies of individuals with epilepsy in which therecreational use of cannabis appeared to enhance the anti-convulsant effectsof more traditional anti-convulsant medication From ???@??? Sat Oct 1904:47:00 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu (root@line027.nwm.mindlink.net[204.191.202.27]) by gold.interlog.com (8.7.6/8.6.10) with ESMTP id AAA03034for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Sat, 19 Oct 1996 00:30:16 -0400 (EDT)From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received: from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1])by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9) with SMTP id UAA00657 for ccletters;Fri, 18 Oct 1996 20:50:45 -0700 Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 20:50:45 -0700 Message-Id:<199610190350.UAA00657@gulik.dymaxion.edu> Reply-To: ai256@chebucto.ns.caSubject: CC#07 According to a study by the Australian Government: X-UIDL:f6c97ee2234ffbe02b61d87e08ccacd3
(e.g. Consroe et al, 1975; Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1993). There is asingle randomised placebo controlled study of the administration of CBDin 15 patients with epilepsy that was not well controlled by conventionalanti-convulsants. Four of the eight patients who received CBD in additionto their usual anti-convulsant drugs were free of seizures throughout thestudy period, and three were improved. By contrast, only one out of sevenpatients in the placebo condition showed any clinical improvement (Cunhaet al, 1980). Despite this suggestive evidence of efficacy in epilepsy,CBD has not been widely used in clinical management. Perhaps this is notsurprising given the absence of evidence of its efficacy, the existenceof other effective anti-convulsant drugs, and concerns about the safetyof chronic use in the management of a chronic disease. It is perhaps moresurprising that there has been no further research on the anti-convulsantproperties of CBD, especially as it has no psychoactive side effects (Nahas,1984).
8.4.2 Anti-spasmodic
Cannabinoids have been used in an empirical way in the management ofsome patients with movement disorders, a variety of syndromes that havein common a deficit in non-pyramidal motor control function, which is expressedin usually one or more of the non-epileptic, abnormal involuntary movements,such as those found in Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiplesclerosis, and spasticity. Although a number of drugs may be of benefitin the management of these conditions, they are not always effective, andmay produce troublesome side-effects (Consroe and Snider, 1986).
There has been some animal evidence which indicates that THC and itsanalogues produce a broad spectrum of neurological effects, which includealterations in motor function, and changes in muscle tone and reflexes.The acute motor effects in normal humans - ataxia, tremulousness and subjectiveweakness - also suggest a potential for therapeutic effects in some movementdisorders (Consroe and Snider, 1986).
The evidence that cannabinoids have therapeutic effects in patientswith movement disorders is largely anecdotal. Grinspoon and Bakalar (1993),for example, present four case histories of individuals with multiple sclerosiswhose condition improved while they smoked marijuana, and deterioratedafter they stopped smoking. Meinck et al (1989) report a case history ofa young man with multiple sclerosis with severe limb and gait ataxia whocomplained of erectile impotence. After smoking marijuana his gait improvedsufficiently to be able to walk unaided, and he was able to achieve andsustain an erection. When cannabis was withdrawn under medical supervision,the patient's motor function deteriorated to the point where he was unableto walk without assistance.
There has been one controlled study by Clifford (1983) who examinedthe effects of THC on tremor in eight patients (four male and four female)with advanced multiple sclerosis who had ataxia and tremor. Five patientsreported subjective benefit from THC and there was objective evidence ofbenefit in two of these cases. Single-blind placebo challenge in thesecases produced evidence that their clinical condition deteriorated whengiven placebo and improved with the reinstatement of THC.
Grinspoon and Bakalar (1993) described several case histories of individualswith paraplegia and quadriplegia who reported that cannabis use helpedto reduce muscle spasm. The experiences of these individuals were supportedby similar reports obtained from a survey of 43 individuals with spinalcord injuries, 22 of whom reported that they used cannabis to control theirmuscle spasm.
The only controlled trial of a cannabinoid in a movement disorder hasbeen an evaluation of the effects of CBD on severity of chorea in patientswith advanced Huntington's disease (Consroe et al, 1991). This study wasprompted by the authors' observation that CBD had improved the conditionof an individual with Huntington's disease (Sandyck et al, 1988). In thisstudy 19 Huntington's patients were enrolled in a double-blind controlledtrial in which they received six weeks administration of CBD or placeboin a cross-over design. The outcome was the severity of chorea, as assessedby blind clinical ratings, patient self-report, and a variety of measuresof motor function. Although the study had sufficient statistical powerto detect a relatively small clinical benefit, there was no evidence ofimprovement in chorea on any of the clinical, self-report or motor measures.In the light of Consroe et al's failure to replicate the earlier favourablesingle case, further controlled trials are warranted before any of thecannabinoids can be routinely used in treating movement disorders.
8.5 Cannabinoids as anti-asthmatic agents
Smoked cannabis, and to a lesser extent oral THC, have an acute bronchodilatoryeffect in both normal persons and persons with asthma (Tashkin et al, 1975;Tashkin et al, 1976). Tashkin et al (1975), for example, compared the bronchodilatoreffect of smoked cannabis with that of a standard clinical dose of thebronchodilator isoproterenol in relieving experimentally induced asthmain asthmatic patients. They found that smoking a 2 per cent-THC cannabiscigarette produced a bronchodilator nearly equivalent to that of a clinicaldose of isoproterenol.
Despite this early suggestion of a therapeutic effect in asthma, cannabinoidshave not been used therapeutically, nor have they been extensively investigatedas anti-asthmatic agents other than by Tashkin and his colleagues (Tashkin,1993). A major obstacle to therapeutic use has been the route of administration.Oral THC produces a smaller bronchodilator effect after a substantial delay,and when used as an inhalant produces irritation and reflex bronchoconstriction.Hence, smoking marijuana has been the most dependable way of deliveringa clinically effective dose of THC. There is an understandable concernamong clinical researchers that smoking is an unsuitable mode of administeringany drug, and an especially inappropriate way to administer a drug to patientswith asthma, because it would inevitably involve the delivery of othernoxious chemicals that would nullify its therapeutic value in the shortterm, and carry an increased risk of other respiratory disease and possiblycancer in the long term (Tashkin, 1993). The unwanted psychotropic effectsfrom marijuana smoking have also been a barrier to its use as an anti-asthmaticdrug. Some investigators (e.g. Graham, 1986) have nonetheless argued thatthe suitability of THC as a spray should be further investigated becauseof the possible hazards of the chronic use of the more widely-used beta-blockerantagonists. The recent discovery of the cannabinoid receptor and ligandmay prompt a re-examination of this question.
8.6 Cannabinoids as analgesics
There is some animal evidence that THC has an analgesic effect whichoperates via a different mechanism from that of the opioid drugs (Segal,1986). There is a small amount of human experimental studies which havereported mixed evidence of an analgesic effect (Nahas, 1984). There hasbeen little clinical evidence beyond historical use for various forms ofchronic pain, including migraine, dysmenorrhoea, and neuralgia, and thesmall number of case histories of its use in chronic pain, dysmenorrhoea,labour pain, and migraine reported by Grinspoon and Bakalar (1993).
Only one double-blind controlled cross-over study has been reported.This study compared the analgesic effect of THC and codeine in patientswith cancer pain (Noyes et al, 1975). The findings suggested that 20mgof THC was of equivalent analgesic effect to 120mg of codeine. However,neither drug produced substantial analgesia in these patients, and themajority of patients found the psychotropic effects of 20mg of THC sufficientlyaversive that they discontinued its use. Clearly, much more basic pharmacologicaland animal investigation is required before cannabinoids or their derivativeshave any clinical use as analgesics. Nevertheless, such investigationsmay be worth pursuing because of the dependence potential of the more potentopioid analgesics, and the likelihood that any cannabinoid mediated analgesiceffect operates by a different mechanism to that of the opioids.
8.7 Other possible therapeutic uses
A variety of other therapeutic uses have been suggested, although fewhave been investigated in any depth. In the late 1940s, for example, therewere some investigations of the therapeutic uses of the euphoriant propertiesof cannabis, as a possible anti-depressant agent in the form of synhexil,a synthetic cannabis analogue. The results in one uncontrolled study werepositive, but these were not replicated in later studies using lower doses(Nahas, 1984; Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1993). None of these suggestions havebeen further investigated, probably because of the potential for THC toproduce dysphoric and other unwanted psychotropic side effects.
8.8 Cannabis and AIDS
One of the areas of greatest contemporary interest in the therapeuticuses of cannabinoids and cannabis has been their possible roles as an anti-nauseaagent, an appetite stimulant and an analgesic in patients with AIDS (Randall,1989). The development of this interest seems to have replicated the earlierdiscovery of the anti-emetic effects of cannabis in young cancer patientsin the 1970s. AIDS patients often experience nausea and weight loss, eitherwhile receiving cytotoxic drugs to suppress HIV, or as a direct effectof the AIDS spectrum diseases. Many patients have been recreational cannabisusers, and so have reported that the smoking of marijuana produces a diminutionin their nausea, an increased appetite, reduced pain, and general improvementsin well being. AIDS advocacy groups have accordingly argued that marijuanashould be made legally available to AIDS patients (e.g. Randall, 1991).
So far the bulk of evidence for these therapeutic claims has been providedby case reports (see Randall, 1989). There has been one small uncontrolledstudy of 10 symptomatic AIDS patients which suggested that dronabinol (syntheticTHC) may be effective in reducing nausea and stimulating appetite (Plasseet al, 1991). The evidence of its anti-emetic properties in cancer patientsseems to support its potential application in AIDS treatment, and is deservingof further investigation.
A potential concern with the use of cannabinoids in HIV positive individualsand AIDS patients is the possible immunosuppressive effects of cannabinoids.Although, as argued above, this effect is likely to be small and of limitedconcern when used intermittently in cancer patients, it is of potentiallygreater significance in AIDS patients, since cannabis would be used regularlyby patients with a major immune system disorder. Even a small impairmentin immunity may have major consequences for HIV and AIDS affected individuals.Recent epidemiological evidence does something to allay this concern. Alarge prospective cohort study of HIV/AIDS in homosexual and bisexual menrecently failed to find any relationship between cannabis use, or any otherpsychoactive drug use, and the rate at which HIV positive men developedclinical AIDS (Kaslow et al, 1989). Nonetheless, the issue of immunosuppressionneeds to be explicitly investigated in any research which is undertakeninto the therapeutic uses of cannabinoids in the treatment of AIDS.
8.9 The limitations of anecdotal evidence
Much of the case for the therapeutic uses of cannabinoids as other thananti-emetic agents depends upon anecdotal evidence from case histories.Such evidence has justifiably come to be distrusted as evidence of therapeuticeffectiveness in clinical medicine, especially in the case of chronic conditionswhich have a fluctuating course of remission and exacerbation. In suchdiseases, it is difficult to exclude alternative explanations of any apparentrelationship between the use of a drug (e.g. THC) and an improvement ina patient's condition. Among the alternative explanations that are mostdifficult to exclude in a single case or even a succession of single casesis simple coincidence: that is, there may be no relationship between theuse of the drug and improvement; the apparent relationship between thetwo may have arisen because the use of the drug preceded an improvementin the patient's condition that would have occurred in its absence. Thisis especially likely to occur in a chronic condition with a fluctuatingcourse. In addition, the well-known placebo effect which is observed inmany conditions may explain the apparent benefits of a drug or other treatment.It is for these reasons that this review has relied upon evidence fromcontrolled clinical trials in appraising the therapeutic uses of cannabinoids.
Grinspoon and Bakalar (1993) have attempted to defend anecdotal evidenceof therapeutic efficacy of cannabinoids. They argue that a double standardhas been used in the appraisal of the safety and efficacy of cannabinoids:anecdotal evidence of harm has been readily accepted while anecdotal evidenceof benefit has been discounted. Although at first glance "double standards"may seem to describe the behaviour of the regulatory authorities, it isdefensible to use different standards of proof when evaluating the benefitsand the costs of therapeutic drugs. It is reasonable to err on the sideof caution by requiring stronger evidence of benefit from putatively therapeuticdrugs in order to ensure that the possible risks incurred by their therapeuticuse do not outweigh their benefits. Moreover, this behaviour is not peculiarto the therapeutic appraisal of cannabinoids; it is standard practice inthe therapeutic appraisal of all drugs. Medical practitioners are encouragedto report cases histories of possible adverse effects of prescribed drugs.Such reports are treated as a noisy but necessary way of detecting rarebut serious side effects of drugs that have not been detected in clinicaltrials or animal studies.
8.10 The politics of therapeutic cannabinoid use
A puzzle in the field of cannabinoid therapeutics is that despite thepositive appraisal of the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids as anti-emeticsand anti-glaucoma agents, they have not been widely used. Nor has the detailedtype of clinical pharmacological research been undertaken on optimal methodsof clinical use in those areas where the cannabinoids do have therapeuticpotential (e.g. as anti-emetics). Part of the reason for this is that researchon the therapeutic use of these compounds has become a casualty of thedebate in the United States about the legal status of cannabis. This emergesfrom an inspection of the arguments recently advanced for and against anapplication to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency to change thestatus of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, 1970 from a scheduleI drug which has no accepted medical use to a schedule II drug which hasan accepted medical use (see Randall, 1988, 1989, 1990).
The proponents of rescheduling (National Organisation for the Reformof Marijuana Laws, Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics, and Cannabis Corporationof America) have argued that marijuana should be available for medicaluse, as smoking is the most effective mode of delivering THC for some therapeuticpurposes. The opponents of rescheduling (Drug Enforcement Agency, InternationalChiefs of Police, The National Federation of Parents for a Drug Free Youth)have countered that marijuana has no therapeutic use, since its few usesare better met, either by other more effective drugs which do not havethe psychoactive effects of THC, or by the oral delivery of synthetic cannabinoids.They have been supported by medical researchers and practitioners who arguefor the therapeutic superiority of pharmaceutically pure drugs which canbe given in defined doses (e.g. Levitt, 1986; Mechoulam, 1988; Nahas, 1984).
Medical researchers who have supported the rescheduling of marijuana(e.g. Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1993; Merritt, 1988; Mikuriya, 1990; Morgan,1990; Weil, 1988) have argued that smoked cannabis is superior to oralsynthetic cannabinoids in effectiveness and has a lower risk of producingunwanted psychoactive side-effects. Apart from the unsuitability of oralmedication for patients who are vomiting, their main arguments in favourof smoking as a route of THC administration are similar to the reasonsrecreational users often give for preferring smoking to the oral use ofcannabis. The greater bioavailability of THC via smoking produces a moredependable therapeutic effect, which is more easily controlled becauseusers have a greater ability to titrate their dose, and hence, to maximisethe desired effects while minimising the unpleasant effects. An additionalargument sometimes used is that there may be other cannabinoids presentin the crude plant product which modulate the undesired side effects, includingthe unpleasant dysphoric effects of THC (Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1993).There is also suggestive evidence that smoked cannabis is as effectiveas oral THC, and may be preferred by patients because of the greater controlthey have over dose (Chang et al, 1979).
Opponents of marijuana rescheduling argue that the undesirable psychoactiveside effects of THC disqualify it from widespread medical use, whateverthe route of administration. Most also believe that smoking is a medicallyunacceptable route of administration of THC because it is unsuitable forvery young and very old patients, there is a risk of infection with micro-organismswhich may contaminate the plant material, and there is the danger thatchronic smoke inhalation may produce or exacerbate bronchitis, and exposethe user to carcinogens (e.g. Levitt, 1986; Mechoulam, 1988; Nahas, 1984).
The proponents of rescheduling respond that none of these are compellingreasons for rejecting smoked marijuana for therapeutic purposes until morepotent and specific therapeutic cannabinoids have been identified and synthesised.Smoking, they point out, would not be a compulsory method of administration;only an option for those patients who preferred it, as would the use ofcannabinoids if patients did not like their psychoactive effects. The contaminationof micro-organisms reported with blackmarket cannabis can be overcome,they argue, by standardising dose and using an anti-microbial treatment,as has been done by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in preparingcannabis cigarettes for research (Randall, 1988). The risks of bronchitisand respiratory tract cancers, it is argued, are small with the intermittentand time-limited smoking of cannabis that would occur in the course ofcancer chemotherapy. In any case, proponents of rescheduling argue, itis probably a risk that many patients with a life-threatening illness maybe prepared to run, as shown by their preparedness to take highly toxicand carcinogenic anti-cancer agents.
Weil (1988) has argued that some opponents have used double standardsin appraising the risks of marijuana smoking. According to Weil, the mostcommon psychoactive effects of marijuana (euphoria, somnolence and dysphoria)are minor, non-life-threatening and self-limiting effects that can be easilymanaged, and are of much less severity than the side effects of many otherwidely-used therapeutic drugs. Medical witnesses for the government, heclaims, "do not contrast marijuana's supposed adverse effects withthe known adverse effects of drugs routinely prescribed for the treatmentof conditions like cancer, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis. Instead, ...[they] compare marijuana to some abstract, unobtainable standard of perfection"(p437).
Merritt (1988) has made a similar point in criticising the argumentsraised against the therapeutic use of marijuana to manage glaucoma: ".. each drug family used in glaucoma therapy is capable of producing alethal response, even when properly prescribed and used .. [p470] [but]these drugs are all deemed "safe" for use in glaucoma therapy.. because their adverse consequences are considered less threatening tothe patient than blindness" (p472). Yet marijuana is excluded fromtherapeutic use because of a possible risk of cancer from long-term dailysmoking. "I cannot see", observes Merritt, "how an allegedcase of marijuana-induced lung cancer which results in death is significantlydifferent in result from an acute adverse reaction to a myotic drug whichresults in respiratory failure, except, of course, that the patient withcancer is likely to outlive the patient who is unable to draw in a breathof air" (p474).
Although the debate about the rescheduling of marijuana has been ostensiblyabout the safety and efficacy of marijuana use, it has been driven by thedebate about the legal status of recreational marijuana use. For example,some of the groups advocating the therapeutic use of cannabis have alsobeen proponents of cannabis legalisation (e.g. NORML), thereby fuellingthe fears of opponents of cannabis use that success in the campaign formarihuana rescheduling will be the thin edge of a wedge to legalise cannabis.Other proponents of legalisation (e.g. Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1993) haveturned this reasoning around, by arguing for the legalisation of cannabisas a way of making cannabis available for therapeutic purposes.
On the other side of the argument are those opponents of marijuana usewho fear that the admission that marijuana, or any of its constituents,may have a therapeutic use will send the "wrong message" to youth.This has led to the denial that cannabinoids have any therapeutic effects,and to attempts to stifle all scientific inquiry into any such effects.For example, Mr Bernstein representing the National Federation of Parentsfor a Drug Free Youth had the following to say in his summing up againstRescheduling marijuana before Judge Young (1989):
"If marijuana were to be rescheduled to Schedule II, what kindof message are we sending to a nation that is engaged in a battle for it'svery survival because of epidemic drug abuse? ... will not the messagebe that marijuana is good for cancer, good for glaucoma, good for spasticityand a host of other illnesses? Now to all of this who are the most vulnerable?The answer is, of course, our young people. Their reaction will be thatif it is good for all of these things, it can't be bad for me. We thenhave another youngster trying marijuana, the gateway drug and probablystarting down the road that leads to nowhere but destruction" (inRandall, 1989, p395).
It is unfortunate that a connection has been forged between the debatesabout the legal status of cannabis as a recreational drug and the use ofcannabinoids for therapeutic use. Any such connection is spurious, sincethere is a world of difference between the use of controlled doses of apurified drug under medical supervision and the recreational use of crudepreparations of a drug. In a rational world, clinical decisions about whetherto use pure cannabinoid drugs should not be abrogated because crude formsof the drug may be abused by those who use it recreationally. As a communitywe do not allow this type of thinking to deny us the use of opiates foranalgesia. Nor should it be used to deny access to any therapeutic usesof cannabinoids derivatives that may be revealed by pharmacological research.
8.11 Conclusions
The following provisional conclusions can be drawn on the availableevidence. First, there is good evidence for the therapeutic potential ofTHC as an anti-emetic agent. Although uncertainty exists about the mostoptimal method of dosing and the advantages and disadvantages of differentroutes of administration, there is sufficient evidence to justify it beingmade available in pure synthetic form to cancer patients. In the lightof the recent development of more effective anti-emetic agents, it remainsto be seen how widely used the cannabinoids will be. Second, there is reasonableevidence for the potential efficacy of THC in the treatment of glaucoma,especially in cases which have proved resistant to existing anti-glaucomaagents. Further research is clearly required, but this should not preventits use under medical supervision in poorly controlled cases, providedpatients make informed decisions about its use in the light of informationabout the possible health risks of long-term use. Third, there is sufficientsuggestive evidence of the potential usefulness of various cannabinoidsas analgesic, anti-asthmatic, anti-spasmodic, and anti-convulsant agentsto warrant further basic pharmacological and experimental investigation,and perhaps clinical research into their effectiveness.
Despite the basic and clinical research work which was undertaken inlate 1970s and early 1980s, the cannabinoids have not been widely usedtherapeutically, nor have further investigations been conducted along thelines suggested in the positive evaluations made by the Institute of Medicine(1982). This seems largely attributable to the fact that clinical researchon the therapeutic use of cannabinoids has been discouraged by regulationand a lack of funding in the United States, where most cannabis researchhas been conducted. The discouragement of therapeutic research, in turn,derives from the fact that THC, the most therapeutically effective cannabinoid,has the psychoactive effects sought by recreational users. In opposingthe therapeutic uses of cannabinoids, some researchers have used doublestandards in appraising efficacy and safety, setting unreasonably highstandards in assessing the evidence on the comparative therapeutic safetyand efficacy of cannabinoids and existing agents. The application of thesame demanding standards to existing agents for the candidate diseases,and more generally, to existing psychoactive drugs that are widely usedin medical practice, would denude the pharmacopoeia. The recent discoveryof the cannabinoid receptor may help to overcome some of the resistanceto research into the therapeutic uses of cannabinoids, by holding out theprospect that the psychoactive effects of the cannabinoids can be disengagedfrom their other therapeutically desirable effects.
References
Adler, M.W. and Geller, E.B. (1986) Ocular effects of cannabinoids.In R. Mechoulam (ed) Cannabinoids as Therapeutic Agents. Boca Raton, Florida:CRC Press.
American Academy of Ophthalmology. (1990) "The use of marijuanain the treatment of glaucoma", June 21, 1987, reproduced In R Randall(ed) Cancer Treatment and Marijuana Therapy. Washington, DC: Galen Press.
Carey, M.P., Burish, T.G. and Brenner, D.E. (1983) Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolin cancer chemotherapy: research problems and issues. Annals of InternalMedicine, 99, 106-114.
Casswell, A. (1992) Marijuana as medicine. Medical Journal of Australia,156, 497-498.
Chang, A.E., Shiling, D.J., Stillman, R.C., Goldberg, N.H., Seipp, C.A.,Barofsky, I., Simon, R.M. and Rosenberg, S.A. (1979) Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolas an antiemetic in cancer patients receiving high-dose methotrexate. Annalsof Internal Medicine, 91, 819-824.
Chesher, G.B. and Jackson, D.M. (1974) Anticonvulsant effects of cannabinoidsin mice: drug interactions within cannabinoids, and cannabinoid interactionswith phenytoin. Psychopharmacologia, 37, 255-264.
Clifford, D.B. (1983) Tetrahydrocannabinol for tremor in multiple sclerosis.Annals of Neurology, 13, 669-671.
Consroe, P.F., Wood, G and Buchsbaum, H. (1975) Anticonvulsant nature
From ???@??? Sat Oct 19 04:47:16 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@line027.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.27]) by gold.interlog.com (8.7.6/8.6.10)with ESMTP id AAA09889 for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Sat, 19 Oct 199600:43:12 -0400 (EDT) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received: from hempbc.com(root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9) with SMTPid UAA00662 for ccletters; Fri, 18 Oct 1996 20:50:48 -0700 Date: Fri, 18Oct 1996 20:50:48 -0700 Message-Id: <199610190350.UAA00662@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: ai256@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: CC#08 Lindesmith Center: ExposingMarijuan Myths(fwd) X-UIDL: ff8f5757ea5ac286f394be1b89146e75
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EXPOSING MARIJUANA MYTHS:
A REVIEW OF THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
by Lynn Zimmer, Associate Professor of Sociology Queens College
and John P. Morgan, Professor of Pharmacology, City University MedicalSchool
INTRODUCTION
Since the 1920s, supporters of marijuana prohibition have exaggeratedthe drug's dangers. In different eras, different claims have gained prominence,but few have ever been abandoned. Indeed, many of the "reefer madness"tales that were used to generate support for early anti-marijuana lawscontinue to appear in government and media reports today.
For a while in the 1970s, it seemed as if scientific inquiries werebeginning to influence the government's marijuana policies. Following thoroughreviews of the existing evidence by scholars and official commissions,criminal penalties for marijuana offenses were lessened and a number ofstates moved in the direction of decriminalization. However, in responseto lingering concerns about marijuana's potential toxicity, the governmentexpanded its funding of scientific research, mostly through the newly createdNational Instutite on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Probably the most important studies of the 1970s were three large "fieldstudies" in Greece, Costa Rica and Jamaica. These studies, which evaluatedthe impact of marijuana on users in their natural environments, were supplementedby clinical examinations and laboratory experiments oriented toward answeringthe questions about marijuana that continued to be debated in the scientificliterature. The data from these studies, published in numerous books andscholarly journals, covered such matters as marijuana's effects on thebrain, lungs, immune and reproductive systems, its impact on personality,development, and motivational states, and its addictive potential.
Although these studies did not answer all remaining questions aboutmarijuana toxicity, they generally supported the idea that marijuana wasa relatively safe drug -- not totally free from potential harm, but unlikelyto create serious harm for most individual users or society. In the yearssince, thousands of additional studies have been conducted, many of themfunded by NIDA, and together they reaffirm marijuana's substantial marginof safety. Our review of that body of work reveals an occasional studyindicating greater toxicity than previously thought. But in nearly allsuch cases, the methodologies were seriously flawed and the findings couldnot be replicated by other researchers.
Especially since the 1980s, when the federal government's renewed waron cannabis began, both the funding of marijuana research and the disseminationof its findings have been highly politicized. Indeed, NIDA's role seemsto have become one of service to the War on Drugs. Dozens of claims oftoxicity appear in its documents, despite the existence of scores of scientificstudies refuting their validity. At the same time, studies that fail tofind serious toxicity are ignored.
In the following pages, we review the scientific evidence surroundingthe most prominent of the anti-marijuana claims.
CLAIM #1: MARIJUANA USE IS INCREASING AT AN ALARMING RATE
Reports of a recent slight increase in marijuana use, especially amongyouth, are being used to convince Americans that a renewed campaign aboutthe drug's dangers is necessary to avert an impending epidemic.
THE FACTS
According to government surveys of the general population, marijuanause began decreasing in 1980, after more than a decade of steady increase.By 1990, the downward trend showed signs of slowing, but use-rates remainedsubstantially lower than those recorded in the 1970s.
For example, among 12-17 year olds, past year marijuana use was about8 percent in 1992, compared to 24.1 percent in 1979. Among 18-25 year olds,past year use was 23 percent in 1992, compared to 46.9 percent in 1979.
A separate survey of high school students shows similar trends, withuse-rates in the 1990s well below those reported in the 1970s. However,after reaching an all-time low in 1992, they increased slightly duringthe next two years.
LIFETIME PREVALENCE OF MARIJUANA, HIGH SCHOOLS SENIORS, 1976-1994
19761978 19801982 198419861988 19901992199452.8 59.260.358.7 54.950.947.240.732.638.2
The High School Survey was originally conceived by the National Instituteon Drug Abuse (NIDA) as a measure of non-pathological drug use. This isstill what it measures. Adolescence is a time of experimentation, withdrug use as well as other activities. Most adolescent drug users do notgo on to become "drug abusers." Indeed, most adolescent drugusers, after a few years of experimentation, cease using illegal drugsaltogether.
We will probably never know why marijuana-use rates go up and down overtime. However, it is worth noting that the recent increase occurred amongthe same population of young people who had been exposed to a decade-longanti-marijuana campaign in the schools and the media. That campaign, basedon exaggerations of marijuana's harms and a "just say no" ideology,has clearly failed.
Young people, and Americans generally, need to know the scientific evidenceabout marijuana if they are to make informed decisions about both theirown drug use and the future of American drug policy.
CLAIM #2: MARIJUANA POTENCY HAS INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY
The claim that there has been a 10-, 20- or 30-fold increase in marijuanapotency since the 1970s is used to discredit previous studies that showedminimal harm caused by the drug and convince users from earler eras thattoday's marijuana is much more dangerous.
THE FACTS
For more than 20 years the government-funded Potency Monitoring Project(PMP) at the University of Mississippi has been analyzing samples of marijuanasubmited by U.S. law enforcement officials. At no time have police seizuresreflected the marijuana generally available to users around the countryand, in the 1970s, they were over-represented by large-volume low-potencyMexican kilobricks.
During the 1970s, the PMP regularly reported potency averages of under1%, with a low of 0.4% in 1974. Quite clearly, these averages under-estimatethe THC content of marijuana smoked during this period.
Marijuana of under 0.5% potency has almost no psychoactivity. Whileit is possible that people sometimes obtained marijuana of such low potency,for the drug to have become popular in the 1960s and 1970s, most peoplemust have regularly obtained marijuana with higher THC content.
Until the late 1970s, PMP samples included none of the traditionallyhigher-potency cannabis products, such as buds and sinsemilla, even thoughthese products were available on the retail market. When changes in policepractices resulted in their seizure, PMP potency averages increased.
Every independent analysis of potency in the 1970s found higher THCaverages than the PMP. For example, the 59 samples submitted to PharmChemLaboratories in 1973 averaged 1.62%; only 16 (27%) contained less than1% THC, more than half were over 2% and about one-fifth were over 4%. In1975, PharmChem samples ranged from 2 to 5%, with some as high as 14% --nearly 30 times the .71 average reported by the PMP.
After 1980, both the number and variety of official seizures increaseddramatically, improving the validity of the PMP's reported averages, althoughthey continue to be based on "convenience" rather than "representative"samples. As shown below, average potency has remained essentially unchangedsince the early 1980s:
MEAN PERCENTAGE THC OF SEIZED MARIJUANA, 1981-1993, MISSISSIPPI MONITORINGPROJECT
19811982 19831984 198519861987 198819891990199119921993 2.28 3.053.232.392.822.302.93 3.293.063.36 3.363.003.32
Even if potency had increased slightly since the 1970s, it would notmean that smoking marijuana had become more dangerous. In fact, since theprimary health risk of marijuana comes from smoking, higher potency productscan be less dangerous because they allow people to achieve the desiredeffect by inhaling less.
CLAIM #3: MARIJUANA IS A DRUG WITHOUT THERAPEUTIC VALUE
Proposals to make marijuana legally available as a medicine are counteredwith claims that safer, more effective drugs are available, including asynthetic version of delta-9-THC, marijuana's primary active ingredient.
THE FACTS
For thousands of years, throughout the world, people have used marijuanato treat a variety of medical conditions.
Today, in the United States, such use is prohibited. Although thirty-sixstates have passed legislation to allow marijuana's use as a medicine,federal law preempts their making marijuana legally available to patients.
A number of studies have shown that marijuana is effective in reducingnausea and vomiting, lowering intraocular pressure associated with glaucoma,and decreasing muscle spasm and spasticity. Today, many people use marijuanafor these and other medical purposes, despite its illegal status.
People undergoing cancer chemotherapy have found smoked marijuana tobe an effective anti-nauseant-often more effective than available pharmaceuticalmedications. Indeed, 44 percent of oncologists responding to a questionnairesaid they had recommended marijuana to their cancer patients; others saidthey would recommend it if it were legal.
Marijuana is also smoked by thousands of AIDS patients to treat thenausea and vomiting associated with both the disease and AZT drug therapy.Because it stimulates appetite, marijuana also counters HIV-related "wasting,"allowing AIDS patients to gain weight and prolong their lives.
In 1986, a synthetic delta-9-THC capsule (Marinol) was marketed in theUnited States and labeled for use as an anti-emetic. Despite some utility,this product has serious drawbacks, including its cost. For example, apatient taking three 5 mgm capsules a day would spend over $5,000 to useMarinol for one year. In comparison to the natural, smokeable product Marinolalso has some pharmacological shortcomings. Because THC delivered in oralcapsules enters the bloodstream slowly, it yields lower serum concentrationsper dose. Oral THC circulates in the body longer at effective concentrations,and more of it is metabolized to an active compound; thus, it more frequentlyyields unpleasant psychoactive effects. In patients suffering from nausea,the swallowing of capsules may itself provoke vomiting. In short, the smokingof crude marijuana is more efficient in delivering THC and, in some cases,it may be more effective.
The continuing illegality of medical marijuana is based more on politicalthan scientific considerations. Although during the 1970s the governmentsupported exploration into marijuana's therapeutic potential, its rolehas become one of blocking new research and opposing any change in marijuana'slegal status.
CLAIM #4: MARIJUANA CAUSES LUNG DISEASE
It is frequently claimed that marijuana smoke contains such high concentrationsof irritants that marijuana users' risk of developing lung disease is equalto or greater than that of tobacco users.
THE FACTS
Except for their psychoactive ingredients, marijuana and tobacco smokeare nearly identical. Because most marijuana smokers inhale more deeplyand hold the smoke in their lungs, more dangerous material may be consumedper cigarette. However, it is the total volume of irritant inhalation-notthe amount in each cigarette-that matters.
Most tobacco smokers consume more than 10 cigarettes per day and someconsume 40 or more. Regular marijuana smokers seldom consume more than3-5 cigarettes per day and most consume far fewer. Thus, the amount ofirritant material inhaled almost never approaches that of tobacco users.
Frequent marijuana smokers experience adverse respiratory symptoms fromsmoking, including chronic cough, chronic phlegm, and wheezing. However,the only prospective clinical study shows no increased risk of cripplingpulmonary disease (chronic bronchitis and emphysema).
Since 1982, UCLA researchers have evaluated pulmonary function and bronchialcell characteristics in marijuana-only smokers, tobacco-only smokers, smokersof both, and non-smokers. Although they have found changes in marijuana-onlysmokers, the changes are much less pronounced than those found in tobaccosmokers.
The nature of the marijuana-induced changes were also different, occuringprimarily in the lung's large airways-not the small peripheral airwaysaffected by tobacco smoke. Since it is small-airway inflamation that causeschronic bronchitis and emphysema, marijuana smokers may not develop thesediseases.
In an epidemiological survey, approximately 1200 subjects gave informationon smoking and pulmonary function at 2-year intervals. A large percentageof the subjects underwent pulmonary function testing. Although a smallgroup who reported previous marijuna smoking had significant pulmonaryabnormalities, curent marijuana smokers had no significant reduction inany pulmonary functions.
There are no epidemiological or aggregate clinical data suggesting thatmarijuana-only smokers develop lung cancer. However, since some bronchialcell changes appear to be pre-cancerous, an increased risk of cancer amongfrequent marijuana smokers is possible.
Since the pulmonary risks associated with marijuana are related to smoking,the danger is eliminated with other routes of administration. For committedsmokers, pulmonary risk might be reduced with higher-potency products,which produce desired psychoactive effects with less inhalation of irritants.Smokers could also be encouraged to abandon deep inhalation and breath-holding,which increase drug delivery only slightly.
Finally, pulmonary risk might be reduced if marijuana were smoked inwater pipes rather than cigarettes.
CLAIM #5: MARIJUANA IMPAIRS IMMUNE SYSTEM FUNCTIONING
It has been widely claimed that marijuana substantially increases users'risk of contracting various infectious diseases. First emerging in the1970s, this claim took on new significance in the 1980s, following reportsof marijuana use by people suffering from AIDS.
THE FACTS
The principal study fueling the original claim of immune impairmentinvolved preparations created with white blood cells that had been removedfrom marijuana smokers and controls. After exposing the cells to knownimmune activators, researchers reported a lower rate of "transformation"in those taken from marijuana smokers. However, numerous groups of scientists,using similar techniques, have failed to confirm this original study. Infact, a 1988 study demonstrated an increase in responsiveness when whiteblood cells from marijuana smokers were exposed to immunological activators.
Studies involving laboratory animals have shown immune impairment followingadministration of THC, but only with the use of extremely high doses. Forexample, one study demonstrated an increase in herpes infection in rodentsgiven doses of 100 mg/kg/day-a dose approximately 1000 times the dose necessaryto produce a psychoactive effect in humans.
There have been no clinical or epidemiological studies showing an increasein bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection among human marijuana users.In three large field studies conducted in the 1970s, in Jamaica, CostaRica and Greece, researchers found no differences in disease susceptibilitybetween marijuana users and matched controls.
Marijuana use does not increase the risk of HIV infection; nor doesit increase the onset or intensity of symptoms among AIDS patients. Infact, the FDA decision to approve the use of Marinol (synthetic THC) foruse in HIV-wasting syndrome relied upon the absence of any immunopathologydue to THC.
Today, thousands of people with AIDS are smoking marijuana daily tocombat nausea and increase appetite. There is no scientific basis for claimsthat this practice compromises their immune responses. Indeed, the recentdiscovery of a peripheral cannabinoid receptor asociated with lymphatictissue should encourage aggressive exploration of THC's potential use asan immune-system stimulant.
CLAIM #6: MARIJUANA HARMS SEXUAL MATURATION AND REPRODUCTION
Marijuana has been said to interfere with the production of hormonesassociated with reproduction, causing possible infertility among adultusers and delayed sexual development among adolescents.
THE FACTS
There is no evidence that marijuana impairs male reproductive functioning.The Jamaican and Costa Rican field studies detected no differences in hormonelevels between marijuana users and non-users. In epidemiological surveysof marijuana users, no problems with fertility have emerged as important.
In 1974, researchers reported diminished testosterone, reduced sexualfunction and abnormal sperm cells in males identified as chronic marijuanausers. In a laboratory study, the same researchers reported an acute decreasein testosterone, but no chronic effect after nine weeks of smoking; theydid not evaluate sperm volume or quality. In other laboratory studies,researchers have been generally unable to replicate these findings althoughby administering very high THC doses-up to 20 cigarettes per day for 30days- one study found a slight decrease in sperm concentrations. In allstudies, test results remained within normal ranges and probably wouldnot have affected actual fertility. Severe adverse consequences have alsobeen produced in male laboratory animals, although only with extremelyhigh daily THC doses. More importantly, in both the human and animal laboratorystudies, all observed changes were reversed once THC adminstration washalted.
The claim that marijuana impairs female reproductive functioning inhumans has no support in the scientific literature. There have been noepidemiological studies indicating diminished fertility in female usersof marijuana, and a recent survey found no impact of chronic marijuanause on female sex hormones.
Animal studies show hormonal changes and depressed ovulation followingextremely high daily doses of THC. As occurs with males, these changesdisappear once the experiment is completed. In addition, when THC was administeredto female monkeys for an entire year, they developed tolerance to its hormonaleffects and normal cycles were reestablished.
Almost immediately following publication of the few studies showinga marijuana impact on reproductive hormones, warnings about marijuana'spotential impact on adolescent sexual development began to appear.
Other than one case report of a 16-year old marijuana smoker who hadfailed to progress to puberty, there has been nothing to indicate thatsuch a potential exists. In whatever other ways one might consider marijuanato be bad for adolescents, it does not retard their sexual development.
CLAIM #7: MARIJUANA USE DURING PREGNANCY HARMS THE FETUS
A powerful accusation in anti-drug campaigns is that children are permanentlyharmed by their mothers' use of drugs during pregnancy. Today, it is commonlyclaimed that marijuana is a cause of birth defects and development deficits.
THE FACTS
A number of studies reported low birth weight and physical abnormalitiesamong babies exposed to marijuana in utero. However, when other factorsknown to affect pregnancy outcomes were controlled for-for example, maternalage, socio-economic class, and alcohol and tobacco use-the associationbetween marijuana use and adverse fetal effects disappeared.
Numerous other studies have failed to find negative impacts from marijuanaexposure. However, when negative outcomes are found, they tend to be widelypublicized, regardless of the quality of the study.
It is now often claimed that marijuana use during pregnancy causes childhoodleukemia. The basis for this claim is one study, in which 5% of the mothersof leukemic children admitted to using marijuana prior to or during pregnancy.A "control group" of mothers with normal children was then createdand questioned by telephone about previous drug use. Their reported .5percent marijuana use- rate was used to calculate a 10-fold greater riskof leukemia for children born to marijuana users. Given national surveysshowing marijuana prevalence rates of at least 10%, these "controlgroup" mothers almost certainly under-reported their drug use to strangerson the telephone.
Also used as evidence of marijuana-induced fetal harm are two longitudinalstudies, in which the children of marijuana users were examined repeatedly.However, on closer examination, the effects of marijuana appear to be quiteminimal, if existent at all. After finding a slight deficit in visual responsivenessamong marijuana-exposed newborns, no differences were found at 6 months,12 months, 18 months, or 24 months. At age 3, the only difference (aftercontrolling for confounding variables) was that children of "moderate"smokers had superior psycho-motor skills. At age 4, children of "heavy"marijuana users (averaging 18.7 joints/week) had lower scores on one subscaleof one standardized test of verbal development. At age 6, these same childrenscored lower on one computerized task-that measuring "vigilance."On dozens of others scales and subscales, no differences were ever found.
In another study, standardized IQ tests were administered to marijuana-exposedand unexposed 3 year-olds. Researchers found no differences in the overallscores. However, by dividing the sample by race, they found-among African-American children only-lower scores on one subscale for those exposed duringthe first trimester and lower scores on a different subscale for thoseexposed during the second trimester.
Although it is sensible to advise pregnant women to abstain from usingmost drugs-including marijuana-the weight of scientific evidence indicatesthat marijuana has few adverse consequences for the developing human fetus.
CLAIM #8: MARIJUANA CAUSES BRAIN DAMAGE
Critics state that marijuana damages brain cells and that this damage,in turn, causes memory loss, cognitive impairment, and difficulties inlearning.
THE FACTS
The original basis of this claim was a report that, upon post-mortemexamination, structural changes in several brain regions were found intwo rhesus monkeys exposed to THC. Because these changes primarily involvedthe hippocampus, a cortical brain region known to play an important rolein learning and memory, this finding suggested possible negative consequencesfor human marijuana users. Additional studies, employing rodents, reportedsimilar brain changes. However, to achieve these results, massive dosesof THC-up to 200 times the psychoactive dose in humans-had to be given.In fact, studies employing 100 times the human dose have failed to revealany damage.
In the most recently published study, rhesus monkeys, through face-maskinhalation, were exposed to the equivalent of 4-5 joints per day for anentire year. When sacraficed seven months later, there was no observedalteration of hippocampal architecture, cell size, cell number, or synapticconfiguration. The authors conclude that: "while behavioral and neuroendocrinaleffects were observed during marijuana smoke exposure in the monkey, residualneuropathological and neurochemical effects of marijuana exposure werenot observed seven months after the year-long marijuana smoke regimen."
Thus, twenty years after the first report of brain-damage in two marijuana-exposedmonkeys, the claim of physiological damage to brain cells has been effectivelydisproven.
No post-mortem examinations of the brains of human marijuana users haveever been conducted. However, numerous studies have explored marijuana'seffect on brain-related cognitive functions. Many employ an experimentaldesign-in which subjects are given marijuana in a laboratory setting, andthen compared to controls on a variety of measures involving attention,learning, and memory.
In a number of studies, no significant differences were detected. Infact, there is substantial research demonstrating that marijuana intoxicationdoes not impair the retrieval of information learned previously. However,there is evidence that marijuana, particularly in high doses, may interferewith users' ability to transfer new information into long-term memory.
While there is general agreement that, while under the influence ofmarijuana, learning is less efficient, there is no evidence that marijuanausers-even long-term users-suffer permanent impairment. Indeed, numerousstudies comparing chronic marijuana users with non-user controls have foundno significant differences in learning, memory recall, or other cognitivefunctions.
CLAIM #9: MARIJUANA IS AN ADDICTIVE DRUG
It is now frequently stated that marijuana is profoundly addicting andthat any increase in prevalence of use will lead inevitably to increasesin addiction.
THE FACTS
Essentially all drugs are used in "an addictive fashion" bysome people. However, for any drug to be identified as highly addictive,there should be evidence that substantial numbers of users repeatedly failin their attempts to discontinue use and develop use-patterns that interferewith other life activities.
National epidemiological surveys show that the large majority of peoplewho have had experience with marijuana do not become regular users.
In 1993, among Americans age 12 and over, about 34% had used marijuanasometime in their life, but only 9% had used it in the past year, 4.3%in the past month, and 2.8% in the past week.
A longitudinal study of young adults who had first been surveyed inhigh school also found a high "discontinuation rate" for marijuana.While 77% had used the drug, 74% of those had not used in the past yearand 84% had not used in the past month.
Of course, even people who continue using marijuana for several yearsor more are not necessarily "addicted" to it. Many regular users-includingmany daily users-consume marijuana in a way that does not interfere withother life activities, and may in some cases enhance them. There is onlyscant evidence that marijuana produces physical dependence and withdrawalin humans.
When human subjects were administered daily oral doses of 180-210 mgTHC-the equivalent of 15-20 joints per day-abrupt cessation produced adversesymptoms, including disturbed sleep, restlessness, nausea, decreased appetite,and sweating. The authors interpreted these symptoms as evidence of physicaldependence. However, they noted the syndrome's relatively mild nature andremained skeptical of its occurrence when marijuana is consumed in usualdoses and situations. Indeed, when humans are allowed to control consumption,even high doses are not followed by adverse withdrawal symptoms.
Signs of withdrawal have been created in laboratory animals followingthe administration of very high doses. Recently, at a NIDA-sponsored conference,a researcher described unpublished observations involving rats pre-treatedwith THC and then dosed with a cannabinoid receptor-blocker. Not surprisingly,this provoked sudden withdrawal, by stripping receptors of the drug. Thisfinding has no relevance to human users who, upon ceasing use, experiencea very gradual removal of THC from receptors.
The most avid publicizers of marijuana's addictive nature are treatmentproviders who, in recent years, have increasingly admitted insured marijuanausers to their programs. The increasing use of drug-detection technologiesin the workplace, schools and elsewhere has also produced a group of marijuanausers who identify themselves as "addicts" in order to receivetreatment instead of punishment.
CLAIM #10: MARIJUANA-RELATED MEDICAL EMERGENCIES ARE INCREASING
As evidence of its harmful effects, prohibition advocates point to dramaticincreases in emergency-room episodes related to marijuana ingestion.
THE FACTS
Data gathered by the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) show a recentincrease in "marijuana mentions" by people seeking treatmentin hospital emergency rooms. Using a one-page form, emergency-room personnelrecord "drug abuse episodes," note the presence or absence ofalcohol as a contributing factor, and list up to four other drugs recentlyconsumed by the patient.
Although DAWN began compiling data in the 1970s, recent changes in recordingprocedures, the hospital selection, and methods of statistical estimationprevent comparisons of data gathered prior to 1988 with those gatheredrecently. Thus, discussion of emergency-room trends is limited to the years1988 to 1993.
The lowest number of marijuana-mentions, recorded in 1990, was 15,706(7.1 mentions per 100,000 population). The highest was 29,166 (12.7 per100,000 population), recorded in 1993.
Using these figures, an increase of 86% has been reported. However,if 1988 is used as the "base year" instead-a year in which therewere 19,962 marijuana mentions-the increase is reduced immediately by morethan half, to 42%.
Despite marijuana being the most frequently used illicit drug, in emergencyrooms, it remains the least often mentioned illicit drug.
In 1993, marijuana accounted for 6.25% of mentions, compared to 15.3%for cocaine and 9.8% for heroin. Even over-the-counter pain medicationswere mentioned more often than marijuana-comprising 9% of the total.
For youth aged 6 to 17, there were more mentions of marijuana than ofheroin and cocaine-not because marijuana is more harmful to them but becausethese latter drugs are used so infrequently by young people. In this agegroup, mentions of over-the-counter pain medications were substantiallyhigher than those for marijuana. While marijuana accounted for 6.48% ofdrug mentions by youth, over-the-counter pain medications accounted for47%.
For the total population, not only is marijuana mentioned less frequentlythan other recreational drugs, it is seldom mentioned alone. In 1992, inmore than 80% of the drug-abuse episodes involving marijunana, at leastone other drug was mentioned; and, in more than 40%, two or more additionaldrugs were mentioned.
Of 24,000 marijuana mentions in 1992, more than 13,000 involved alcoholand nearly 10,000 involved cocaine.
Despite recent increases in marijuana mentions, hospital emergency roomsare not flooded with marijuana users seeking medical attention. In 1992,of 433,493 total drug mentions, only 4,464 -- about 1% -- involved theuse of marijuana alone.
CLAIM #11: MARIJUANA PRODUCES AN AMOTIVATIONAL SYNDROME
Marijuana is said to have a deliterious effect on society by makingusers passive, apathetic, unproductive, and unable (or unwilling) to fulfilltheir responsibilities.
THE FACTS
The concept of an amotivational syndrome first appeared in the late1960s, as marijuana use was increasing among American youth. In the yearssince, despite the absence of an agreed-upon definition of the concept,numerous researchers have attempted to verify its occurrence.
Large-scale studies of high school students have generally found nodifference in grade-point averages between marijuana users and non-users.One study found lower grades among students reported to be daily usersof marijuana, but the authors failed to identify a causal relationshipand concluded that both phenomena were part of a complex of inter-relatedsocial and emotional problems.
In one longitudinal study of college students, after controlling forother factors, marijuana users were found to have higher grades than non-usersand to be equally as likely to successfully complete their educations.Another study found that marijuana users in college scored higher thannon-users on standardized "achievement values" scales.
Field studies conducted in Jamaica, Costa Rica and Greece also foundno evidence of an amotivational syndrome among marijuana-using populations.
In these samples of working-class males, the educational and employmentrecords of marijuana users were, for the most part, similar to those ofnon-users. In fact, in Jamaica, marijuana was often smoked during workinghours as an aid to productivity. The results of laboratory studies havebeen nearly as consistent.
In one study lasting 94 days, marijuana had no significant impact onlearning, performance or motivation.
In another 31-day study, subjects given marijuana worked more hoursthan controls and turned in an equal number of tokens for cash at the study'scompletion.
However, in a Canadian study that required subjects in the marijuanagroup to consume unusually high doses, some reduction in work efficencywas noted in the days following intoxication.
Undoubtedly, when marijuana is used in a way that produces near-constantintoxication, other activities and responsibilities are likely to be neglected.
However, the weight of scientific evidence suggests that there is nothingin the pharmacological properties of cannabis to alter people's attitudes,values, or abilities regarding work.
CLAIM #12: MARIJUANA IS A MAJOR CAUSE OF HIGHWAY ACCIDENTS
The detrimental impact of alcohol on highway safety has been well documented.Marijuana's opponents claim that it, too, causes significant impairmentand that any increase in use will lead to increased highway accidents andfatalities.
THE FACTS
In high doses, marijuana probably produces driving impairment in mostpeople. However, there is no evidence that marijuana, in current consumptionpatterns, contributes substantially to the rate of vehicular accidentsin America.
A number of studies have looked for evidence of drugs in the blood orurine of drivers involved in fatal crashes. All have found alcohol presentin 50 percent or more. Marijuana has been found much less often. Furthermore,in the majority of cases where marijuana has been detected, alcohol hasbeen detected as well.
For example, a recent study sponsored by the U.S. National Highway TrafficSafety Administration (NHTSA) involving analysis of nearly 2000 fatal accidentcases, found 6.7 percent of drivers positive for marijuana. In more thantwo-thirds of those, alcohol was present and may have been the primarycontributor to the fatal outcome.
To accurately assess marijuana's contribution to fatal crashes, thepositive rate among deceased drivers would have to be compared to the positiverate from a random sample of drivers not involved in fatal accidents. Sincethe rate of past-month marijuana use for Americans above the legal drivingage is about 12 percent, on any given day a substantial proportion of alldrivers would test positive, particulary since marijuana's metabolitesremain in blood and urine long after its psychoactive effects are finished.
A recent study found that one-third of those stopped for "bad driving"between the hours of 7 p.m. and 2 a.m.-mostly young males-tested positivefor marijuana only. To be meaningful, these test results would have tobe compared to those from a matched control group of drivers.
A number of driving simulator studies have shown that marijuana doesnot produce the kind of psychomotor impairment evident with modest dosesof alcohol. In fact, in a recent NHTSA study, the only statistically significantoutcome associated with marijuana was speed reduction.
A recent study of actual driving ability under the influence of cannabis-employingthe same protocol used to test the impairment-potential of medicinal drugs-evaluatedthe impact of placebo and three active THC doses in three driving trials,including one in high-density urban traffic.
Dose-related impairment was observed in drivers' ability to maintainsteady lateral position. However, even with the highest dose of THC, impairmentwas relatively minor-similar to that observed with blood-alcohol concentrationsbetween .03 and .07 percent and many legal medications. Drivers under theinfluence of marijuana also tended to drive more slowly and approach othercars more cautiously.
While recognizing some limitations of this study, the authors concludethat "THC is not a profoundly impairing drug.
CLAIM #13: MARIJUANA IS A "GATEWAY" TO THE USE OF OTHER DRUGS
Advocates of marijuana prohibition claim that even if marijuana itselfcauses minimal harm, it is a dangerous substance because it leads to theuse of "harder drugs" such as heroin, LSD, and cocaine.
THE FACTS
Most users of heroin, LSD and cocaine have used marijuana. However,most marijuana users never use another illegal drug. Over time, there hasbeen no consistent relationship between the use patterns of various drugs.As marijuana use increased in the 1960s and 1970s, heroin use declined.And, when marijuana use declined in the 1980s, heroin use remained fairlystable.
For the past 20 years, as marijuana use-rates fluxuated, the use ofLSD hardly changed at all. Cocaine use increased in the early 1980s asmarijuana use was declining. During the late 1980s, both marijuana andcocaine declined. During the last few years, cocaine use has continuedto decline as marijuana use has increased slightly.
In 1994, less than 16 percent of high school seniors who had ever triedmarijuana had ever tried cocaine-the lowest percentage ever recorded. Infact, as shown below, the proportion of marijuana users trying cocainehas declined steadily since 1986, when a high of more than 33 percent wasrecorded.
PERCENTAGE OF MARIJUANA USERS EVER TRYING COCAINE, HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS,1975-1994
19751976 19771978 197919801981 198219831984198519861987 1988 198919901991199219931994 1919 2022 252728 27282931 333026 232222 % 181716
In short, there is no inevitable relationship between the use of marijuanaand other drugs. This fact is supported by data from other countries. InHolland, for example, although marijuana prevalence among young peopleincreased during the past decade, cocaine use decreased-and remains considerablylower than in the United States.
Whereas approximately 16 percent of youthful marijuana users in theU.S. have tried cocaine, the comparable figure for Dutch youth is 1.8 percent.Indeed, Holland's policy of allowing marijuana to be purchased openly ingovernment-regulated "coffee shops" was designed specificallyto separate young marijuana users from illegal markets where heroin andcocaine are sold.
CLAIM #14: DUTCH MARIJUANA POLICY HAS BEEN A FAILURE
While American critics of marijuana prohibition often point to Hollandas a model for an alternative policy, prohibition's supporters claim thatHolland's permissiveness has had disasterous consequences, including escalatingrates of drug use among youth.
THE FACTS
In 1976, following the recommendations of two national commissions,the Dutch government revised many aspects of its drug policy. While notlegalizing marijuana, it adopted an "expediency principle," whichdirected police and prosecutors to ignore retail sale to adults as longas the circumstances of the sale do not constitute a public nuisance.
This change in policy was based on several factors, including: * a principleof tolerance toward alternative lifestyles * a finding that, compared toother illegal drugs, marijuana poses little risk to users * a desire toprotect marijuana users from the marginalization that accompanies arrestand prosecution * a belief that separating the retail markets for "soft"and "hard" drugs decreases the likelihood that marijuana userswill experiment with cocaine or heroin
Following the policy change, marijuana sales emerged openly in coffeeshops, which were required to follow a set of regulations, including aban on advertising, sale of no more than 30 grams at a time, and a minimumpurchase age of 18. The sale of other drugs on the premises is strictlyprohibited, and constitutes grounds for immediate closure by the police.Local officials were also authorized to create additional regulations toprotect the interests of the community-for example, limiting the numberof coffee shops concentrated in any one area.
Since liberalization, marijuana use has increased in the Netherlands,although rates remain similar to those in neighboring European countries,and are generally lower than those in the United States.
MARIJUANA USE AMONG DUTCH YOUTH
(ages 12-18) ever used past month1984 4.8 %2.3 % 1988 8.03.1 199213.66.5
MARIJUANA USE AMONG AMERICAN YOUTH
(ages 12-17) ever used past month1985 23.2 %11.2 % 198824.76.4 199311.74.9
MARIJUANA USE AMONG AMERICAN YOUTH
(high-school seniors) ever used past month1985 54.225.7 1988 47.218.0199335.3 15.6
While marijuana use-rates have increased in Holland, cocaine use-rateshave not- indicating that separation of the "hard" and "soft"drug markets has prevented a "gateway effect" from developing.In 1992, about 1.5% of 12 to 18 year-olds had ever tried cocaine and only.3% had used it in the past month.
Although there are some Dutch critics of Holland's liberalized marijuanapolicy, the government's official position remains steadfastly supportiveof the 1976 initiative that decriminalized possession and retail sale.
ENDNOTES
Grinspoon, L., Marijuana Reconsidered, Cambridge: University of HarvardPress (1971); Kaplan, J., Marijuana: The new Prohibition, New York: WorldPublishing Company (1970); Brecher, E.M., Licit and Illicit Drugs, Boston:Little, Brown and Company (1972).
U.S. National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse, Marijuana: A Signalof Misunderstanding, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office (1972);Canadian Government's Commission of Inquiry, The Non-Medical Use of Drugs:Interim Report, Ottowa (1970).
Himmelstein, J., The Strange Career of Marijuana: Politics and Ideologyof Decriminalization in America, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1983);Single, E.W., "The Impact of Marijuana Decriminalization: An Update,"Journal of Public health Policy 10:456-66 (1989).
Carter, W.E. (ed), Cannabis in Costa Rica: A Study of Chronic MarijuanaUse, Philadelphia: Institute for Study of Human Issues (1980); Rubin, V.and Comitas, L., Ganja in Jamaica, The Hague: Mouton (1975); Stefanis,C. et al, Hashish: Studies of Long Term Use, New York: Raven Press (1977).
Preliminary Estimates From the 1993 National Household Survey on DrugAbuse, Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1994).
Johnston, L.D. et al, Monitoring the Future, Ann Arbor: University ofMichigan Institute for Social Research (1994).
Ennett, S.T, et al, "How Effective is Drug Abuse Resistance Education?A Meta-Analysis of Project DARE Outcome Evaluations," American Journalof Public Health 84:1394-1401 (1994).
ElSohly, M.A. et al, "Constituents of Cannabis Sativa L XXIV: ThePotency of Confiscated Marijuana, Hashish, and Hash Oil Over a Ten-yearPeriod," Journal of Forensic Sciences 29:500-14 (1984).
Perry, D., "Street Drug Analysis and Drug Use Trends, Part II,1969-1976," PharmChem Newsletter 6 (1977).
Rubin, V., "Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Therapeutic Uses ofCannabis," pp 1-18 in S. Cohen and R.C. Stillman (eds), The TherapeuticPotential of Marijuana, New York: Plenum Medical Book Company (1976).
Chang, A.E. et al, "Delta-Nine-Tetrahydrocannabinol as an Antiemeticin Cancer Patients Receiving High-Dose Methotrexate: A Prospective RandomizedEvaluation, Annals of Internal Medicine 91: 819-24 (1979). Hepler, R.S.and Frank, I.R., "Marijuana Smoking and Intracular Pressure,"Journal of the American Medical Association 217: 1392 (1971).
Petro, D.J., "Marijuana as a Therapeutic Agent for Muscle Spasmor Spasticity," Psychosomatics 21: 81-85 (1980). Grinspoon, L. andBakalar, J.B, Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine, New Haven: Yale UniversityPress (1993).
Vinciguerra, V. et al, "Inhalation Marijuana as an Antiemetic forCancer Chemotherapy," New York State Journal of Medicine 85:525-27(1988); Dansac, D., "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition,"Affidafit filed in Drug Enforcement Adminstration Hearings,
From ???@??? Mon Oct 21 22:32:17 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@line136.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.136]) by gold.interlog.com(8.7.6/8.6.10) with ESMTP id TAA24292 for <iorfida@interlog.com>;Sun, 20 Oct 1996 19:19:07 -0400 (EDT) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received:from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9)with SMTP id QAA00235 for ccletters; Sun, 20 Oct 1996 16:04:24 -0700 Date:Sun, 20 Oct 1996 16:04:24 -0700 Message-Id: <199610202304.QAA00235@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: ai256@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: CL#09 editing X-UIDL: eada05a6ff567989324d5f8f20215c5c
If you are having any problems, or just want someone to double-checkfor typos, email a draft of your letter to
ai256@chebucto.ns.ca or letters@drcnet.org
Put [CCedit] on the subject line so I can find it easily. More infofor your letters will be forthcoming Sunday afternoon, but I'll cut andpaste the good quotes into one post this time. I hope no one minded thelength of the last three posts, but the information is essential readingfor anyone who wants to write on these issues.
Chris
From ???@??? Mon Oct 21 22:32:20 1996 Received: from smtp.interlog.com(root@smtp.interlog.com [198.53.145.6]) by gold.interlog.com (8.7.6/8.6.10)with ESMTP id RAA17178 for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Mon, 21 Oct 199617:39:34 -0400 (EDT) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@line175.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.175]) by smtp.interlog.com(8.7.6/8.7.6) with ESMTP id RAA13726 for <iorfida@interlog.com>;Mon, 21 Oct 1996 17:25:31 -0400 (EDT) Received: from hempbc.com (root@localhost[127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9) with SMTP id OAA00264for ccletters; Mon, 21 Oct 1996 14:13:23 -0700 Date: Mon, 21 Oct 1996 14:13:23-0700 Message-Id: <199610212113.OAA00264@gulik.dymaxion.edu> Reply-To:ai256@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: CL#10 quotes for Vancouver Harm ReductionRally letters X-UIDL: 88dce16906de63a27d3e7ed2c3ace76d
I expect most letter writers will skip the use of quotes, with maybesome of you using a paraphrase or two. However, for those of you who havethe time to include some of the following information, it will help increaseyour chances of being widely published. If nothing else, the informationI have sent you so far, and the few posts following this, represent anmini-data base of hard info that everyone in Canada should be aware of.All this information can be used in any future letter you write, so itis worth storing it somewhere on your computer. In the following post,you will find useful quotes about: 1) Canadian attitudes towards decriminalization2) The success of Dutch policy 3) The safety and effectiveness of marijuanaas medicine 4) The disastrous effects of US drug prohibition on Americans
There seems to be a time lag of anywhere from a few hours to a day betweenmy posting to CCletters and you receiving my posts. Just in case you don'tsee this until Monday, you can expect a post sometime Tuesday entitled"Vancouver Rally contact information" that contains a list ofmedia addresses in Vancouver. Your letters should be sent by Thursday tohave a chance of being printed, though sending them Tuesday and Wednesdayis best. Chris -----------------------------------------------------------------------[Longer quotes are best paraphrased, though if you are only using a singlequote it can be a paragraph in length. Take what you want from the following,and don't feel obligated to include the cite.]
QUOTES ABOUT CANADIAN ATTITUDES TOWARDS MARIJUANA
"A 1995 poll by Health Canada said that 70 per cent of Canadianswant marijuana either legalized or decriminalized - which means that someonecaught smoking wouldn't get a criminal record, and would only have to paysomething resembling a parking fine. The 1995 poll, titled "Canada'sAlcohol and Other Drug Survey," shows that 27 per cent of Canadiansover the age of 15 actually want marijuana made legal, to be regulatedin the same manner as tobacco and alcohol. An Ontario survey in 1994 bythe Addiction Research Foundation found that among people 35 to 54, thebulk of the population, 50 per cent said marijuana should be decriminalized.Another 10 per cent said the drug should be legal. Only 40 per cent favoredkeeping marijuana use a criminal offense." (N. B. Telegraph Journal,Sept. 10, 1996)
[The above can easily be paraphrased as something like: According togovernment studies, almost three out of four Canadians favor decriminalizingor legalizing cannabis, and over one quarter favor legalizing it and treatingit like alcohol and tobacco.]
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QUOTES ABOUT THE DUTCH POLICY ON MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION
Dutch government statistics show that "The success of its policy[on marijuana] is reflected in the sharp decline of young people usinghard drugs - only 2 per cent of Dutch addicts are under 22 years of age,compared with 14 per cent a decade ago. The countries addict populationhas dropped by a third, with 25,000 heavy users of cocaine and heroin,or 1.6 per 1,000 inhabitants. Other European countries have twice thatlevel, and in the US it is six times greater." (International HeraldTribune, Nov 8, 1995)
[By my calculations, THERE HAS BEEN AN 85 PER CENT -DECREASE- IN THENUMBER OF HARD DRUG USERS UNDER THE AGE OF 22 IN THE NETHERLANDS IN THELAST TEN YEARS]
According to Ton Cramer, a senior addiction-policy staff member in theDutch health ministry, a recent in-depth study of Dutch drug use showsthat: "Cannabis use in Holland is no higher that elsewhere in Europe,and more important, hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine, the real targetof the Dutch soft drug policy, are under better control than in most othercountries." (TIME International, Apr. 29, 1996, vol 147, no 18)
According to Dutch government statistics, after 20 years of marijuanadecriminalization, "violent crime is far lower than in the US... Therewere 1.9 homicides in Holland per 100,000 people in 1993. The US rate was9.5. (Dallas Morning News, 11 -14 -95. Originally from the Chicago Tribune)
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CONSUMING MARIJUANA AND HEALTH (MED MJ)
After reviewing all available evidence, D.E.A. Administration Law JudgeFrancis J. Young stated (Sept. 6, 1988): "Marijuana in its naturalform is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man."
According to an editorial in the respected British medical journal TheLancet: "The smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful tohealth." (Nov. 11, 1995)
The journal of Clinical Oncology (US) reported in 1989 that 48 per centof respondents to a survey of cancer specialists recommended marijuanaas a medicine.
According to a 1982 report by the prestigious National Academy of Sciencesin the United States: "Over the past 40 years, marijuana has beenaccused of causing an array of antisocial effects, ... they have not beensubstantiated by scientific evidence. The therapeutic use of marijuanaincludes positive effects on appetite, nausea, vomiting, epilepsy, musclespasticity, anxiety, depression, pain, glaucoma, asthma, and the symptomsof withdrawal from alcohol and narcotics."
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THE ROAD TO HELL: "DRUG" PROHIBITION AND THE U.S.
[The Canadian government has stated that part of the motivation behindBill C8 was to bring our prohibition policies more in line with those ofthe US. Here is a glimpse at the effect of US prohibition policies:]
According to US Government statistics released August 18, 1996:
-The rate of incarceration in the Unitied States has nearly doubledin the last decade, with 1.6 million prisoners last year.
-The United States now has the highest incarceration rate of its owncitizens in the entire world, surpassing even the former Soviet Union.
-There were more than twice as many inmates in custody in the US lastyear than there were ten years ago.
According to the Press Democrat, a California newspaper, last Decemberthe chief of corrections statistics for the U.S. Justice Department, Bureauof Justice Satistics, said: "The number of people incarcerated fordrug crimes has grown far more rapidly than criminals locked up for anyother reason, with drug offenders jumping from 8 per cent of all [California]state inmates in 1980, to more than a quarter of all inmates today. Atthe same time, violent criminals occupy a decreasing share of state prisoncells, dropping from 57 per cent in 1980 to about 45 per cent today. Inthe US federal prison system, drug offenders have increased 1,000 percentsince 1980, and now comprise more than half of all federal inmates."
"Last year, for the first time, Californians spent more on prisonsthan education." (Philadelphia Enquirer, May 20, 1996)
From ???@??? Mon Oct 21 22:32:18 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@line175.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.175]) by gold.interlog.com(8.7.6/8.6.10) with ESMTP id RAA09405 for <iorfida@interlog.com>;Mon, 21 Oct 1996 17:20:55 -0400 (EDT) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received:from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9)with SMTP id OAA00269 for ccletters; Mon, 21 Oct 1996 14:13:26 -0700 Date:Mon, 21 Oct 1996 14:13:26 -0700 Message-Id: <199610212113.OAA00269@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: ai256@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: CL#11 Quotes, Senate is pro decrimX-UIDL: 83a99e40fe0e16aceca5767946b0d5df
If you are going to allude to anything in your letter, it is worth consideringan allusion to the following. This will be the last of the "info"posts. In the future, there will be at most a page or two of selected quotesaccompanying each story we focus on.
The Daily News Worldwide National News Saturday, May 18, 1996 Possessionof pot OK, Senate committee says OTTAWA - The red chamber is not withoutits surprises. <p>Some members of the Senate legal and constitutionalaffairs committee say possession of a small amount of marijuana or hashishshould not be illegal. <p>"I'm trying to imagine what's goingon inside the minds of the senators on this issue," Richard Garlick,spokesman for the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, said yesterday. <p>Thecommittee is studying Bill C-8, federal legislation that would retain criminalsanctions for personal drug use. The bill has been approved by the Houseof Commons. <p>Originally it called for a $2,000 fine and the optionof a maximum one-year jail term for simple possession of marijuana. Thatwas amended to retain the existing penalty of a $1,000 fine or six monthsin jail.
<H4>Punitive approach</H4> <p>Senator Rose-Marie Losier-Cooltold The Toronto Star the current punitive approach to dealing with dopesmoking hasn't worked. <p>"I'm in favor of decriminalizing marijuana,"said Losier-Cool, 57. <p>"Maybe it's a health approach we shouldbe taking a serious look at." <p>Marc Emery, a Vancouver potadvocate and publisher of the magazine Cannabis Canada, was surprised senatorsare interested in marijuana. <p>"They had read our magazine,our pamphlets and all the previous research material submitted to themby previous witnesses," said Emery, who testified before the committee.<p>"They showed a really wide range of knowledge about marijuana."
<H4>Sympathetic</H4> <p>Five of the 13 committee membersfavored decriminalizing possession and the rest were sympathetic, saidEmery. <p>"The Senate is the only caring, rational politicalvoice we've ever seen." <p>Garlick was even more surprised thatsenators Philippe Gigantes, 72, Richard Doyle, 73, and Duncan Jessiman,73, supported changing the law. <p>"Support for decriminalizationdoesn't generally come from the more mature part of the population,"he said. <p>Senators are appointed by the prime minister and holdtheir seats until they are 75, meaning they don't have to fear a voterbacklash, said Barry Beyerstein, a Simon Fraser University psychology professorwho favors more liberal drug laws. <p>"It is an argument infavor of a group that doesn't have to pander to public prejudice and cangive a sober second look," said Beyerstein. <p>"It's quiterefreshing when you see people willing to look objectively at the evidence."
From ???@??? Wed Oct 23 18:23:17 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@line118.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.118]) by gold.interlog.com(8.7.6/8.6.10) with ESMTP id RAA26110 for <iorfida@interlog.com>;Tue, 22 Oct 1996 17:51:29 -0400 (EDT) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received:from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9)with SMTP id OAA00233 for ccletters; Tue, 22 Oct 1996 14:02:01 -0700 Date:Tue, 22 Oct 1996 14:02:01 -0700 Message-Id: <199610222102.OAA00233@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: ai256@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: CL#12 Vancouver HR Rally contactinfo! X-UIDL: b0bb2511d3ec86b713f33cc846febe58
If your like most writers, myself included, you have been waiting forthe deadline before writing. THAT TIME HAS COME: JUST DO IT NOW! Send yourletters to: Van Echo: rshore@vanecho.com Van Prov: provedpg@pppress.wimsey.comVan Sun: sunletters@ppress.wimsey.com North Shore News: editor@nsnews.com
I've included the Province and (lame) Sun coverage of the rally in thispost. Either send your letter to all three seperately, or put the emailaddresses in the "bcc" field and leave the "To:" fieldblank so each paper doesn't know you have sent your letter to the competition.Hit the compose command and let them know why the WoD should be ended.Send me a copy at ai256@chebucto.ns.ca with [sent] in the header, or [ccedit]if you want some feedback before sending. I'll be watching my email closelyfor anyone who wants advice, so don't worry about turnover time. TRASHTHE WOD, but be polite;)
Chris -------------------------------------------------------------------------Subject: [CDN] Cops ignore pot sales
Vancouver Province October 20, 1996
LTE: provedpg@ppress.wimsey.com
Cops ignore 'legal' marijuana sales By Ian Austin, Staff Reporter
Vancouver cops stood by yesterday as marijuana advocates openly soldthe herb.
More than 250 supporters, many smoking pot, gathered in Grandview Parkto hear David Malmo-Levine advocate making the sale of marijuana legal.
"You should get congratulated for growing marijana, you shouldn'tget incarcerated," he told the applauding crowd, backing the mayoralcampaign of pot advocate Marc Emery.
"He could tell the police department to put marijuana on the lowestpriority and turn Vancouver in the Amsterdam of North America."
Ringed by chain-smoking supporters, Malmo-Levine auctioned off a colossalreefer for $50 to "Bob Smith."
That's the name I put on the card" he said after defying the lawwith his purchase.
Signing up for a $10 membership in the Harm Reduction Club, "Smith"promised not to drive while stoned, and received the Safer Smoking Guide.
"We all pooled our money," he said. "We had to buy thefirst 'legal' joint in Canada."
Malmo-Levine, calling through a bullhorn, proceeded to sell joints at$5 and $10 as police stood by on Charles Street.
"We're not about to wade in there and get a group hug from 200people," said one cop.
Said pot-booster Anthony Fast: "Prohibition of alcohol was shutdown, and alcohol kills more people every year than pot ever has.
"Why should we have to hide? I'm tired of having to hide."
--
Vancouver Sun October 21, 1996
LTE: sunletters@ppress.wimsey.com
Pot smoke fills air at Vancouver marijuana protest
The Vancouver Sun
Pot smoke wafted over about 100 people in Vancouver on Saturday as theystaged a marijuana smoke-in while police stood by.
A group called the Harm Reduction Club is promoting the legal possessionand sale of marijuana.
The group says it encourages what it calls the responsible use of marijuana,including abstaining while operating heavy machinery and setting 13 asthe minimum legal age for use.
It argues the sale of pot in safe locations would help discourage thecriminal drug subculture.
City police watched the protest from a distance but made no arrests.
_________________________________________________________________
Other Van area media online
North Shore News (Vancouver) editor@nsnews.com Vancouver Echo rshore@vanecho.com
From ???@??? Sat Oct 26 12:55:04 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(line015.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.15]) by gold.interlog.com (8.7.6/8.6.10)with ESMTP id UAA13449 for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Fri, 25 Oct 199620:57:33 -0400 (EDT) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received: from hempbc.com(root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9) with SMTPid RAA00872 for ccletters; Fri, 25 Oct 1996 17:56:05 -0700 Date: Fri, 25Oct 1996 17:56:05 -0700 Message-Id: <199610260056.RAA00872@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CL#13 A note of explanation X-UIDL:256deb204e2e02ce793284246e3ccb80
To the devoted and passionate participants in CCletters,
This post is just to clarify and explain some of the things that havebeen happening with this email list. I originally intended to be the solemaintainer for this list, and do all of the posting myself. However, Irealized that I was over-extending myself, and so I asked Chris Donaldif he would help me to maintain this list. Chris is a Canadian who workswith the DRC letter writing campaign, and he also does other work for CCon occasion. Chris has a huge database of information and is a well-organizedand excellent writer.
I went away to Amsterdam for a week, and I told him to just start runningthe list, and I'd help him get organized when I returned. I hadn't expectedhim to post so many information posts at first, but now we all have anexcellent database of information at our fingertips. It's not essentialthat you use any of this information in your letters, but it won't hurt,and it's there if you need it.
>From now on you'll just receive an article, email addresses of papersto send your comments to, and some pointers and information about goodthings to mention. These posts will come from me, but Chris Donald willbe helping me to prepare them. He is also available if you wish to haveediting or help with your letter, or just want to discuss anything withhim. His email address is <ai256@chebucto.ns.ca>.
Any letters that get published will be reprinted to this list. I mayalso print a selection of published or even really good letters in CC magazine.We're also going to be starting up a section on our website devoted tomedia awareness, where we'll post published letters and other good materialproduced by our group.
When you send a letter, please cc a copy of it to me. It helps me gaugethe popularity of different topics, and the general activity of the list.
We will be averaging 1-2 letters a week, which comes to 3-5 posts aweek with posts of printed letters and follow-ups.
Thanks for your attention. I hope you're all ready and excited aboutpummelling the media, and that most of you will actually send a few lettersto the editor because of this project.
Yours in Overgrowing the Government,
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp" Visit Cannabis Canada onlineat http://www.hempbc.com
Elect Marc Emery Mayor of Vancouver! Vote November 15. For more infovisit our webpage at http://www.hempbc.com/marc4mayor
Join the Cannabis Canada News and Information Email List! Send an emailto cclist@hempbc.com with a subject of "subscribe"
From ???@??? Tue Oct 29 16:53:41 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(line246.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.203.6]) by gold.interlog.com (8.7.6/8.6.10)with ESMTP id BAA09432 for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Tue, 29 Oct 199601:42:24 -0500 (EST) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received: from hempbc.com(root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9) with SMTPid WAA03836 for ccletters; Mon, 28 Oct 1996 22:40:10 -0800 Date: Mon, 28Oct 1996 22:40:10 -0800 Message-Id: <199610290640.WAA03836@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CL#14 Needle Exchange blamed forCrime, Police to Crack down X-UIDL: 639cf10474693cc77331810addab8f80
To the forthright participants of CCletters,
What follows are three articles taken from the Vancouver Sun, concerningthe Vancouver Needle Exchange, the cancellation of one of Victoria's needleexchange programs, and the police crackdown on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
Although I'm sure that most of you on this list are more into marijuanathan harm-reduction, I hope that you understand that the needle-exchangesaves lives, and that a crackdown on the "seedy" district inVancouver will only hurt us all.
I will follow this post with another providing reference information,and other pointers on writing a letter on this subject. Please take thetime to pen a few words on this subject, it won't take that much time andcan make a serious difference.
By the way: I know these first two posts have been from Vancouver. Itis my intent to focus this list on both national and regional stories,and although it'll probably end up focussing a bit more on Vancouver thanany other city, I do expect to have stories from papers across Canada.
* NEEDLE EXCHANGE BLAMED FOR DOWNTOWN CRIME RISE Vancouver Sun Thrusday,October 24, 1996
Petti Fong,The Vancouver Sun
Instead of having one needle exchange in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside,area residents said Wednesday several should be scattered around the city.
They told members of the Vancouver police board that drug use in theirneighborhood has escalated out of control, and put part of the blame onthe needle exchange.
Residents said drug users come to get clean needles, then shoot up inback lanes in the neighborhood.
Gastown condo owner Michael McCoy told Mayor Philip Owen, Police ChiefRay Canuel and other members of the board that he regularly picks up needlesand other drug paraphernalia in front of his unit.
"I want to know why there is public use of an illegal drug. Wehave to know what is acceptable behavior."
McCoy said residents who want police to have a stronger presence onthe streets are accused of being part of the gentrification trend.
Inspector Gary Greer acknowledged that police are seeing an epidemicof drug use in that neighborhood.
"It's been getting progressively worse. Our problem is that areais known nationwide as a place to come for drugs."
Police report nearly all crimes related to drug addiction are up inVancouver's Downtown Eastside.
Compared to the same period last year, theft from automobiles is up2.5 per cent while break-and-enter crimes rose 3.2 per cent. Drug chargesincreased 11 per cent, violent crimes were up 4.8 per cent and the numberof stabbings increased by 1.4 per cent.
Canuel said 10 officers have been added to fight the area's high crimerate.
Part of the problem is the court system, according to the police chief.Even when there are arrests, few stiff sentences are handed out to drugusers.
Area resident Lynne Bryson said there must be zero tolerance for drugdealers.
"Our solution is we meet with John Turvey and ask him to decentralizethe needle exchange, have it all over Vancouver," she said.
Turvey is the executive director of the Downtown Eastside Youth ActivitiesSociety, which runs the needle exchange. He could not be reached for commentafter Wednesday's meeting.
The needle exchange has already warned its customers about a strongerpolice presence and urged them to use drugs elsewhere.
* DIRTY NEEDLE COLLECTION PROGRAM CANCELLED Canadian Press Thursday,October 24, 1996
VICTORIA- A dirty needle collection program in the city has been cancelledafter federal funding ran out.
The Victoria Street Community Association has operated the service forthe past two years in an effort to get used syringes off the streets andstop the spread of HIV and hepatitis C. The group also provided clean needlesfor drug users.
Nancy Parker, an association coordinator, says the loss of federal fundingin March has finally caught up with the group. But she says ''it can costup to $100,000 a year to keep someone with AIDS on medication.''
A BC-funded needle-exchange progream run by AIDS Vancouver Island willcontinue to serve the city.
* POLICE AIM TO CLEAN UP EASTSIDE: DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE POLICE CRACKDOWNMerchants applaud the addition of 15 officers to patrol the crime-riddenNeighborhood.
The Vancouver Sun, Front Page Friday, October 25, 1996
By: Stewart Bell
The Vancouver police department doubled the number of officers in thecrime-ridden Downtown Eastside on Thursday and promised a tough new zero-toleranceattitude to clean up the neighborhood.
After years of lobbying by community and merchants' groups, police announceda major increase in their efforts in the district, the city's poorest andmost violent, where drugs are sold and used openly in the streets.
``What's happened over the past few years is an increasing deteriorationof the area and its safety,'' said Inspector Gary Greer. ``These crimeshave created a serious street disorder problem that we believe cannot beallowed to continue.''
Fifteen officers have been taken from other parts of the city to conductpatrols, mostly on foot, in the Downtown Eastside and nearby Chinatown,Gastown and Victory Square, reinforcing the 16 beat officers already inthe area.
While police admit that will weaken their presence in other neighborhoods,possibly leading to a slower response time to calls, they said the crimeproblem in the Downtown Eastside is so bad it requires urgent attention.``It's just a matter of priorities,'' said Greer.
Aside from reassigning officers, Vancouver police said they will workwith RCMP and immigration officials to track down foreign criminals, keepa closer watch on pawn shops that deal in stolen goods and monitor 24-hourrestaurants that ``act, in fact, as a drug market,'' said Greer.
Officers have also been told to cut criminals no slack. Police willrecommend charges for every crime, no matter how small -- from fightingand drug possession to disorderly conduct and even jaywalking, Greer said.
Although that could place a heavy burden on already overloaded courtsand Crown lawyers, prosecutors have agreed to go along with the changebecause of the urgent public interest in fighting neighborhood crime.
``What we've said is we're prepared to look at anything you give us,''said regional Crown counsel Robert Wright. He said prosecutors may laycharges for crimes committed in the Downtown Eastside that they would notpursue elsewhere.
The Downtown Eastside has long been Vancouver's crime centre. Junkies,pushers, prostitutes and people with mental illnesses roam the streetsand alleys around Main and Hastings, living in unkempt hotels and roominghouses.
Police said the problems have worsened as cocaine has replaced heroinas the local drug of choice. To make money to feed their habit, addictsbreak into cars and homes and sell their stolen goods at pawn shops, Greersaid.
Increasing numbers of drug dealers are also pouring into the DowntownEastside from California after the state passed legislation cutting welfare,health and education benefits to illegal aliens, Greer said.
The intense crackdown is scheduled to last about six months and willbe reviewed monthly, but police said their commitment to making the areasafer for residents and visitors will continue after that.
``We're not going to change the total character of this neighborhood,''said Greer, the inspector in charge of the district that includes the DowntownEastside. ``But we can make it safer and we definitely are going to focusour attention on the seedy neighborhoods.''
The announcement comes a year after frustrated groups in the DowntownEastside met with city and police officials to complain that their neighborhoodwas overrun with crime and needed attention.
The Downtown Eastside Residents' Association was pleased with the policeplan, calling it ``a very major step'' in the longstanding effort to reclaimthe area from criminals.
``We are quite happy to see the city and the police force make thiskind of commitment to the poorest neighborhood in British Columbia,'' saidexecutive director Barb Daniel. ``It's huge progress.''
The Vancouver Chinatown Merchants' Association, which has been lobbyingfor almost a decade for a stronger police presence in the neighborhood,also welcomed the announcement, said vice-president Derick Cheng.
But a group representing downtown entertainment companies includingthe Orpheum, Cineplex Odeon and Orca Bay -- which owns the Vancouver Canucksand Grizzlies -- said the police blitz could drive criminals into otherareas, such as the Granville Mall.
``We're disappointed,'' said Linda McMullan, executive director of thegroup, called The Entertainment District.
``I know something needs to be done down there, but we're very alarmedthat it would just create more problems here.''
While police said they had been working on the plan for the past year,the timing of the announcement a few weeks before the Nov. 16 civic electionhas led to suggestions that politics may be partly behind it.
``The mayor is on the police board and I could not believe that he wouldnot know about the timing of this or influence the timing of this,'' saidCarmela Allevato of the Coalition of Progressive Electors, who is challengingMayor Philip Owen for the city's top job.
But Owen said that was an ``absurd'' allegation. ``That's just unfortunatepeople think that's the case. It wasn't initiated by me or the police board. . . I had nothing to do with it.''
While Allevato said she feared the police plan would not solve the underlyingsocial causes of Downtown Eastside crime, Owen said it was just one ofmany programs aimed at improving living conditions in the neighborhood.
``We're going to start going inch by inch by inch. You're going to winit that way.''
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp" Visit Cannabis Canada onlineat http://www.hempbc.com
Elect Marc Emery Mayor of Vancouver! Vote November 16. For more infovisit our webpage at http://www.hempbc.com/marc4mayor or send an emailto marc4mayor@hempbc.com.
Join the Cannabis Canada News and Information Email List! Send an emailto cclist@hempbc.com with a subject of "subscribe"
From ???@??? Tue Oct 29 16:53:45 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(line335.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.203.95]) by gold.interlog.com (8.7.6/8.6.10)with ESMTP id CAA17374 for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Tue, 29 Oct 199602:34:27 -0500 (EST) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received: from hempbc.com(root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.7.5/8.6.9) with SMTPid XAA04056 for ccletters; Mon, 28 Oct 1996 23:35:03 -0800 Date: Mon, 28Oct 1996 23:35:03 -0800 Message-Id: <199610290735.XAA04056@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CL#15 References and Info for HarmReduction Letter X-UIDL: a742bf86609a814075db37bff7d446d3
To all ardent letter writers,
Here's the list of email addresses for newspapers to write to, in orderof suggested importance. If you send the same letter to many papers (aswell you should) then use the Bcc, or better yet, just send them each anindividual copy of the same letter.
Vancouver Sun sunletters@ppress.wimsey.com Vancouver Echo rshore@vanecho.comVancouver Province provedpg@ppress.wimsey.com Victoria Times Colonist (B.C.)timesc@interlink.bc.ca Canadian Press cp@canpress.ca North Shore News (B.C.)editor@nsnews.com
I feel that the following four points are among the major ones thatcould be made in any letter to the editor on the topic of needle exchangesand increased police presence in the Downtown Eastside. Please note thatyou don't have to use any of this material in your letter, but it's hereif you need it, and a letter with some factual basis is a good thing.
This is an important issue, and I admit that I will be disappointedif I don't get at least 15-20 of the 80 people on this list ccing me aletter they've sent to the editor. To those who take the time to write,thanks in advance. You should feel good about yourselves.
As always, feel free to email me or Chris if you have any questionsor concerns.
* 1) CHIEF CORONER'S REPORT: the BC Chief Coroner's 1994 Report intoIllicit Narcotic Overdose Deaths recommended that provincial NDP governmententer into discussion with the federal government to legalize marijuanaand decriminalize the use of other drugs by those shown to be addictedto them. This report was endorsed by the provincial NDP, and decriminalizationof _all_ drugs is also provincial BC NDP policy.
The Coroner's Report is the largest and most comprehensive ever doneon the illegal drug scene in Vancouver.
A good quote from the report is: "the drug problem here cannotbe altered through the criminal justice system, the police, the courts,or the corrections system..."
Another good quote is: "society must now reject negative criminalsanctions as the source of social control in drug abuse, and turn insteadto some other methods of control."
This report has been essentially ignored by the Provincial Government,and the Vancouver Municipal Government.
An in-depth look at the Chief Coroner's report can be found at: http://www.hempbc.com/magazine/apr95/coroner.html
* 2) MARC EMERY FOR MAYOR: Marc Emery's campaign for mayor includesa promise to revitalize the Downtown Eastside, through having the Mayor'sOffice distribute federally restricted drugs, and having Vancouver Policenot commit any resources to the enforcement of prohibition. This will eliminatethe profit motive from any drug crime, and also increase the morale andefficiency of Vancouver Police. Check out info on Marc's campaign at http://www.hempbc.com/marc4mayor
* 3) THE FRANKFURT RESOLUTION: Instead of persecuting people who useprohibited drugs by adding more cops to the Downtown Eastside and harassingthem for jaywalking, the Mayor and Council of Vancouver should sign theFrankfurt Resolution, which has been signed by over 20 European citiesfrom eight countries, including Frankfurt, Rome, Zurich, and Amsterdam.
For more information on the Frankfurt resolution, go to http://www.hempbc.com/magazine/jan95/frankfurt.html
The Frankfurt Resolution states that: "Drug problems are not derivedsolely from the pharmacological properties of drugs, but are primarilydue to the illegality of drug consumption."
It also states that: "Anyone who wants to reduce suffering, miseryand death must firstly free the drug addicts from the threat of prosecutionsimply because they use drugs."
It also states that: "A legal basis must be created in order topermit the establishment of good-health centres in which drugs can be consumedunder supervision."
Cities and countries that have endorsed the Frankfurt Resolution havelowered their rates of crime. Citations and examples for this follow forSwitzerland and Holland.
SWITZERLAND The November 19, 1995 Dallas Morning News, reprinted anarticle called "Rethinking the Crime" by Linnet Myers of theChicago Tribune. This article explains that:
In Switzerland, long-term addicts were chosen for the three-year trials.Many were homeless, jobless, HIV patients, prostitutes or criminals, saidMargret Rihs-Middel, coordinator of drug research at the Swiss Office ofPublic Health.
All had gone through programs designed to force them to kick their habit,but they failed, she said. Swiss researchers are now convinced that itis almost impossible to force junkies to quit unless the are ready to doso.
Until then, 800 addicts get government heroin for about $13 a day, comparedto perhaps $100 a day on the black market, Ms. Rihs-Middel said.
..Andre Seidenberg, head doctor at one of the clinics, said many addictstransformed themselves virtually before his eyes; as they cleaned up, theirhealth improved and prostitution declined. Some even found jobs.
..55 of his patients had 254 contacts with police between January 1992and the time they joined the program, which started in January 1994. Afterward,the addicts had only 13 contacts with police as of this March, he said.*
HOLLAND Dutch government statistics show that "The success of itspolicy [on marijuana] is reflected in the sharp decline of young peopleusing hard drugs - only 2 per cent of Dutch addicts are under 22 yearsof age, compared with 14 per cent a decade ago. The countries addict populationhas dropped by a third, with 1.6 per 1,000 inhabitants. Other Europeancountries have twice that level, and in the US it is six times greater."(International Herald Tribune, Nov 8, 1995)
[By my calculations, this is an 85% decrease in the number of hard drugusers under 22 years old over the last ten years.]
According to Ton Cramer, a senior addiction-policy staff member in theDutch health ministry, a recent in-depth study of Dutch drug use showsthat: "Cannabis use in Holland is no higher that elsewhere in Europe,and more important, hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine, the real targetof the Dutch soft drug policy, are under better control than in most othercountries." (TIME International, Apr. 29, 1996, vol 147, no 18)
* The November 19, 1995 Dallas Morning News, reprinted an article called"Rethinking the Crime" by Linnet Myers of the Chicago Tribune.This article explains that:
Although drugs and violent crime are often linked in America, violentcrime in the Netherlands is far lower than in the US, despite the Netherlands'more liberal drug policies. There were 1.9 homocides in Holland per 100,000people in 1993. The US rate was 9.5.
After years of open drug use, today "the crime rate is going downsubstantially in all of Amsterdam," said Jan Van Dijk, head of theDutch Justice Ministry's crime program.
John J. Donohue III, a Northwestern Univ. law professor who researchedUS homicide rates, argued that the same held true for alcohol during Prohibition.
"After Prohibition, the murder rate dropped rather sharply andstayed low until the mid 60's," when the drug trade began to expand,Mr Donohue said.
*
4) RECENT STUDY SHOWING US DRUG WAR CAUSES CRIME: a recent study byForida State University professors of economics Bruce Benson and DavidRasmussen called "Illicit Drugs and Crime", concludes that "Whena decision is made to wage a 'war on drugs,' other things that criminaljustice resources might do have to be sacrificed."
The study, released by the Independent Institute, shows that a drugwar puts the lives and property of citizens at greater risk, by divertingscarce resources into prohibition enforcement and away from fighting propertycrime and violence.
Their study compares crime trends in Kansas (whose enforcement of druglaws lagged behind national trends) with trends in other states. They concludethat Kansans - and other states' residents - were relatively safer fromnondrug violent crime before escalating drug law enforcement.
Benson and Rasmussen are professors of economics at Florida State Universityand research fellows at the Independent Institute, a public policy researchorganization in Oakland, California. The 60-page report can be obtainedby contacting Carl Close, the Institute's Public Affairs Director, at 510/632-1366,or by e-mail at independ@dnai.com. Web site: http://www.independent.org
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp" Visit Cannabis Canada onlineat http://www.hempbc.com
Elect Marc Emery Mayor of Vancouver! Vote November 16. For more infovisit our webpage at http://www.hempbc.com/marc4mayor or send an emailto marc4mayor@hempbc.com.
Join the Cannabis Canada News and Information Email List! Send an emailto cclist@hempbc.com with a subject of "subscribe"
From ???@??? Sat Nov 02 14:28:39 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(line144.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.144]) by gold.interlog.com (8.7.6/8.6.10)with ESMTP id UAA20814; Fri, 1 Nov 1996 20:48:17 -0500 (EST) From: cclist@hempbc.comReceived: from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu(8.7.5/8.6.9) with SMTP id QAA00950 for cclist; Fri, 1 Nov 1996 16:00:26-0800 Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 16:00:26 -0800 Message-Id: <199611020000.QAA00950@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CC#57 Canada's Drug Policy Reviewhas Begun! X-UIDL: 470875780b79a1597a5c13c03ff3b83f
CANADA'S DRUG POLICY REVIEW HAS BEGUN!
Parliament began their drug policy review on October 8, but they seemto want to keep it a secret.
Unannounced, without media attention, without real public input, theStanding Committee on Health is doing a review of Canada's Drug Policies.
I have spoken with Committee Clerk Paul Rodrigue, whom I recommend allreaders of this list also call at (613) 992-1775. You can also call (613)992-3150 and ask them to have Paul Rodrigue call you back, if you don'twant to pay long distance.
Ask Paul Rodrigue to send you transcripts from the Committee Hearings,and also find out when the Committee will be coming to your region.
The Committee will be travelling around Canada to receive public input,and is tentatively scheduled to go to Frederickton, Moncton and QuebecCity during the week of November 18. If you live in any of these regionsthen be extra sure to call Pierre Rodrigue and find out exactly when thecommittee will be coming to your area.
Be sure to attend the committee hearings in your region, and let theanti-prohibitionist view be known.
Right now, some of the transcripts from the Committee Hearings are availableon Canada's Parliamentary website, at:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/cgi-bin/committees352/english_committee.pl?sant
I provided you with a list of the Members of the Committee and otherinformation about the Drug Policy Review in post CC#48.
I will post more information upon the progress of the review when moreinformation is available to me. If any of you finds out anything more aboutthis review than I have posted here, please let me know.
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp" Visit Cannabis Canada onlineat http://www.hempbc.com
Elect Marc Emery Mayor of Vancouver! Vote November 16. For more infovisit our webpage at http://www.hempbc.com/marc4mayor or send an emailto marc4mayor@hempbc.com.
Join the Cannabis Canada News and Information Email List! Send an emailto cclist@hempbc.com with a subject of "subscribe"
From ???@??? Fri Nov 08 11:41:50 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(line074.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.74]) by gold.interlog.com (8.7.6/8.6.10)with ESMTP id AAA09598; Fri, 8 Nov 1996 00:33:46 -0500 (EST) From: cclist@hempbc.comReceived: from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu(8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTP id SAA01652 for cclist; Thu, 7 Nov 1996 18:56:51-0800 Date: Thu, 7 Nov 1996 18:56:51 -0800 Message-Id: <199611080256.SAA01652@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CC#58 Legal medical mj in California& Arizona! X-UIDL: 2ab089f4050420fb258a51cee2890c1b
The following is forwarded to CClist from US NORML.
* California, Arizona Voters Approve Initiatives In Favor Of MedicalMarijuana
Voters in both California and Arizona have approved initiatives endorsingmarijuana's therapeutic value and allowing patients to use marijuana formedical purposes where its use has been deemed appropriate by a physician.The result came despite heavy campaigning by opponents and decades of anti-marijuanahysteria.
The passage of Proposition 215 in California and Proposition 200 inArizona demonstrates that Americans can clearly distinguish between theuse of marijuana as a medicine for serious ill patients and legalizationfor recreational use. It further shows that the country has reached a consensuson the former, even as it remains divided on the latter.
"This is a victory for medical marijuana as well as for patientsand doctors," said NORML Deputy Director Allen St. Pierre. "Itshows that Americans do not want the federal government to interfere withthe relationship between a seriously ill patient and the recommendationof his or her physician."
Both state and nationwide polls taken prior to this election's votehave shown that a majority of Americans favor medical marijuana reform.The recent events in California and Arizona may finally push those on CapitolHill to take a close and objective look at this issue. It may also encouragesome of the 23 states that currently have laws regarding medical marijuanato modify their measures so that they can begin directly benefiting patients.
"These votes demonstrate that the public are ahead of the politicianswhen it comes to reforming our drug policies, specifically medical accessto marijuana," said NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup. "Americansdo not believe that denying medicine to the sick and dying should everbe a part of the drug war."
The California initiative says that "Patients or defined caregivers,who possess or cultivate marijuana for medical treatment recommended bya physician, are exempt from the general provisions of law which otherwiseprohibit possession or cultivation of marijuana." It further providesthat, "Physicians shall not be punished or denied any right or privilegefor recommending marijuana to a patient for medical purposes." TheAct does not supersede state legislation prohibiting persons from possessingor cultivating marijuana for non-medical purposes.
"Despite heavy opposition from federal politicians and law enforcement,the California medical marijuana initiative passed because individualsknow by either their own personal experience or by the experiences of thosearound them that marijuana has medical utility," said St. Pierre."The government has lost all credibility on this issue by claimingotherwise."
"With the passage of Proposition 215 in California, new legal protectionswill be put into place for patients who use marijuana under a doctor'sorder," said Dave Fratello of Californians for Medical Rights (CMR),one of the primary proponents of the measure. The group also announcedthat they will offer a toll-free number, 1 (888) YES-4-215, to explainhow 215 works, and for whom it is and is not designed.
Proposition 200 in Arizona, known as the "Drug Medicalization,Prevention and Control Act," is broader than California's measureand would essentially "medicalize" Arizona's drug policy. TheAct calls for mandatory, court supervised treatment and probation as analternative to incarceration for non-violent drug users and provides expandeddrug treatment programs. It will also allow doctors to prescribe controlleddrugs such as marijuana to patients suffering from serious illnesses suchas glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and AIDS. Arizonans voted in favorof the initiative by a vote more than two to one.
"These votes give a flashing green light to the American publicthat they have the power to change the course on American drug policy,"said St. Pierre.
*
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp" Visit Cannabis Canada onlineat http://www.hempbc.com
Elect Marc Emery Mayor of Vancouver! Vote November 16. For more infovisit our webpage at http://www.hempbc.com/marc4mayor or send an emailto marc4mayor@hempbc.com.
Join the Cannabis Canada News and Information Email List! Send an emailto cclist@hempbc.com with a subject of "subscribe"
From ???@??? Fri Nov 08 11:41:48 1996 Received: from smtp.interlog.com(root@smtp.interlog.com [198.53.145.6]) by gold.interlog.com (8.7.6/8.6.10)with ESMTP id AAA04086 for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Fri, 8 Nov 199600:18:34 -0500 (EST) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(line074.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.74]) by smtp.interlog.com (8.7.6/8.7.6)with ESMTP id XAA10998 for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Thu, 7 Nov 199623:22:15 -0500 (EST) Received: from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1])by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTP id UAA00329 for ccletters;Thu, 7 Nov 1996 20:30:42 -0800 Date: Thu, 7 Nov 1996 20:30:42 -0800 Message-Id:<199611080430.UAA00329@gulik.dymaxion.edu> Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.comSubject: CL#16 printed letter in Van Echo X-UIDL: e576865f31c262b4f9937044f1d46e14
I think this was our first score. Congratulations Ernie for an excellentletter!
I will be posting some letters that were printed in relation to theincrease of cops in the Vancouver downtown eastside in another few days.There should be a post with our next target in the next two days.
*
Vancouver Echo, October 30
VIEWPOINT
Time has come to think of marijuana as medicine
Editor,
I want to say thanks to the courageous people who risked arrest at GrandviewPark in Vancouver by joining the Harm Reduction Club and selling and buyingmarijuana. The "war on drugs" hysteria in the United States andCanada has caused great harm to hundreds of thousands of people and civilsociety is being decimated.
You know it's time for a change when Richard Brookhiser, Senior Editorof the National Review, the conservative magazine of record, supports proposition215, California's medical marijuana initiative.
"I support the use of medical marijuana because of my politics,but I'm also for it because I've had to use it," said Brookhiser.He turned to marijuana to fight the nausea caused by chemotherapy. "Noneof my doctors or nurses at New York University Medical Center or MemorialSloan-Kettering discouraged me from doing this. They had all had patientswho had used marijuana to fight nausea and who had reported good results.I had good results too. Because of the marijuana, my last two courses ofchemotherapy were almost nausea-free."
Brookhiser joins a growing list of notable Republicans who have defiedtheir party's leadership by supporting Prop. 215. Recent endorsements forthe measure include former US Secretary of State George Schultz, Nobelprize-winning economist Milton Friedman, Fullerton Mayor Chris Norby, andformer gubernatorial hopeful Ron Unz.
The Orange County Register, flagship newspaper for the conservativecounty's Republicans, editorialized in June, "the evidence that atleast some patients with cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis andother diseases can receive benefits from marijuana that are not availablefrom other medications..."
I have smoked marijuana for more than 30 years now and I want to beable to grow it in my own backyard without fear of a police bust or gettingripped off. I plant pot in the clearcuts of the Vancouver Island everyyear and leave them so that they will grow wild and reseed. I encourageothers to do the same.
Ernie Yacub via the Internet
*
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp" Visit Cannabis Canada onlineat http://www.hempbc.com
Elect Marc Emery Mayor of Vancouver! Vote November 16. For more infovisit our webpage at http://www.hempbc.com/marc4mayor or send an emailto marc4mayor@hempbc.com.
Join the Cannabis Canada News and Information Email List! Send an emailto cclist@hempbc.com with a subject of "subscribe"
From ???@??? Fri Nov 22 08:56:53 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(line130.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.130]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.3/8.6.10)with ESMTP id DAA19881; Fri, 22 Nov 1996 03:32:25 -0500 (EST) From: cclist@hempbc.comReceived: from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu(8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTP id WAA04845 for cclist; Thu, 21 Nov 1996 22:57:58-0800 Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 22:57:58 -0800 Message-Id: <199611220657.WAA04845@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CC#59 cc update X-UIDL: 4829d8d54af7f4e4e0ccb77aa15ca599
The Cannabis Cup begins on Friday, so I'll be gone for a week. We'lltry to post periodic updates on the cup to our website.
I hear that CBC TV is going to air an episode of "Man Alive"about medical marijuana, on Wednesday, November 27, at 7pm EST. I don'thave a name, but call the CBC at (416) 205-6594 if you need more info.
I'll post something about the cup and the winning strains etc, onceI return in a week.
Enjoy.
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email with a subject of "subscribe" to cclist@hempbc.com
From ???@??? Fri Nov 22 08:56:52 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(line130.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.130]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.3/8.6.10)with ESMTP id DAA28119; Fri, 22 Nov 1996 03:24:51 -0500 (EST) From: cclist@hempbc.comReceived: from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu(8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTP id WAA04850 for cclist; Thu, 21 Nov 1996 22:58:01-0800 Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 22:58:01 -0800 Message-Id: <199611220658.WAA04850@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CC#60 Radical Riz finally out ofjail! X-UIDL: 1f0460df236a9a4e16c10572bf23817f
Radical Riz finally out of jail!
Tony Rizzo owns a store called Radical Riz's Hemp Supplies, locatedin Peterborough, Ontario. The store has been raided twice since it openedat the beginning of August, and Tony Rizzo was in jail from September 30to November 15. Over 45 days in jail for selling pipes and returning tohis own store, and all this without a trial!
The raids Ontario Provincial Police first raided Radical Riz's on August7. They seized pipes, hemp seed treats, herbal tea detoxifiers, hemp wallets,and anything else they could get their hands on. 25 year old owner TonyRizzo was charged with possession of illicit drug paraphernalia bannedunder section 462.2 of the Criminal Code, possession of a prohibited weapon(brass knuckles) and possession of one gram of marijuana.
Since Tiny Rizzo didn't shut down his store, the Ontario Police raidedhim again on August 30 and cleared out his store once again. Rizzo wascharged with 462.2 again, possession of yet another gram of marijuana,and two breaches of his recognizance. Between the two raids, police seizedabout $10,000 in merchandise from Tony Rizzo's fledgling store.
Bail After the second arrest, Rizzo was released from jail under verystrict bail conditions, which included not possessing or offering for saleany paraphernalia or rolling papers, not possessing, purchasisn or usingany non-medically prescribed drugs.
Tony was also ordered to stay away from Cory Cowling and not contacthim, indirectly or directly. Cory Cowling is the manager of Radical Riz'sHemp Supplies and also Tony Rizzo's friend. Cory has not been charged withany offence. Tony was also ordered to stay away from Radical Riz's, hisown store! The bail conditions clearly made it impossible for Tony to runhis business, as they prohibited him from being in his own store and talkingto his friend and store manager, who had not been charged with any offence.
Jail Tony defied the undreasonable bail conditions, and returned tohis store briefly on September 30. He was spotted by police who had thelolcation under surveillance, and they quickly arrested him. He was chargedwith violation of his bail requirements and locked up for 45 days, untilNovember 15.
It's worth noting that, although section 462.2 is commonly used to intimidateand harass store owners and to drive them out of business, no-one has everbeen found guilty of violating section 462.2 in Canada. It's likely thatthe court would deem the law to be obviously unconstitutional, and so itserves the prohibitionary system better if people are run out of businessbefore they go to trial.
Tony Rizzo needs our help.
For more information about all of this stuff, call Radical Riz's at705-749-6109. Rizzo's lawyer Glen Jennings can be reached (416) 366-1758.
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email with a subject of "subscribe" to cclist@hempbc.com
From ???@??? Fri Nov 29 08:19:41 1996 Received: from smtp.interlog.com(root@smtp.interlog.com [198.53.145.6]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.3/8.6.10)with ESMTP id VAA27372; Thu, 28 Nov 1996 21:37:07 -0500 (EST) From: cclist@hempbc.comReceived: from gulik.dymaxion.edu (line083.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.83])by smtp.interlog.com (8.8.3/8.7.6) with ESMTP id VAA08884; Thu, 28 Nov1996 21:24:11 -0500 (EST) Received: from hempbc.com (nobody@localhost [127.0.0.1])by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTP id PAA00628 for cclist; Thu,28 Nov 1996 15:32:10 -0800 Date: Thu, 28 Nov 1996 15:32:10 -0800 Message-Id:<199611282332.PAA00628@gulik.dymaxion.edu> Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.comSubject: CC#61 7 months for 50 plants X-UIDL: 15dca82ac27c91d9898adafe84385386
SEVEN MONTHS FOR FIFTY PLANTS IN BC
Dave Brandt is a regular guy who likes to grow pot. Because of thishe's been sentenced to seven months in maximum security, he's lost hisjob and his home, and the cops stole his model planes.
In mid-June, cops raided the Surrey home of Dave Brandt. When Dave returnedhome from his job working as a mechanic and welder he discovered that hishouse had been ransacked, and that his fifty pot plants and cultivationequipment was missing, along with a pair of remote controlled planes whichhe owned.
His brother told him that police had raided the house, pointing theirguns at him as they emptied the place out.
Two days later the police showed up at Dave's place of work, chargedhim with cultivation of marijuana, and arrested him. Dave explained thatthe cops treated him "like a murderer", not as someone who hadsimply grown forbidden plants.
In cases like this the accused is normally released without bail ona promise to appear, but Dave was denied bail because the prosecution claimedhe would start another grow operation. Dave spent about 5 weeks in jailbefore being released by a judge, but his troubles didn't end there.
Three days after finally being released on bail, his probation officerordered him returned to prison. This was because Dave had admitted thathe had a suspicion who had ratted on his grow operation and called Crimestoppers.Dave explained to me that valued his freedom and that he hadn't made anyattempt to confirm his suspicions or to confront anyone. Nevertheless,he was returned to prison.
Dave was denied legal aid since he had a job, but since he was in prisonhe couldn't work and so couldn't afford a lawyer. He defended himself,plead guilty, and in August was sentenced to four months imprisonment,on top of the three months he had already spent in prison waiting for trial.He is scheduled to be released on December 22.
Dave's brother was also charged, sentenced to 18 months probation and45 community hours, and forbidden to live with Dave for three months. Daveexplained that his brother is a "slow learner" who can't holda regular job and is dependent upon Dave for support. Dave described hisbrother as his "best friend" and said it was a tremendous blowto know that he would be separated from him even after being released fromprison.
Aside from the loss of seven months of his life and the personal violationand humiliation of being stuck in a maximum security prison with violentand sexual offenders, Dave is angry that the cops stole his remote controlplanes and helicopter. He'd built them himself from kits, and was proudof his collection.
The cops deny taking the planes, but Dave explained that the planeswere sitting in his bedroom as he had planned on flying them after work,and that they weren't there after his house was raided. No doubt some narcmade a personal seizure.
The cops also seized all of Dave's grow books, copies of magazines likeHempfest Times, High Times, and of course Cannabis Canada, as well as hiscollection of 86 pipes, many of which he had made himself.
At the going rate of $325 per prisoner per day, it has cost BC taxpayersabout $60,000 to keep Dave locked up. This figure doesn't include the tensof thousands of dollars spent on court costs and associated expenses, northe many police hours spent investigating Dave, seizing, cataloging anddestroying his property, and testifying against him in court.
Because of the arrest and the time he's spending in jail, Rob has losthis job and been evicted the home he was renting with his brother. Beforethe prohibition enforcers intruded into his life Dave was a working taxpayerwho supported his dependent brother. When he is released from jail he willbe homeless, unemployed, broke, and with a criminal record. His brotherhas had to move in with his mother for support, but Dave wants to livewith his brother again as soon as possible.
Sadly, Dave's story is a common one. There are tens of thousands ofpeople all across Canada who have their lives viciously torn apart by ournation's archaic drug laws.
To get in touch with Dave Brandt, you can leave a message with RandyCaine of The Joint in Surrey, at (604) 583-7004, or on his brother's messagepager at (604) 252-4822.
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email with a subject of "subscribe" to cclist@hempbc.com
From ???@??? Mon Dec 02 11:13:03 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(line114.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.114]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.3/8.6.10)with ESMTP id VAA09609 for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Fri, 29 Nov 199621:35:34 -0500 (EST) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received: from hempbc.com(root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTPid SAA00338 for ccletters; Fri, 29 Nov 1996 18:30:54 -0800 Date: Fri, 29Nov 1996 18:30:54 -0800 Message-Id: <199611300230.SAA00338@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CL#17 Health Watch on Medical MarijanaX-UIDL: 1701b55f48dfc01544ecf33150bca924
For any list subscribers who missed Wednesday's broadcast of the HealthShow's Medical Marijuana piece, it is being rebroadcast:
Saturday, November 30, 1996 at 7:30am EST (Newsworld)
A transcript is included in this post, but unfortunately it left outall the interviews done with medical marijuana users both here and in theUnited States. These testimonials were extremely effective, and I'll tryto get a copy of them to you over the weekend.
The CBC and the Health Show deserve to hear from us on this, so sendyour reaction to the show or this transcript to: healthshow@toronto.cbc.ca
This transcript is from the Health Show webpage, at: http://www.tv.cbc.ca/healthshow/pastitem/maryjane.html
* Medical Uses of Marijuana
Reporter: Celina Bell Original Airdate: Wednesday, November 27, 1995
Sometimes it's patients, not doctors and researchers that are behindthe drive for a specific treatment. This is certainly the case with manyso-called alternative therapies. The old evil weed Marijuana has an additionalburden. Its medical use and medical research have been curtailed becauseof laws against its recreational use. There are people who claim it hasbeen effective in treating a whole host of ailments but there is not themedical research to scientifically back up their claims. A lack of scientificevidence means non-approval from the medical community.
For hundreds of years the medicinal qualities of marijuana were wellrecognized. The drug was recommended for everything from menstrual crampsto epileptic seizures, from migraines to insomnia. In fact, based on theoverwhelming anecdotal evidence, marijuana was included in the U.S.Pharmacopeia-- the North American bible of accepted drugs.
Then in 1941 it was taken out following an intense campaign by the U.S.Federal Bureau of Narcotics to make it not only illegal but evil. It worked.Ever since we've been conditioned to think of marijuana or cannabis asthe evil weed, and users as criminals.
Dr. Lester Grinspoon is a professor of psychiatry at Harvard. He's writtenseveral books advocating the medicinal Dr. Lester Grinspoon uses of marijuana.He believes that doctors have been both victims and agents of the governmentdisinformation campaign and many of them still believe such myths suchas marijuana being addictive. So it's going to take some time to educatedoctors but they are getting educated.
Dr. Harold Kalant, is a pharmacologist at the University of Torontoand a contributor to a recent report by the World Health Organization onthe health effects of Dr. Harold Kalant cannabis use. He can't accept anecdotalevidence by untrained observers who may have other motives for wantingto say it's good. He will accept proof that it really is effective therapyand acknowledges that there are two uses for which there is approval. Theyare for the relief of nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy,and more recently for the improvement of appetite in AIDS patients.
Additionally, there are growing claims based on limited trials, of marijuana'smedical use for multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, quadriplegia and depression.But according to Dr. Kalant, despite all the anecdotal evidence, there'snot enough scientific evidence to win official approval for any of thoseclaims. And, he says, there are serious health risks such as a high probabilitythat smoking marijuana produces chronic inflammatory changes in the airwaysin the lung as well as precancerous changes in the epithelial lining ofthe lung.
But because the medical use of smoking marijuana is still in disputeand illegal, people who feel the drug is beneficial use it at their ownrisk.
So that patients who need it don't have to buy it off the street, someadvocates of marijuana for medical use have set up a distribution system,something they call buyer's clubs. They're small businesses operating outsidethe law. A number of them have sprung up around the United States.
In Oakland, California, the Buyer's Club has been open for about a yearand has over 700 members. It keeps a low profile on the top floor of adowntown office building. They describe their business as a medical dispensaryfor cannabis. They bag the buds for smoking, bake with the shake -- theleftover leaf -- and make extracts and tinctures from the stems. The marijuanais either bought on the black market or grown especially for them so thatthey can offer it to their buyers at a slightly reduced price althoughthey still make a profit.
Dr. Todd Mikuriya is the medical advisor for the Oakland Club and anumber of others in California. His job is to determine which patientsqualify for medicinal marijuana. They have to have a letter of diagnosis,and they have to have a letter of referral. They have to have a diagnosticcondition that can be decoded under The International Classification ofDiseases, Version 9 or the American Psychiatric Association's DSM IV. Mostpeople don't get turned away because they have legitimate reasons. If somebodyhas a psychiatric issue however and they're involved in therapy, Dr Mikuriyais very cautious about using any cannabis with them and would want to getthe approval and involvement of their therapist
This past summer the city of Oakland officially accepted the existenceof the buyers club. Under the city's instructions, the police were toldto regard the pot shop as a low priority.
In October the authorities did shut down an even larger buyers clubin San Francisco. According to the police, it was in essence an open Europeantype coffee house where they were smoking on the premises; some of theirclients didn't fill a medical need; there was poor record keeping, andsome of their clients were taking their marijuana and reselling it on thestreet. Now the police are worried about further abuse after the recentAmerican election. Voters in California and Arizona approved proposition215, making marijuana legal for medical use.
In Canada there is no legislation protecting suppliers and users ofmedicinal marijuana but there are marijuana buyers club. In Vancouver oneman, Mordechai, has set up what he calls the Medical Marijuana Societyand he says he supplies over 50 people. Mordechai gets his weed from hisown buyers and from dealers. He turns the shake into his home baked goodsand sells them to people with a variety of medical conditions - cancerpatients, people with AIDS, diabetes, MS and alcoholism.
Mordechai makes up his own mind who is legitimately in need of marijuanabecause unlike the Oakland club he doesn't have medical advisor. For thosehe feels are legitimate he even makes house calls. He starts with the mostsick people. He is not catering to teenagers looking for dope.
Dr. Kalant thinks if there is research to show that there really aregood clear therapeutic indications he would want the best possible formof it. He wouldn't advocate people smoking pot instead of using pure THCor a synthetic derivative that would be more effective. If you smoke potnot only does the pot vary from batch to batch in terms of the contentof the active ingredients, but the way people smoke it varies the amountthat they get. And when you're dealing with the treatment of disease youwant to be able to give an exact known amount and be sure that it's goingto be absorbed and be sure that the recommended amount will be reached.And for that purpose a pure compound is always better. For now the mostcommon synthetic derivative of cannabis available by prescription is calledMarinol. It is basically THC without the high.
But there are still another 60 active substances in cannabis. The problemis, according to Dr. Grinspoon, that each would have to be isolated andtheir individual effects studied before they're officially approved. Itis estimated that it takes an average of $231 million to take drug X throughall the phases it has to go through to put in on the shelf as a medicine.
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email with a subject of "subscribe" to cclist@hempbc.com
From ???@??? Fri Dec 06 10:57:19 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(line091.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.91]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.3/8.6.10)with ESMTP id EAA17157 for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Fri, 6 Dec 199604:08:22 -0500 (EST) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received: from hempbc.com(root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTPid AAA00537 for ccletters; Fri, 6 Dec 1996 00:56:11 -0800 Date: Fri, 6Dec 1996 00:56:11 -0800 Message-Id: <199612060856.AAA00537@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CL#18 G&M story on the HRC X-UIDL:be8c0534963eb1d6598a7ca9b8f78bae
Globe and Mail National News November 22, 1996
MARIJUANA LAWS Police are hesitant to arrest the proprietor of a drugclub, even though he caters to minors
Pot lovers get high at 'smoke-easy'
By Miro Cernetig British Columbia Bureau, Vancouver
Not your average pothead, David Malmo-Levine aims to be a drug dealerwith a social conscience. So he's started up a smoke-easy, a den in hisbasement where people can buy marijuana and "smoke their brains out"with friends, strangers and pimply-faced beginners.
"Everyone's welcome," he says, tossing back his orange-and-yellowRastafarian dreadlocks as he rolls a stogy-sized joint. "But we won'tsell pot to anyone under 13."
Why 13?
"Thirteen is when kids start smoking pot, man," he explains,sitting near a bleary-eyed youngster whose major substance-abuse habitseems to involve Clearasil. "The kids can come in here and we canwalk them through our step-by-step guide to safe pot-smoking. You know,get them started right - it's our contribution to public safety."
It's all perfectly illegal, of course. But so far the Vancouver policeseem flummoxed about what to do with this latest challenge, one of themost brazen yet, to Canada's marijuana laws.
"We're aware of it," says Constable Anne Drennan, who won'tsay why the drug den hasn't been closed down. "We know the location.We're working on it."
In the meantime, Mr. Malmo-Levine's Harm Reduction Club is growing intoa thriving business that could have been lifted from a Cheech and Chongfantasy. During a recent club meeting in the smoke-easy, furnished withsagging sofas rescued from dumpsters, a dozen people sat under an acridcloud of burnt marijuana, so thick it could be smelled from outside ofthe East Vancouver house.
"Dude, have you vaporized yet?" a man with a nose-ring wonders,pointing to a device on the coffee table that turns the drug in marijuana- THC - to a nearly pure gas that can be inhaled through a piece of plastictubing.
"Yeah, try it man!" recommends another. "It'll be likeyour frontal (brain) lobes are going to explode."
In the month since he screwed a "symbolic green light" intohis back porch to direct customers to the Harm Reduction Club, Mr. Malmo-Levinehas signed up more than 400 members at $10 a pop. Now that he is sellingas much as half a kilogram of pot a day, the 25-year old complains he'shaving a tough time keeping the boxes and jars around the smoke-easy fullof "product."
"What do I do during the day?" he asks, drawing deeply froma pipe that has now appeared in his hands. "I spend my time accumulatingvast amounts of marijuana, bagging vast amounts of marijuana and testingvast amounts of marijuana for its potency."
Crash pads to smoke marijuana are nothing new on the West Coast, ofcourse. The twist here is that this one is a political statement as muchas a hangout. Proceeds from drug deals and membership dues go into a legaldefence fund to bail out any member who gets arrested. And club membersmust agree to four rules: Pay $10; be over 13; don't drive heavy machinerywhile impaired; don't disturb the neighbours.
"I think it's hard for the police to bust us when we're being soresponsible," says Mr. Malmo-Levine. "We're smoking ganja responsibly."
Most people who see the club openly dealing marijuana with impunity- even to minors - are taken aback by the lack of police action. Even underplanned changes to the Criminal Code, trafficking and simple possessioncan still result in jail time.
"I am surprised by the hands-off approach to such distributing,"says Neil Boyd, a criminologist at Simon Fraser University. "I supposethat what is going on is the co-ordination of some kind of response bypolice. But I'm really not sure why there's been such a delay."
The delay, in part, is because police are already dealing with a high-profilecase in Vancouver testing marijuana laws. Marc Emery, a pro-cannabis lobbyistwho ran for mayor (he received 1,125 votes) has been openly selling marijuanaseeds out of a store on the city's east side, arguing that there are nodrugs in unsprouted seeds.
Mr. Emery has also opened up a marijuana superstore, selling a cornucopiaof bongs, pipes, rolling papers and items needed to grow marijuana at home.He is now planning to open The Cannabis Cafe, in which customers will beable to "vaporize" their drugs and buy foods such as pizza andmozzarella cheese made with oils from marijuana.
With Mr. Emery's drug case going to court in the next few weeks, crackingdown on the Harm Reduction Club would seem like walking into another pieceof political theatre.
"They're flaunting what they're doing and thumbing their nose atauthorities in the hope they will be taken to court, have their say andperhaps have it decriminalized," Constable Drennan says. "AllI can tell you is: We know about this."
Prof Boyd speculates the police may also be delaying to let the pro-marijuanamovement hurt its cause by advertising that it is selling drugs to minors."Part of my thinking is that the police are allowing them to discreditthemselves. They aren't exactly putting forth a winning image."
The members of the Harm Reduction Club would take umbrage. They seethemselves as a tightly knit family, who like to get quietly stoned andmellow out. Often, nights drag into existential debates about what wouldhappen if marijuana was legalized in Canada.
"Can you imagine what would happen to the sales of Chinese foodand pizza?" asks one of the members.
"Yeah, sales would go through the roof. Everyone would want munchies."
Taking a puff from his pipe, Mr. Malmo-Levine escorts his visitor tothe door: "I can't believe the police haven't busted us yet."
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email with a subject of "subscribe" to cclist@hempbc.com
From ???@??? Thu Dec 19 10:19:07 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(line150.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.150]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.3/8.6.10)with ESMTP id EAA20293; Thu, 19 Dec 1996 04:57:43 -0500 (EST) From: cclist@hempbc.comReceived: from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu(8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTP id AAA00207 for cclist; Thu, 19 Dec 1996 00:30:58-0800 Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 00:30:58 -0800 Message-Id: <199612190830.AAA00207@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CC#66 Edmonton, Media Awareness,MPP, Australia X-UIDL: 4b548d7d056d1692f8f5947f8a01a5c3
What follows are a few updates and informations that I've been meaningto post for a while.
* EDMONTON LABOUR DAY HEMPFEST
Edmonton held a successful Hempfest on Labor Day. Even though the organizershad been denied permission to use the Legislature Grounds, there were noproblems at the 10 hour event. 7 bands played, three speakers, an awesomehemp fashion show, a joint-rolling contest and a bong contest.
The Cannabis Relegalization Society of Alberta (CRSA) hosted the event,and estimated that 500 people attended throughout the day. For next year,the CRSA may have a two-day, cross-province hempfest - Lethbridge and Edmonton.
Also new is High Culture, a radio show by, for, and about cannabis,now broadcasting through CJSR FM 88.5, the university station in Edmonton.The half-hour show runs through the news, information-sharing, interviewsand ganja tunes! Troy and Amanda Stewart of True North are hosting it.
The CRSA also intends to start providing medical cannabis in January.The group has about 15 participants and seems very driven!
For more information on happenings in Edmonton contact Amanda or TroyStewart of True North at astewart@mail.awinc.com
*
CANADIAN MEDIA AWARENESS WEBSITE
An excellent web resource for the on-line cannabis activist is the CanadianMedia Awareness Project, found at: http://www.islandnet.com/~creator/cmap/
The site is maintained by Matt Elrod, and provides comprehensive linksto Canadian media, drug policy groups, government agencies and mailinglists. It is an excellent and underused resource and I hope you can allgo pay it a visit and make it a bookmark.
Matt also maintains a mailing list with news clippings about pot andrelated topics, and a little chat as well. To subscribe to Mattalk senda blank email to Mattalk-Request@IslandNet.Com with the subject "Subscribe".
Matt Elrod's email address is creator@islandnet.com
*
MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT
For those interested in the American marijuana situation, I recommendthe Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). They have a lot of information aboutthe medical marijuana situation in the US and are responsible for someserious lobbying efforts which have had many tangible successes. Theirsite is at http://www.mpp.org.
The MPP also maintain a read-only email list, like cclist. To subscribeto "MPPupdates," please send a message to: Majordomo@igc.apc.orgwith the phrase "Subscribe MPPupdates" in the body. You can alsosubscribe from their webpage at: http://www.MPP.ORG/updates.html
Individuals who subscribe to "MPPupdates" receive periodicnews updates, the text of news releases that the MPP faxes to the media,and legislative updates that explain what you can do to help reform themarijuana laws.
To regularly receive the MPP's more substantive Marijuana Policy Reportvia U.S. mail, please join the MPP by sending $25 (or more) annual membershipdues or a $5 monthly pledge to:
Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) P.O. Box 77492 Capitol Hill Washington,D.C. 20013
TEL 202-462-5747 FAX 202-232-0442 MPP@MPP.ORG
*
HEMP SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Interested in the latest hemp news from Australia? Subscribe to theHelp End Marijuana Prohibition South Australia (HEMP SA) email list.
Send an e-mail to <macjordomo@va.com.au> with <subscribe pot-newsfirst_name last_name> in the BODY of the email. (replace pot-news withpot-news-digest to get just the digest version)
You can also contact HEMP SA at PO Box 1019, Kent Town, 5071 AUSTRALIAphone:(08) 297 9442; e-mail: hempSA@va.com.au; internet: www.hemp.on.net.
The latest edition of their newsletter "The Leaflet" is nowavailable. This issue is a special 24 page issue focussing on Medical Marijuana.Unfortunately, it is _not_ available on-line.
However, anyone interested can obtain a copy by sending internationalreply coupons to the value of A$ 3.00 (to cover the cover price of $1.50plus air mail postage) to the address above.
*
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email with a subject of "subscribe" to cclist@hempbc.com
From ???@??? Wed Dec 11 08:45:09 1996 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(line156.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.202.156]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.3/8.6.10)with ESMTP id BAA14083; Wed, 11 Dec 1996 01:23:30 -0500 (EST) From: cclist@hempbc.comReceived: from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu(8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTP id UAA01100 for cclist; Tue, 10 Dec 1996 20:21:20-0800 Date: Tue, 10 Dec 1996 20:21:20 -0800 Message-Id: <199612110421.UAA01100@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CC#65 Hemp Nation & Hi TimesBusted! X-UIDL: d27478f6682aa3edb919f02e9b7375e5
HEMP NATION AND HI TIMES BUSTED!
Two hemp stores in London, Ontario, were simultaneously raided by RCMPand London police on Friday December 6.
Hemp Nation and Hi Times were both emptied of their stocks of seeds,pipes, bongs, scales, and other such items, and both owners (Chris Clayand Mike Jain respectovely) spent the weekend in jail. Chris was releasedon $10,000 bail, while Mike was released on his own recognizance.
The RCMP apparently bought seeds from the stores in June, but waitedthe maximum allowable time of 6 months before deciding to make the raids.The timing indicates a financial attack, as both stores had stocked upfor the Christmas and would have been relying on Christmas sales to payoff their orders. They now face huge debts and have no merchandise to sellto pay their bills. Both stores are now in serious financial danger.
RCMP also raided both their homes.
I spoke to Mike Jain by phone. He explained to me that he had calledLondon police one year ago, before he began selling seeds, to ask abouttheir legality. Jain claimed that they told him that if there was no THCin the seed then they were legal. He had been openly selling seeds fora whole year with no police interference or warnings prior to the destructivepolice raid.
Jain told me that 15 RCMP officers went to his home, used his keys toenter his house and woke his sleeping wife in her bedroom. They took allthe money they could find in his home as well as his wife's jewellery,claiming it was "drug money". He's no totally broke, and can'teven get back into his own store (as of Monday) as police haven't yet foundthe time to return his keys to him.
Jain's wife was planning a trip to her native India over Christmas,but police seized her passport and tickets.
At Chris Clay's home they found a small quantity of marijuana, for whichhe has been charged.
Hemp Nation also had 3 computers and some files confiscated. One employeewas arrested. If you ordered seeds from Hemp Nation recently there mightbe cause for concern, as some recent records are in the hands of the cops.
It's also odd that the RCMP were involved in the raid and seed analysis,as this kind of matter is usually dealt with by local police.
We'll post more info as we get it. Check the what's new section of ourwebsite at http://www.hempbc.com. Also check the Hemp Nation website athttp://www.hempnation.com.
Hemp Nation was previously raided on May 17, 1995 for selling cannabisplant clones, and Chris Clay launched a constitutional challenge againstthe charges, which is still in progress.
Contact Chris Clay of Hemp Nation at (519) 433-5267, or email chris.clay@hempnation.com.
Contact Hi Times at (519) 858-1533.
Here's the email addresses of some papers that it is worth writing aletter to about this situation. It only takes a few minutes and it's aneasy way to be an effective armchair activist.
London Free Press editor@lfpress.com Globe and Mail letters@globeandmail.caToronto Star LetterToEd@thestar.com Toronto Sun sun.letters@ccinet.ab.caWindsor Star starlett@mnsi.net
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email with a subject of "subscribe" to cclist@hempbc.com
From ???@??? Tue Jan 21 09:04:51 1997 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@ts108.vcr.wis.net [204.191.170.108]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.4/8.6.10)with ESMTP id DAA27325; Tue, 21 Jan 1997 03:08:52 -0500 (EST) From: cclist@hempbc.comReceived: from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu(8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTP id VAA00326 for cclist; Mon, 20 Jan 1997 21:43:04-0800 Date: Mon, 20 Jan 1997 21:43:04 -0800 Message-Id: <199701210543.VAA00326@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CC#68 Canada's First Marijuana StoreX-UIDL: 8b57b83f2dbdaee148532cc8f91b213f
I've been a tad slow in announcing this monumental event...
On December 20th, 1996, the Vancouver Harm Reduction Club opened whatmust be North America's first modern marijuana storefront.
The Harm Reduction Club opened the "Dutch Embassy Flower and TeaRoom" at 420 Grove Street and have been selling pot out of the smallstore every day since then. They've got banners in the window with sloganslike "Marijuana is Medicine" and they've even got a sandwichboard out on the sidewalk. They do a brisk business and have not yet hadany police hassles at this new location. (Note that 420 Grove Street isactually their real honest-to-goodness address. Cool, eh?)
(As you might remember, the Harm Reduction Club was operating out ofa private home, but were busted on December 4. The three main organizersof the club face charges of possession for the purposes of trafficking.See CC posts #56 & #64 for more details.)
What follows is the full text of the full page ad which the Harm ReductionClub bought in local weekly paper Terminal City, announcing the December20 opening of the new location.
To get in touch with the Vancouver Harm Reduction Club call their newnumber at (604) 291-7729, or call David Malmo-Levine at (604) 617-1169,or email him at growpotkin@hempbc.com. (He may take a while to answer email.)
*
THE VANCOUVER HARM REDUCTION CLUB IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE OPENINGOF THE "DUTCH EMBASSY FLOWER AND TEA ROOM"
In other words, this gig may be North America's first shameless, aboveground, fully accountable to the public, fully stocked cannabis dealership.Unlike Holland, we will not be serving any tobacco, alcohol, caffeine orother physically addictive drugs.
The whole point of the thing is to reduce the harm that comes with theinevitable use of drugs by 1) separating the hard and soft drug marketand 2) educating everyone who chooses to use these drugs to minimize unwantedeffects.
We stand by the studies done in Holland, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Germanyand Australia, that the harm reduction drug policy is effective. Consideringthe police state we seem to be quickly slipping into and the environmentalcollapse looming from using too many synthetics, we feel that Canada mustlead the way to end global cannabis prohibition, or world may one day becomeone great big Singapore. Or worse.
OUR MESSAGE TO POLICE
We know times are tough and no cop wants to lose their job over a bunchof whiny potheads. We don't want to make you look evil or stupid when weopen our business. We just want you to cut us a bit of slack to experiment,let us put our money where our mouth is and see if we can't reduce socialharm or not - if not completely satisfied, double your drugwar back.
This isn't some joke or prank. We are deadly serious. Many of us havebeen writing letters for years, patiently filing out each Access to Informationrequest after Freedom of information request....only to find out that ourgovernment doesn't possess any evidence whatsoever that prohibition works!When we confront them with this, they hang up the phone, or cut us offat their extremely brief "town hall" meetings.
The court system is taking too long. Bill C-8, as you know, is practicallylaw, and it will give you as much power over us as German police had overJews in, say, thirty-six or so - long before the gas chambers, but justkeep in mind Newt Gingrich is now calling for "mass executions"of all drug smugglers.
Under Bill C-8, you can now hire our friends as narcs, set us up, searchus without probable cause, seize our property and if you happen to be oneof those few "bad cops", you may now choose to plant stuff onus and get to testify by affidavit to avoid cross examination. We don'teven get a jury trial for dealing any more. Forgive us if we feel a littledesperate these days.
You don't have to go along with what you know is a witchhunt. Here aresome ways to avoid it: 1) Keep busy investigating real crimes where peoplewere harmed or property was stolen or damaged. 2) Wait until someone complainsto you of some harm we have caused before you investigate us. 3) Use thefindings in the Ledain Commission, the BC Chief Coroners report, the NationalTask Force on Cannabis in Australia 1994 among others to back up your conscientiousnon-cooperation with what can only be called drugwar crimes.
Still not convinced? Take this quote for example; from the Dutch governmentreport titled "Drugs Policy in the Netherlands - continuity and change"
"The Netherlands' view that cannabis products entail less serioushealth risks than hard drugs and thus require a different approach, isnot even shared by all the countries of the European Union. Recent reportsfrom abroad by authoritative experts on drugs support the distinction madein Dutch law between soft and hard drugs. Criticism based on views aboutthe heath risks for which no support can any longer be found in the scientificliterature can of course not be grounds for amending Dutch policy."
If you are ordered to close us down, request scientific data first toback up your use of force, in order to avoid looking like fools in themedia. No one will be able to give you any, and that will buy us some time.
If you absolutely must bust us, please don't have your guns drawn thistime. Lets be civil about these things. We may be marijuana dealers, butwe aren't dangerous.
OUR MESSAGE TO PARENTS
Let's face it - teens use and abuse pot. You can't stop them. Throwthem in jail? They'll buy it there too. If there is a problem with teenpot use, it isn't because the pot is all that dangerous, it's because prohibitionmakes a relatively safe activity more hazardous, and carries serious sideeffects of it's own. What do we mean?
-The number one health consideration, impaired driving, happens moreoften in a prohibitionist system as 1) cars are used by teens to concealtheir crime from their parents, and 2) the stigma connected to a criminalrecord prevents honest communication about a teen's need for help - ingetting home from a party, for example.
-The second most important health consideration, lung damage, occursmore in a prohibitionist system because 1) "safer smoking tools"like water pipes and glass pipes are banned, 2) there's no quality controlon the cultivation methods, 3) "fake" pot and hash can be sold,with sometimes tragic results 4) prohibition deters some grow operationsand drives up the price, which then prevents teens from cooking with ganjabutter - a safer (no lung damage, no toxicity level) but more expensiveway to get high.
Prohibition also has some serious side effects:
-To get to the soft drugs, teens often get exposed to hard drugs.
-Some teens are also exposed to guns, gangs, and easy drug money.
-Peaceful users, dealers and growers face a record, stiff fines andeven jail time. In some countries they face much worse.
-Young people are often direct victims of the drug war, be it in gangon gang violence or accidental shootings like Daniel Posse - accidentallyshot dead by Vancouver Police during a marijuana raid (a raid which nettedless than an ounce of pot).
At the Harm Reduction Club, rather than be hypocrites (most of us startedsmoking in our teens) and turn kids away, we give teens access to safer"just pot" surroundings. They must promise to 1) smoke responsibly,2) not operate any heavy machinery while impaired, and 3) respect our neighborsas they come and go. We give them a copy of the "safer smarter smokingguide", and we put 10% of our profits for free legal council in theevent of a club activity bust.
If anybody out there can show us that raising our age limit would reducethe harm further, we would be happy to bump it up to sixteen or eighteenor thirty-five or whatever.
Consider this: the risks of caffeine are greater than THC in every way.Found in chocolate, soda pop, coffee, tea and aspirin, caffeine is physicallyaddicting (with headache as the most often cited withdrawal symptom) andcan cause unnecessary stress, lightheadedness, breathlessness and an irregularheartbeat - or much worse in larger-than-average doses. You can also dieof overdose. Thousands do every year. Marijuana isn't even remotely asdangerous - no deaths by overdose, no physical addiction, and minimal healthrisks in a tolerant and open world.
Now think about the real "wrong message" to give to your children.Remember, the little rugrats are often smarter than we give them creditfor. They see through the reefer madness. Do you?
OUR MESSAGE TO OTHER DEALERS
Change isn't always bad. Sometimes, with a bit of forethought, one cantake advantage of inevitable changes. Let's face it - this market is massive.We can all make tons of money going legit - and have lots left over topay for schools and hospitals and turn Canada into what it could be - aland of peace, tolerance of alternative lifestyles and prosperity for everyone.
An end to the drug war would take the economic power out of the handsof the drug corporations and put it in the hands of us farmers - rightwhere it should be. The same thing could then happen with industrial hemp.
If you aren't into any of this legalization stuff, at least leave usbe. We are, after all, trying to make life a lot less stressful for you.
OUR MESSAGE TO OUR MEMBERS
This is it. Gotta draw the line somewhere. The witchhunt ends this Friday,December 20th, 1996 at two PM. At exactly two PM (not a moment sooner,for security reasons) phone your local hemp store and get the address ofour cafe. Then get your (non-impaired) assess down there for a special,one day only sale on memberships and pot!!! For one day only, membershipswill be half price! (5 bucks) and pot will be only 25 bucks for an eighth,or eight bucks for a gram sized joint (limit one joint and one eighth permember to avoid obvious problems).
Now's the time. Either we risk arrest now (by the way, each club member'slegal expenses are covered for all club activities, including this one)or we risk Singapore later, and not too much later by the looks of it.Bring cameras, warm clothes (this party may have to go late, like threeor four days late) and all your Clay-o-quot courage, but please leave alcohol,aggression and weapons at home. All musicians, entertainers and videographerswill be smoked up for free, as per usual.
Now's the time. Everyone on earth knows prohibition is a scam. It'stime to face the evil empire. The force of truth is with us.
*
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email with a subject of "subscribe" to cclist@hempbc.com
From ???@??? Thu Jan 09 10:41:29 1997 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@ts109.vcr.wis.net [204.191.170.109]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.4/8.6.10)with ESMTP id AAA27245; Wed, 8 Jan 1997 00:22:48 -0500 (EST) From: cclist@hempbc.comReceived: from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu(8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTP id TAA00763 for cclist; Tue, 7 Jan 1997 19:19:07-0800 Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 19:19:07 -0800 Message-Id: <199701080319.TAA00763@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CC#67 Commercial & IndustrialHemp Symposium X-UIDL: f67a1272a844d7087cde36feffbd851b
What follows is taken from various press releases by Wiseman Noble Sales,concerning the Commercial & Industrial Hemp Symposium which they areputting on at the Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre on February 17-19,1997.
The Commercial & Industrial Hemp Symposium
SPEAKERS
The international experts in non-intoxicating hemp growth and processingwho will be attending the conference include:
Dr. Jace Callaway, an agricultural researcher from Finland, who workswith a fast-flowering strain of hemp suitable for growth in Northern Canadathat produces a seed oil with medicinal and food uses;
Dr. Kai Nebel, a textile specialist with the Institute for Applied Researchin Germany;
Dr. Med Byrd from North Carolina University, who will outline the enviro-friendly"mini-mill" necessary for hemp pulping;
Researchers from the Institute of Natural Fibres in Poland, best knownfor their hemp-wool textile blends and now experimenting with hemp buildingmaterials;
John Hobson from Hemcore in England, which grew 4,000 acres of industrialhemp for textiles, paper and animal bedding in 1996;
David Watson, of the International Hemp Association in the Netherlands,who's project to preserve the world's largest hemp seed bank will ensurethe genetic diversity of the crop for future generations;
Geof Kime, whose company Hempline was the first to grow a legal hempcrop in North America since the 1950s;
Mark Parent, of the Canadian Auto Workers Union, whose hemp campaignhas raised awareness of industrial hemp's many applications, includingcar parts, from the Minister of Agriculture to production-line workersacross the country;
Jean Peart, a member of Health Canada's "Hemp Team" will presenta status update on the preparation of Canadian regulations regarding hempgrowth.
SPONSORS
Sponsoring the International Speaker Series are The Canadian Pulp &Paper Association and Growers International Inc., a Saskatchewan-basedbiological agriculture company.
Sponsors for the symposium include the Bank of Montreal, the CanadianIndustrial Hemp Council (CIHC), Ecosource Paper of Victoria and HemptownClothing of Vancouver.
TRADE JOURNAL
The Commercial & Industrial Hemp Symposium will also see the releaseof a trade journal for the commercial hemp industry, aptly named "CommercialHemp, the Trade Journal for Our Growing Industry".
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information on this event, contact the Show Manager, SotosPetrides, at Wiseman Noble Sales & Marketing Ltd, (604) 258-7171. Youcan also email events@wisenoble.com, or visit their webpage at www.wisenoble.com/symp/index.htm
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email with a subject of "subscribe" to cclist@hempbc.com
From ???@??? Thu Jan 30 09:02:54 1997 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@line310.nwm.mindlink.net [204.191.203.70]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.5/8.6.10)with ESMTP id TAA27266; Wed, 29 Jan 1997 19:40:41 -0500 (EST) From: cclist@hempbc.comReceived: from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu(8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTP id AAA00538 for cclist; Tue, 28 Jan 1997 00:10:36-0800 Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 00:10:36 -0800 Message-Id: <199701280810.AAA00538@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CC#69 HRC update, TV shows X-UIDL:4de1dc55b47978e2500fa94f3fec03b4
The Harm Reduction Club has been the victim of two armed robberies inrecent weeks, and so has had to cut back hours of operation and sales tominors. Here's the official Harm Reduction Club Press Release:
Harm Reduction Club changes policy in reaction to armed criminal threat.
Due to the Harm Reduction Clubs continuing problems with armed robberiesin their Burnaby location, "The Dutch Embassy" has reduced it'shours, and will now only be open from 2 pm to 10 pm. The club will onlyhave a minimal amount of pot and no money on site.
The club is attempting to cooperate fully with the Burnaby RCMP on thismatter, and has requested additional patrols. The RCMP can only say that"they are keeping an eye on the situation" and, while not condoningthe use or distribution of any illegal substance, will continue to regardmatters of armed robbery against anyone with "zero tolerance",and will aggressively pursue these cases.
In order that the Club can more easily gain police and public support,the HRC has changed it's policy on selling pot to minors. From now on,only under special circumstances (the parent or guardian coming in personto sign a special parental permission slip) will the HRC sell to teenagers.
For more information, please phone the Dutch Embassy: (604) 291-7729
*
Here's a few upcoming TV shows you might want to watch out for. I don'thave more details than I present here. Check local listings for more preciseinfo.
CBC January 30, 9pm: Nature of Things (drug policies around the world)
CBS January 30: 48 Hours (marijuana, interview with David Malmo Levine)
ABC March 13, 10pm: Peter Jennings Special Report (marijuana prohibitionin the US)
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email with a subject of "subscribe" to cclist@hempbc.com
From ???@??? Thu Mar 06 09:48:11 1997 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@slip129-37-179-131.bc.ca.ibm.net [129.37.179.131]) by gold.interlog.com(8.8.5/8.6.10) with ESMTP id TAA23593 for <iorfida@interlog.com>;Wed, 5 Mar 1997 19:55:22 -0500 (EST) From: ccletters@hempbc.com Received:from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.8.2/8.8.2)with SMTP id QAA00605 for ccletters; Wed, 5 Mar 1997 16:42:07 -0800 Date:Wed, 5 Mar 1997 16:42:07 -0800 Message-Id: <199703060042.QAA00605@gulik.dymaxion.edu>Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CL#20 Dutch Embassy Under Seige X-UIDL:ada3f4a69a5a28d00f188faa8e135d48
I know this list has been dead for some time. It's not that there'sbeen nothing to write about, but rather that I've been busy (and on a holiday)and was unable to properly maintain it myself. I'll be keeping it moreactive in the future, but this is a good opportunity to make up for losttime.
If you're subscribed to cclist then you recently received a post aboutthe Harm Reduction Club's "Dutch Embassy" storefront being raidedby the Burnaby RCMP. I suggest that this is something worthy of writingto the papers about.
Aside from the major papers like the Vancouver Sun and Province andthe Globe and Mail, for which you should already have email contacts, Isuggest that you make an effort to contact the two Burnaby papers. Keepit short and sweet, but let them know what you think.
Unfortunately, they don't have email, but it's definitely worth thepostage or fax costs to help out the Harm Reduction Club in this time ofneed. These papers must be swamped with letters of support from acrossCanada and around the world if the Club is to have any hope of survival.
Thanks for your support at this crucial time.
Burnaby Now: 205A - 3430 Brighton Avenue, Burnaby, BC, V5A 3H4 phone:(604) 444-3451 fax: (604) 444-3460
Burnaby Newsleader: 6569 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC, V5E 1E1 phone: (604)438-6397 fax: (604) 942-4327
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email with a subject of "subscribe" to cclist@hempbc.com
From ???@??? Wed Mar 05 09:46:32 1997 Received: from gulik.dymaxion.edu(root@slip129-37-177-183.bc.ca.ibm.net [129.37.177.183]) by gold.interlog.com(8.8.5/8.6.10) with ESMTP id DAA13046; Wed, 5 Mar 1997 03:50:35 -0500 (EST)From: cclist@hempbc.com Received: from hempbc.com (root@localhost [127.0.0.1])by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTP id WAA00569 for cclist; Tue,4 Mar 1997 22:34:33 -0800 Date: Tue, 4 Mar 1997 22:34:33 -0800 Message-Id:<199703050634.WAA00569@gulik.dymaxion.edu> Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.comSubject: CC#70 Harm Reduction Club Busted by Burnaby RCMP X-UIDL: 53a29499f0b0a4d064870cd17d73322a
On Friday, February 28 at about 4:30pm, the "Dutch Embassy"storefront location of the Harm Reduction Club was raided by Burnaby RCMP.
Organizer David Malmo-Levine, co-worker Derrick and a customer werearrested. The customer was released after being harassed, Derrick spentthe night in jail and was released on a promise not to go within 10 blocksof the Dutch Embassy, a 10pm curfew and to not communicate with David Malmo-Levine.
David himself is still in Burnaby prison as of Monday evening, possiblyto be released on a $4,000 bail bond tomorrow, if he will agree to whateverconditions the judge sets upon his release. Note that it is common practicefor police to make this kind of "harassment bust" on a Fridayafternoon, so that victim must spend the weekend in jail before a hearingcan be held.
The Dutch Embassy has remained open and active since the bust, althoughthey've cut back their hours and supplies are limited at the moment.
This is the first police bust at this location, which has been openand busy since December 20, 1996. They have been robbed by armed thievesfour times at this location though, the last time the thieves came theirwas a scuffle with club members defending themselves, and that's how theclub discovered the thieves' gun was loaded with blanks.
It's worth mentioning that although the RCMP didn't pull their triggerslike the thieves did, their guns are loaded with real bullets.
What follows is an early version of an article from the coming issueof CC about the Harm Reduction Club and their Dutch Embassy.
* Vancouver's Harm Reduction Club opened Canada's first above-groundmarijuana store on December 20, 1996, and they're still going strong despitethe best efforts of cops, robbers, and City Hall.
HARM REDUCTION IN ACTION
On October 19, 1996, the Harm Reduction Club held a kick-off rally inVancouver's Grandview Park, where organizer David Malmo-Levine openly soldbaggies of pot to anyone over the age of 13 who first became a member ofthe club and agreed not to drive while impaired on marijuana. VancouverPolice watched from a polite distance, but didn't make any attempts tostop the rally.
The Harm Reduction Club purchased full page ads in Vancouver weeklyTerminal City, advertising their business, phone number, and moral justification.They gave out their home/club address to members and prospective customers,and created a safe and educational environment in which to purchase andconsume marijuana.
Vancouver police moved in six weeks later on December 4, and David Malmo-Levinespent the night in jail, along with two of his co-workers and roommates.The trio now face charges of possession for the purposes of trafficking.
BOUNCING BACK FROM THE BUST
The bust was enough to shut down operations for two weeks, but on December20 the Harm Reduction Club was back in action, with another full page adannouncing their new storefront location in the neighbouring municipalityof Burnaby.
The new location was christened the "Dutch Embassy Flower and TeaRoom" and has the auspicious address of 420 Grove Street. They'renot shy about their activities; there's banners in the window with sloganslike "Marijuana is Medicine" and a sandwich board out on thesidewalk advertising their business.
The Harm Reduction Club now boasts over 1800 paid members, but althoughbusiness is brisk things haven't been easy for them at their new location.The club suffered five armed robberies in as many weeks during the monthsof January and February, four from local dealers who either didn't wantthe competition, or just saw the friendly and trusting Club as an easymark. The last armed robbery was the Burnaby RCMP, who not only stole allthe pot and money, but also took David and another organizer away to prison.
THE HRC AND THE RCMP
The Harm Reduction Club contacted the Burnaby RCMP after the first armedrobbery, and was notified that the RCMP "are keeping an eye on thesituation" and, while not condoning the use or distribution of anyillegal substance, would continue to regard matters of armed robbery againstanyone with "zero tolerance", and would aggressively pursue thesecases.
The Club also announced that they had changed their policy on sellingpot to minors, in order to gain public and police support by separatingissues of parental authority from prohibition,. Now they only sell to teenagersif the parent or guardian comes in person to sign a special parental permissionslip.
The RCMP has made one arrest in connection with the robberies, yet apparentlyhas the resources and manpower to spare to harass and intimidate the Clubitself.
One or two customers have been arrested outside the Club, and many morehave spent time in police cars. There has been a persistent police presencearound the Dutch Embassy during late February and early March, and theClub has responded by coaxing some local videographers into recording anyinstances of police harassment or intimidation.
AN OPEN DISCUSSION
Some letters appeared in local Burnaby papers condemning the Club, andso David went to a City Council meeting and offered to participate in anopen discussion with the residents of Burnaby, in the form of a Town Hallmeeting. "If the people of Burnaby don't want us here, we'll go,"says David, "but I've got hundreds of clients in this city, and apetition in support of the Dutch Embassy with over 500 signatures on it,about half of which are from Burnaby residents."
The Mayor and council haven't responded to the idea of a Town Hall meeting,and so the Harm Reduction Club took out a full page ad in the Burnaby Nowweekly newspaper, requesting a response from the Mayor about their proposalfor an open debate.
The ad ran in the paper on Saturday, March 1. The RCMP moved in on theclub a day earlier, on February 28. This is a crucial period right now,and public support is essential. This is a good time to send a letter tothe paper, and to drop by the Dutch Embassy with some words and donationsof support.
FOR MORE INFORMATION...
For David Malmo-Levine's advice on how to set up an above ground marijuanastore in your community, see his article in the coming Spring issue ofCannabis Canada.
Contact the Burnaby RCMP with your feelings about their bust at (604)294-7922 or (604) 294-7790.
The Dutch Embassy storefront phone number is (604) 291-7729. Leave amessage or call for info on the Harm Reduction Club at (604) 253-6357.
Email David Malmo-Levine through growpotkin@hempbc.com. (He may takea while to answer his email.)
Regular mail to the Harm Reduction Club can be sent care of CannabisCanada.
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email with a subject of "subscribe" to cclist@hempbc.com
From ???@??? Thu Mar 27 09:06:30 1997 Received: from mx1.mail.interlog.net(root@mx1.mail.interlog.net [207.34.202.3]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.5/8.6.10)with ESMTP id XAA27971; Wed, 26 Mar 1997 23:53:37 -0500 (EST) From: cclist@hempbc.comReceived: from gulik.dymaxion.edu (root@slip129-37-177-68.bc.ca.ibm.net[129.37.177.68]) by mx1.mail.interlog.net (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id XAA11944;Wed, 26 Mar 1997 23:43:18 -0500 (EST) Received: from hempbc.com (root@localhost[127.0.0.1]) by gulik.dymaxion.edu (8.8.2/8.8.2) with SMTP id SAA00306for cclist; Wed, 26 Mar 1997 18:40:57 -0800 Date: Wed, 26 Mar 1997 18:40:57-0800 Message-Id: <199703270240.SAA00306@gulik.dymaxion.edu> Reply-To:muggles@hempbc.com Subject: CC#71 The Cannabis Cafe Needs You X-UIDL: 9f408b83dbf09047a961a8855b949c7e
Despite rumours and an ad predicting a January opening in Cannabis Canada,the Cannabis Cafe has not yet opened in Vancouver, but progress is wellunderway.
At this time, the cafe is looking for hemp and marijuana memorabilia:old movie posters, sculptures, paintings, chandeliers, old hemp clothing,old photos or pages from relevant old books, and anything that is niceto look at and has something to do with marijuana or hemp. They're willingto pay for items, although donations are always gratefully accepted. They'realso interested in temporarily borrowing and displaying items that belongto someone else's collection.
Another area that the cafe needs help with is in locating hemp-basedraw materials for the construction of the interior of the cafe. In particular,they are looking for a source of hemp fibreboard which they want to useto build the booths, although they're also interested in any other hempconstruction materials anyone else might have to offer.
If anyone knows of a source for hemp fibreboard, hemp and marijuanamemorabilia, or has any other items of interest or suggestions for theCannabis Cafe, please don't hesitate to contact them. You can reach theCannabis Cafe by phone at (604) 801-5656, or by email at cafe@hempbc.com.You can also send information to me, muggles@hempbc.com, if you prefer.
Thanks for your assistance. The Cannabis Cafe's current scheduled openingtime is in late May.
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email with a subject of "subscribe" to cclist@hempbc.com
From ???@??? Mon Apr 21 11:16:02 1997 Received: from peace.netnation.com(majordom@peace.netnation.com [204.174.223.1]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.5/8.6.10)with ESMTP id AAA05758; Sat, 19 Apr 1997 00:26:11 -0400 (EDT) Received:(from majordom@localhost) by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id TAA04220for cclist-list; Fri, 18 Apr 1997 19:26:18 -0700 Received: from front.netnation.com(root@front.netnation.com [204.174.223.7]) by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5)with ESMTP id TAA04214 for <cclist@netnation.com>; Fri, 18 Apr 199719:26:17 -0700 Received: from [204.174.36.142] (d142.portal.ca [204.174.36.142])by front.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.4) with SMTP id UAA21036 for <cclist@hempbc.com>;Fri, 18 Apr 1997 20:25:59 -0700 X-Sender: hempbc02@mail.hempbc.com Message-Id:<v01530519af7b59bb59d7@[204.174.36.175]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type:text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 20:30:20-0700 To: cclist@hempbc.com From: muggles@hempbc.com (Dana Larsen) Subject:cclist Update, Test Messages Sender: owner-cclist@netnation.com Precedence:bulk Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com X-UIDL: 07b5d251c5da425d5c8b8111a0c744a6
To all subscribers of CClist,
This list has been dormant for awhile. I've been busy working on thenewest issue of CC (CC#8, Spring 97) and we've also been revamping andreorganizing the whole cclist procedure. It should appear the same to allof you, but it'll work much smoother for me at this end.
Sorry about those test messages. I don't approve of any spam and ithappened without my knowledge. It won't happen again
I've got a backlog of messages to send out, which I will spread overthe coming week, if all goes well.
There's about 1200 subscribers now, with 3-4 more signing on every day.
To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@netnation.com with the words"unsubscribe cclist" in the body of the message.
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email to majordomo@netnation.com with the words "subscribe cclist"in the body.
To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@netnation.com with the words"unsubscribe cclist" in the body.
From ???@??? Mon Apr 21 11:16:03 1997 Received: from peace.netnation.com(majordom@peace.netnation.com [204.174.223.1]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.5/8.6.10)with ESMTP id CAA07462; Sat, 19 Apr 1997 02:37:51 -0400 (EDT) Received:(from majordom@localhost) by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id VAA05339for cclist-list; Fri, 18 Apr 1997 21:58:14 -0700 Received: from front.netnation.com(root@front.netnation.com [204.174.223.7]) by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5)with ESMTP id VAA05333 for <cclist@netnation.com>; Fri, 18 Apr 199721:58:14 -0700 Received: from [204.174.36.182] (d182.portal.ca [204.174.36.182])by front.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.4) with SMTP id WAA24367 for <cclist@hempbc.com>;Fri, 18 Apr 1997 22:57:56 -0700 X-Sender: hempbc02@mail.hempbc.com Message-Id:<v01530501af60b0774b42@[204.174.36.156]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type:text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 23:02:16-0700 To: cclist@hempbc.com From: muggles@hempbc.com (Dana Larsen) Subject:cclist Pot Bar 'Arthrology' Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted:from quoted-printable to 8bit by peace.netnation.com id VAA05334 Sender:owner-cclist@netnation.com Precedence: bulk Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.comX-UIDL: d2b6918d21c8d957ee61400f1535a076
An excellent article from the March 26 Vancouver Echo, about a new "potbar" that is operating in Vancouver. I've been there, it's a niceplace. Unlike the now closed Harm Reduction Club, 'Arthrology' doesn'topenly advertise their location or phone number.
VANCOUVER ECHO - Wednesday March 26,1997 editor@vanecho.com
Pot Bar Arthrology Turns a New Leaf on the City's Social Scene
Soft drug bar takes the city one step closer to Amsterdam style tolerance
By Mike Bell-staff writer-Vancouver Echo
The work week is winding down and Arthrology is beginning to wind up.It's Friday afternoon and one of Vancouver's newest cutting edge socialclubs is getting busy.
A buzz sounds every few minutes from the front door along a main streetin the northeast corner of the city. This time Norm checks the surveillancecamera before letting in a 50ish man in shorts and a cycling shirt. Helooks around at the renovations and paint that in three months has transformeda filthy three-room warehouse into a comfortable collective with sofasand chairs scattered in small clutches, a tiny stereo system, video games,even a pet fish.
"Hey it looks great," he smiles to Norm and the men sharea pat on the back before adjourning through the smoky haze scented withmarijuana to a back room. On the other side of the curtains Norm maintainsa kind of soft drug bar,selling all kinds of pot, hash and miscellaneoussubstances to customers of Arthrology, from the Greek "arthro"for joints, and "ology" the study of.
"Welcome to Arthrology," Norm tells all his new customers.An intimidating figure at 6 foot 4, 300 pounds, Norm tends to hold people'sattention through his entire introductory spiel and so far everyone hasplayed by the rules.
"We're a cannabis club," he continues. "We sell onlycannabis products. No alcohol please, do your drinking after you leave,not before you come. This is a powder-free zone, nothing up your nose butyour finger - anything other than your finger up your nose and your assgoes out the door. We reserve the right to install a dress code and controlthe altitude, aptitude and attitude of all guests. Video games are free,"he points to three standing against the wall, "and the tea bar isby donation. The television has all the specialty channels - watch whateveryou want - and there's games in the front room. Enjoy."
There are a few other common sense rules. No stolen property on thepremises, no selling outside marijuana and no customers under 18, consciouslyin accordance with Canada's age of majority. Behave like you would in apub, but replace your beer with weed.
Selling marijuana is the commercial end of the operation, the rest ofthe space is open. Some people sit and sip tea and play cards. Others stopby to smoke a bowl of high - grade marijuana in one of several waterpipesaround the rooms and settle into a good book. Few stay less than 15 minutes.Norm wants to deter the constant in-and-out traffic that attracts attentionand wants to keep new Arthrologists (club regulars) "to people yousmoke with at your kitchen table." He's hoping some grassroots levelgroups will use the Arthrology space as a meeting place.
"It's totally open," he said invitingly. "People cando whatever they want here and I hope they'll use it as a place to organize, to get their groups together."
As the owner of one of several underground Amsterdam - style smokingbars that have stayed open as long as two years in Vancouver, Norm is hopefula low key approach is the one that keeps Arthrology open. Vancouver policemight have tolerated The Harm Reduction Club and its efforts to sell potfrom a basement suite off Commercial Drive were it not for vocal spokespersonDavid Malmo - Levine and Marc Emery ( the Hemp BC owner arrested last yearfor selling marijuana seeds to undercover cops), police appear to haveseen the writing on the wall and seem to be offering a break of sorts tothose who operate discretely.
As far back as the Liberal government's LeDain Commission in 1973 whenJean Chretien and other commission members advocated softening up Canada'spot laws, politicians have been saying the current prohibition of growing,owning , smoking or selling marijuana is wrong. Four years ago then - provincialchief coroner Vince Cain recommended the legalization of soft drugs, now73 year old senator Duncan Jessiman - who doesn't smoke it - wants potlegalized.
No substantive steps toward legalization have been taken since the Liberalparty battled back to parliament, but there is a palpable sense that policeknow pot, like prostitution, isn't going away and will provide a similarlevel of tolerance for those who do their business away from bright lightsand any attention.
"I know they've checked me out and I know they know I'm here,"said Norm, "I just hope they realize that what's going on in placeslike this is not criminal. I've done a lot of shit, but for 15 years thishas been my dream, now it's here. What this is is kind people selling kindherb to kind people, and to say what we're doing is criminal is absolutelywrong."
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
For free email news and updates about cannabis and drug issues, sendan email to majordomo@netnation.com with the words "subscribe cclist"in the body.
To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@netnation.com with the words"unsubscribe cclist" in the body.
From ???@??? Wed Apr 23 09:33:31 1997 Received: from peace.netnation.com(majordom@peace.netnation.com [204.174.223.1]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.5/8.6.10)with ESMTP id EAA02241 for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Wed, 23 Apr 199704:05:32 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by peace.netnation.com(8.8.5/8.8.5) id BAA01747 for ccletters-list; Wed, 23 Apr 1997 01:02:41-0700 Received: from front.netnation.com (root@front.netnation.com [204.174.223.7])by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id BAA01741 for <ccletters@netnation.com>;Wed, 23 Apr 1997 01:02:40 -0700 Received: from [204.174.36.165] (d161.portal.ca[204.174.36.161]) by front.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.4) with SMTP id BAA21093for <ccletters@hempbc.com>; Wed, 23 Apr 1997 01:02:53 -0700 X-Sender:hempbc02@mail.hempbc.com Message-Id: <v01530500af7e115f72d0@[204.174.36.182]>Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 01:07:12 -0700 To: ccletters@hempbc.com From: muggles@hempbc.com(Cannabis Canada) Subject: Ottawa Citizen on Decriminalizing Drugs Content-Transfer-Encoding:8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by peace.netnation.comid BAA01742 Sender: owner-ccletters@netnation.com Precedence: bulk Reply-To:ccletters@hempbc.com X-UIDL: 397fb507659fd4cbede2d2ad5c8408f2
The Ottawa Citizen, one of the largest circulation papers in Canada,and the main newspaper in Canada's capital, published a series of foureditorials (April 12-16, 1997) strongly criticizing the criminal prohibitionof drugs. The editorials call for alternative measures to deal with drugsin society.
The editorials follow, and you can also see them online at the CanadianFoundation for Drug Policy web site at: http://fox.nstn.ca/~eoscapel/cfdp/citizen.html
Letters to the Ottawa Citizen may be sent by e-mail to letters@thecitizen.southam.ca,or by fax to (613) 596-8458.
In both cases, the letter must include the full name of the writer,and the writer's address and phone number, to allow verification of theletter.
I suggest that letters should mention the pathetic fraud of a drug policyreview which is currently taking place, and that 69% of Canadians supportthe decriminalization of marijuana. Otherwise it's a pretty open ballpark.
Note that I don't expect most posts to be even half as long as thisone. But then again, never before has the daily paper of our nation's capitalprinted four major editorials on the complete decriminalization of drugs.
The Ottawa Citizen also ran a fairly long piece on the decriminalizationof marijuana by Alan Young, the lawyer who is defending Chris Clay. I willtry and post that to this list within a day. I will also post any letterswhich they have printed within a few days.
Please cc me a copy of any letters which you email to the Ottawa Citizen.
*
DECRIMINALIZING DRUGS I Editorial, The Ottawa Citizen, Saturday, April12, 1997
3 (1) Except as authorized by this Act or regulations, no person shallhave alcohol in his possession. Alcohol Control Act, 1999
Possession of alcohol is not criminal under Canada s drug laws. Wereany political party to suggest that alcohol be criminalized, the soundof laughter and ice rattling in scotch glasses would be heard from Lunenbergto Chilliwack.
The long, dry years of Prohibition, particularly in its ambitious Americanversion, taught some very profound lessons about what happens when governmentsuse criminal law to try to address the real harms done by a drug:
Prohibition had little or no effect on the consumption of alcohol. ElliotNess may have inspired great television but neither he nor any number ofhis colleagues came close to finally corking the bottle in an era whichis most famous for its jazz, gin joints, and speakeasies.
Prohibition put a lucrative trade entirely into the hands of organizedcriminals (and Canadian exporters). The crime spree spawned by alcohol'scriminal status contributed to an American homicide rate that rose throughoutProhibition, to a 1933 peak of 9.7 murders per 100,000 people, higher eventhan the murder rate in the 1980s. And all the while, the thugs got rich.
The impossibility of stemming the flow of booze led to ever more drasticpolicing, which undermined civil liberties. It has been estimated thatupward of a thousand people were killed by American prohibition-enforcementagents. The first-ever laws making mere membership in a group illegal --a gross violation of the freedom of association -- were American laws aimedat booze- running gangs.
Perhaps most insidiously, criminalization implied that free human beingswere not capable of making their own decisions about what they should ingestinto their own bodies. Prohibition was an awful precedent: Citizens wereinfants, government the scolding parent.
The hard experience garnered in several decades of fighting alcoholwith the criminal law has taught that prohibition of alcohol is folly.In fact, this is now the conventional wisdom. As a result, there will beno Alcohol Control Act of 1999.
Our society has had equally hard experience with its legal prohibitionof the other drugs on society s list of the forbidden. Yet there is a NarcoticControl Act that still criminalizes certain of these drugs, many of whichare little different in their physiological effects than alcohol. For somereason, most Canadians, and almost every Canadian politician, refuse tosee that every lesson learned about alcohol prohibition is also a lessonabout drug prohibition.
The legal status of drugs has no substantial effect on drug consumption.
Marijuana was virtually unknown as a drug in Canada when it was bannedin 1923. The first confirmed instance of its illicit use did not occuruntil 1931. Despite official vigilance, marijuana arrests in Canada remainedextremely rare until the early 1960s, when changes in social values broughta massive increase in marijuana use -- against which the criminal law hadessentially no effect.
Experience with harder drugs similarly shows no correlation betweencriminal sanction and use. In 1906, cocaine was inexpensive, legal, andfashionable in the United States. By 1980, it was only fashionable. Yetthe rate of consumption in 1980 was twice that in 1906. After Ronald andNancy Reagan's "War on Drugs" poured billions of dollars intoarmed interdiction and enforcement the wholesale price of cocaine droppedby 60 per cent.
Every year, enforcers seize about one-third of the cocaine producedworldwide. Yet the Rand Corporation estimates that cocaine supply in theU.S. continues to outpace demand by 60 to 100 tons. In 1992 and 1993, atthe height of military interdiction efforts and with the U.S. governmentspending $12 billion a year fighting drugs, there was a cocaine glut onAmerican streets.
Even where the law does drive up prices, it still seems to have littleeffect on consumption. In the decade following the 1982 launch of the waron drugs, marijuana prices in the United States shot up over 400 per cent.In 1982, the number of high school seniors who said it was "easy"or "very easy" to get marijuana was 88.5 per cent; in 1994, itwas 85.5 per cent.
Since Bill Clinton took office in 1993, the number of Americans arrestedfor marijuana offences has increased by 43 per cent, and increasingly thosearrested are subjected to such measures as life sentences for growing asingle plant. But teenage use of marijuana has grown throughout the 1990s.
Legalization also seems to have little effect on drug use. Ten Americanstates have legalized possession of small amounts of marijuana for personaluse with no apparent increase in consumption resulting. Holland legalizedmarijuana de facto in 1976 and teenage marijuana use subsequently droppedby 40 per cent. The rate of teenage marijuana use in Holland and Spain,where cannabis is also de-criminalized, is only two-thirds that in Britain,which enforces its anti-marijuana laws strenuously.
Criminalization unnecessarily puts a lucrative trade in the hands oforganized crime.
The drug profits of organized crime measure in the billions of dollarseach year. (Between $5 and $11 billion is spent on illicit drugs each yearin the United States alone.) The thugs, organized and otherwise, who strugglefor shares of this wealth are responsible for what is wrongly called "drugcrime." The result: in the U.S. in 1993 alone, 1,280 murders stemmedexclusively from the drug trade. A 1988 study found that among murder casesin the 18 most populous counties in the U.S., circumstances involving theillegal drug trade, such as disputes over drugs, accounted for 18 per centof all defendants and 16 per cent of all victims.
Though these sorts of statistics are normally used to support the criminalizationof drugs, it is not the drugs that cause the crime, but their criminalstatus. One study of cocaine-related New York City homicides found that87 per cent were related to territorial disputes, debt collection, or otherbusiness aspect; only 7.5 per cent were found to have been caused by thepharmacological effects of the drug itself. But the two types of drugsmost likely to be associated with violent, aggressive behaviour -- alcoholand secobarbital -- are both currently legal.
No form of trade is the natural province of criminals: it only becomestheir exclusive domain when the law makes that trade illegal. The end ofAmerican alcohol prohibition in 1933 was also, not co-incidentally, theend of most bootlegger violence. Al Capone and the mob were replaced bytoday s distillers and brewers, corporate citizens no more dangerous thanMcDonald's or General Electric. The legalization of other drugs would takea multi-billion dollar trade out of the hands of criminals and quell theviolence they cause.
Too often, our political culture equates legalizing drugs with beingsoft on criminals. But it is criminalization, not legalization, that guaranteeswealth and power for gangs and pushers. We will argue Monday that it neednot be this way.
*
DECRIMINALIZING DRUGS II Editorial, The Ottawa Citizen, Monday, April14, 1997
On Saturday we focussed on two practical arguments for decriminalizingdrugs: First, a drugs legal status seems to have little or no effect onits consumption. Second, criminalization unnecessarily puts a lucrativetrade in the hands of organized crime.
Decades of regulatory failure should have re-directed our minds towarda fundamental re-evaluation of how we deal with drugs. But they have not.Instead, the continuing failure of the "war on drugs" and ofits attendant arsenal of regulations, powers, police, soldiers, and prisonshas led to more regulations, powers, police, soldiers, and prisons.
The impossibility of eradicating drug use has also led to ever moredrastic measures that corrode civil liberties. In Canada, the failure ofdrug enforcement has regularly spawned police measures and powers thatsimply would not be tolerated in other areas of the criminal law. One ofthe earliest abuses was the "writ of assistance", introducedin 1929. These writs were issued to particular law enforcement officerswho would then have carte blanche to conduct searches of any property orperson, at any time, without a warrant. By 1977 over 240 writs were stillin existence. In 1985, the Supreme Court of Canada finally struck themdown as a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Three years later, however, Parliament passed a law that made it illegalto advocate or even make favourable comments about drug use. In 1994, thisshameful law, which had no parallel in the Western world, was struck downby the courts as a gross violation of free expression.
In other areas, Canadian courts have permitted the war on drugs to serveas a justification for the country s police forces to assume extraordinaryand unconscionable powers. The common law requires that police officers,when enforcing a search warrant, first knock and announce their presencebefore entering -- a minor limitation that takes just a few seconds. TheOntario Court of Appeal ruled, however, that when searching for narcotics,the police could ignore this requirement and simply smash in the door,since the "knock and announce" delay might allow suspects todestroy any drugs they might possess. Thought the time between knockingand apprehension is often quite short, one of the most ancient principlesof the common law was nevertheless diminished in order to prosecute thepossible perpetrators of what is, after all, a non-violent crime.
When drugs are involved Canadian courts also often abandon their customaryand commendable caution in accepting anonymous tips as the basis for searchwarrants. Courts have even authorized the officers who conduct drug searchesto choke suspects trying to swallow tiny amounts of drugs.
In the United States, which otherwise protects civil liberties zealously,the continuing failure of the war on drugs has led many American jurisdictionsto truly draconian enforcement measures. Congress created a system of finesof up to $10,000 that can be imposed administratively when prosecutorsfeel they cannot get enough evidence for a criminal conviction.
Property can be seized without the owner even being charged with a crimeso long as evidence of drug use is found on the property. To have the propertyreturned, the owner must incur the cost and hardship of court proceedingsand in effect prove his innocence. Police departments, who sometimes havethe value of seized assets added directly to their budgets, have been accusedof targeting property for seizure with little concern for actual proofof drug use.
Even when drug use is proved, the property seized is often out of allproportion to the alleged crimes. For instance, a Vermont man was givena suspended sentence by the state court for growing six marijuana plantsbut, under U.S. federal law, his family lost their 49-acre farm. At leasthe can be grateful he was charged in Vermont: Fifteen states have lifesentences for many non-violent marijuana crimes. And if the amount of marijuanahe had grown were larger, federal law would have allowed the death penalty,even for a first offence.
As we argued on Saturday, even extreme measures such as these have failedto halt or even substantially slow the flow of drugs. But they certainlyhave succeeded in diverting police resources away from the attack on violentcrime.
Canadian taxpayers spent an estimated $400 million on drug enforcementin 1992 alone. Even if just half that were spent on police, at an averagesalary of $52,000 per year, 3,846 additional peace officers could havebeen hired.
As is their wont, the Americans have gone much farther than we have.The annual combined federal and state budget for drug interdiction andenforcement in the United States is about $30 billion. An estimated 400,000police officers are involved in drug enforcement, with 18,000 devoted exclusivelyto anti-drug units. Over-crowded American prisons have even, on occasion,given early release to murderers and rapists in order to make room fornewly-convicted pot smokers subject to mandatory minimum sentences.
The recent history of drug enforcement, both in Canada and the UnitedStates, is largely a record of failure. Tax dollars are lavished on enforcement.Police powers are expanded at the expense of civil liberties. Criminalgangs grow richer. And drug use goes on regardless.
But the failure is even deeper. Tomorrow we examine how the criminalizationof drugs offends the very premise that underlies liberal democracy.
*
DECRIMINALIZING DRUGS III Editorial, The Ottawa Citizen, Tuesday, April15, 1997
In our Saturday and Monday editorials we made three main arguments infavour of drug decriminalization: that the legal status of drugs has littleapparent effect on drug consumption; that criminalization unnecessarilyputs a lucrative trade in the hands of organized crime; and that the impossibilityof stopping drug use leads to ever more drastic measures that corrode civilliberties.
But practical concerns alone cannot settle an issue as complex as druguse. It also involves important philosophical considerations. Criminalizingdrugs may or may not "work," but is it morally justified?
In his 1859 work On Liberty, John Stuart Mill made the classic statementof the liberal outlook on such matters: "The only purpose for whichpower can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community,against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physicalor moral, is not a sufficient warrant."
Modern democratic states, including Canada, are largely constructedon Mill's conceptual foundation. The liberal state was the first to recognizethat its citizens are not children who need governors to pull their handsaway from hot stoves. The material and spiritual benefits of that realizationare legion.
Of course, legal systems are not philosophical treatises and the liberalaxiom is often violated by Canadian law, usually in small, thoughtlessways. But the influence of Mill's principle can still be seen clearly,if mainly implicitly, in our criminal code. Suicide is not illegal. Noris body- piercing, nor gluttony, nor sloth, nor a thousand other activitiesthat harm only the person who indulges in them.
But the consumption of many drugs, even by adults, is illegal. As aresult, although the criminal law permits Canadians to close the garagedoor and fill their lungs with carbon monoxide for the purpose of inducingdeath, they may not fill those very same lungs with marijuana smoke forthe purpose of inducing pleasure. Dickens Mr. Bumble was wrong: The lawgenerally is not "a ass". But the logic of this contradictionin Canadian law escapes us: you may do ultimate harm to yourself, but notthe minor harm (if minor harm there is) in smoking marijuana. By contrast,the logic of the liberal principle is inescapable -- drugs should be legalized.
Many who accept the wisdom of Mill's principle nevertheless are uncomfortablewith its logical implications. In spite of what their reason tells them,they want to keep drugs illegal. Or they desperately want to censor pornography.Or imprison homosexuals. Or ban home schooling. And so they twist the notionof "harm."
Mill and the great liberal thinkers who shaped modern society understoodharm in narrow, commonsensical terms: Jones bops Smith on the nose, orsets fire to his barn. If the definition of harm is expanded beyond this,however, then drug users, pornographers, homosexuals or others who resideon someone or other s list of undesirables could be hit with violationsof the criminal law without such persecution seeming to be in any way illiberal.
In fact, in a growing number of universities, law faculties, courts,and ministries, the liberal principle is being turned entirely on its headsimply by redefining "harm." Feelings of humiliation or the creationof a "hostile environment" are deemed to be harms on a moralpar with physical force. With such a broad definition of harm, all thatis needed to justify bans or proscriptions on various kinds of behaviouris a finely honed sense of grievance and a sophisticated vocabulary.
Similarly, it is often argued that whether to use drugs should not bean individual s choice alone because it may do harm to others. There isno doubt that harm the drug user does to himself may cause distress andanguish among family members. He may become addicted and social bonds maybe strained as he degenerates. And so, this thought has it, society isjustified in banning drugs to prevent this "harm to others."
But people constantly engage in any number of activities that, likedrug use, physically endanger only themselves but risk inflicting emotionaltrauma on others should something go wrong: scuba diving, skiing, drivingHighway 401. Others may be traumatized when sons marry outside the familyreligion, daughters form sexual relationships with other women, or parentsdivorce. With harm stretched beyond its original, liberal meaning, almostany activity that attracted a vociferous lobby group and applause-seekingpoliticians could be outlawed. If we are to have a free society in anymeaningful sense, J.S. Mill's great liberal maxim must be re-invigorated,but with the original, narrow definition of harm intact. And Canada, securein the knowledge of what is right in a free society, should allow its citizensto make their own decisions about whether or not to use drugs.
*
DECRIMINALIZING DRUGS IV Editorial, The Ottawa Citizen, Wednesday, April16, 1997
In the first three editorials of this series, we argued that:
* The legal status of drugs has no substantial effect on drug consumption.
* Criminalization unnecessarily puts a lucrative trade in the handsof organized crime.
* The impossibility of stopping drug use leads to drastic measures thatcorrode civil liberties.
* The essence of freedom is the right to choose what to do with ones body, including choosing to ingest drugs.
For all these reasons, we support the decriminalization of drugs.
Taken to its limit, our way of thinking would remove virtually all constraintson adults ability to ingest what they will. Adult should be emphasized,of course. None of the concerns that lead us to support legalization needpermit minors to use drugs. In a free society, paternalism for adults isoffensive and unnecessary but paternalism for children is perfectly appropriate.
In contemporary Canadian society, however, the extreme libertarian position,whatever its merits in logic, is simply not on in the near future. (Thoughwe have been thinking about drugs we have not actually been smoking them.)We therefore propose an incremental approach to decriminalization.
The first step would be the legalization of marijuana. For over a century,one commission after another has found that marijuana is no more harmfulthan alcohol or tobacco and may be much less so, given that marijuana-induceddeath is virtually non-existent, whereas in 1992 alcohol was at least implicatedin 6,701 deaths and tobacco in another 33,498 deaths. Many such commissionshave taken the next logical step of recommending legalization, most notablythe 1972 LeDain Commission. In fact, in the 1977 throne speech Pierre Trudeaus government promised to legalize possession. Recently several senatorsbraved the tough on crime mood to publicly support legalization. It isimportant to realize that marijuana would not be the first drug to undergolegalization. Alcohol has that distinction, and the framework that governsthat drug's legal existence could provide a model for marijuana regulation.
Though we favour less government control of the alcohol trade, to allaypublic concerns about a future marijuana trade, producers could be licensedand taxed and sales permitted only through licensed establishments andgovernment control boards -- though if things went well, we would thenbegin militating for the privatization of both alcohol and marijuana sales.
As already noted, those under 18 years of age would not be permittedto buy marijuana. Products would be labelled so consumers would know preciselywhat they were buying. And government inspectors would test to ensure theconsumer was not receiving contaminated goods. Canadians would have anorderly marijuana sales and regulatory system mirroring that for alcohol.It would be safe, efficient, free of criminal violence -- and eventually,we hope, subject to privatization.
Would legalization cause a sudden jump in consumption, particularlyby minors? Would the use of harder drugs increase? Would crime inspiredby the marijuana trade swell? Almost a century's experience with drug regulationin jurisdictions around the world suggests these indicators would eitherbe unaffected or dramatically improve, but if this were not the case wewould have ample opportunity to decide whether any changes in consumptionshould override personal freedom.
A next obvious step, five or 10 years down the road, would be the legalizedpossession of other currently illicit drugs. Again, we expect this wouldnot lead to a great rise in consumption. And it would provide an appropriatebackground for helping those truly hurt by drug abuse: addicts.
There is no doubt that the use of many drugs -- legal and illegal alike-- can escalate into full addiction and the suffering that entails. A societythat legalizes drugs will escape the many miseries that criminalizationimposes, but it must find effective ways to deal with the damage drugscan do.
In fact, the number of people who use illicit drugs and slide into theabyss of destructive addiction is a small fraction of those who have usedillicit drugs at one time or another. A typical study of cocaine use inOntario, for example, found that 95 per cent of users used it less thanonce a month. The best way to fight addiction is not by prohibition butby helping those relatively few individuals who suffer destructive addiction.
This is the principle of harm reduction, the philosophy which guidesmost work in the field of illicit drug addiction. Harm reduction programstreat addicts not as criminals, but as dignified, if troubled, individuals.These programs have successfully brought addicts into treatment while reducingthe peripheral social effects associated with addiction. Legalization ofdrug possession, although not a prerequisite for harm reduction programs,would greatly help this work by removing the threat of criminal sanctionthat currently hangs over addicts.
The history of drug use confirms that we will never live in a drug-freesociety: Too many people inevitably just say yes. But we can have a societyin which the worst effects of drug addiction are minimized, and those whoare addicted are helped. We can have a society where mafia and biker gangsare not made rich and powerful by the ban on drugs.
Most importantly, we can have a society where the criminal law reflectsnot expediency and prejudice but principle. We can work toward a societyclearly and consistently founded on the great liberal maxim of John StuartMill, that: "The individual is not accountable to society for hisactions, insofar as these concern the interests of no person but himself."
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
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From ???@??? Thu Apr 24 09:31:18 1997 Received: from peace.netnation.com(majordom@peace.netnation.com [204.174.223.1]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.5/8.6.10)with ESMTP id FAA13553; Thu, 24 Apr 1997 05:06:00 -0400 (EDT) Received:(from majordom@localhost) by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id AAA13265for cclist-list; Thu, 24 Apr 1997 00:49:36 -0700 Received: from front.netnation.com(root@front.netnation.com [204.174.223.7]) by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5)with ESMTP id AAA13258 for <cclist@netnation.com>; Thu, 24 Apr 199700:49:35 -0700 Received: from [204.174.36.175] (d175.portal.ca [204.174.36.175])by front.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.4) with SMTP id AAA12707 for <cclist@hempbc.com>;Thu, 24 Apr 1997 00:49:51 -0700 X-Sender: hempbc02@mail.hempbc.com Message-Id:<v01530501af84bf9618df@[204.174.36.165]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type:text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 00:54:09-0700 To: cclist@hempbc.com From: muggles@hempbc.com (Cannabis Canada)Subject: cclist Canada's Drug Policy Review Continues Content-Transfer-Encoding:8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by peace.netnation.comid AAA13260 Sender: owner-cclist@netnation.com Precedence: bulk Reply-To:muggles@hempbc.com X-UIDL: 5b0d9676af8325757a5eace6455c132f
The following article is excerpted from the Spring '97 issue of CannabisCanada (CC#8), presently on its way to magazine stands near you.
* THE FARCE CONTINUES
Canada's joke of a drug policy review continues, despite no funding,internal bickering, and a general lack of common sense.
By Matthew Elrod
Despite a complete lack of media coverage, the review of Canada's drugpolicies by the Standing Committee on Health quietly continues. Committeemeetings held last fall focused on Bill C-71, a bill to crack down on tobaccoby restricting advertising and event sponsorships, but the Committee turnedits attention back to drug policy last December.
Realistically, this review is a waste of time which will not accomplishany changes to Canada's drug policy. Committee members are generally ignorantabout the effects of illegal drugs, and hostile towards suggestions thatcriminal prohibition is a bad policy. There has been no cross-country travellingto hear public testimony as originally promised, and the committee hearingshave generally been rushed and superficial.
What follows is a summary of testimony and committee meetings to date.
Dr Kalant Disappoints
On December 3, the Committee heard evidence presented by Professor HaroldKalant of the Addiction Research Foundation. Those of you fortunate enoughto have seen the CBC's November 27 Health Show on the medicinal use ofcannabis may recognize Dr Kalant as the "expert" who tarnishedwhat was an otherwise excellent program, by dismissing the medicinal valueof cannabis and advocating instead synthetic THC capsules known as Marinol.(*1)
Dr Kalant's testimony to the Standing Committee was as disappointingas his appearance on the Health Show. Kalant compared the effects of cannabisto cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates and alcohol, saying "the acutenessof perception, speed of reaction and ability to monitor different sourcesof information at the same time are impaired by cannabis just as they areby alcohol."
Kalant brought up the "antimotivational syndrome" myth, apparentlyunaware of studies conducted by Duncan and Gold in 1982, which concludedthat antimotivational syndrome could be added to the "growing scrapheap of discarded marijuana myths". Though Kalant admitted that "thissituation clears up if the person stops smoking" he went on to say"in a few cases it does not clear up. In such cases there's good reasonto believe there is some degree of brain cell damage similar to what onesees in the severe, chronic alcoholic who suffers irreversible brain changes".Sigh.
Kalant's testimony continued in this way, hinting at "dependencesyndrome", "psychotic breakdown", "immune cell impairment","low testosterone levels" and "low sperm counts". Thoughhe qualified his evidence with words like "depends", "may","theoretically", and "evidence suggests" one can imaginethe glazed eyes of the committee members and the notes they were taking.
A Pause for Reflection
Dr Kalant concluded his testimony by predicting that "if the useof cannabis becomes much more widespreadÉ the number of people sufferingsignificant health consequences will go up correspondingly. It could conceivablybecome just as great a problem as current problems with alcohol".
Let's just think about this for a minute. According to the doctor'sown Addiction Research Foundation, approximately 7000 Canadians die fromalcohol consumption every year. Alcohol-related traffic accidents killanother 1500. About 40,000 Canadians die from tobacco-related illnessesannually. No one has ever died from a cannabis overdose and cannabis-relatedtraffic fatalities are statistically immeasurable. No matter how many peopleuse cannabis any number times zero is zero. Even if every Canadian fromVancouver to Halifax became a regular cannabis consumer, the health consequencesof cannabis use could never approach the damage done by alcohol and tobacco.
As the doctor stated himself "One doesn't expect to see serioushealth effects in the person who smokes pot occasionally, we're talkinghere essentially about regular heavy users".
At this time about five percent of Canadians are occasional cannabisusers. A mere one percent of the population can be described as regularheavy users. By contrast, about eighty-two percent of Canadians drink alcoholicbeverages. If the doctor believes that legal cannabis would become as popularas alcohol, then we have to ask just which Canadians currently supportcannabis prohibition?
Because cannabis can be a substitute for alcohol, an increase in cannabisconsumption would likely result in a decrease in alcohol-related illness,fatalities, violence and accidents. Perhaps Dr Kalant will make the samedoomsday predictions when he appears as the Crown's star witness againstChristopher Clay's upcoming constitutional challenge. Dr Lester Grinspoonwould have a field day.
Eugene Explains, Szabo Stews
The Committee meeting of February 11 also yielded some fascinating testimony.Eugene Oscapella, appearing as a representative of the Canadian CriminalJustice Association, presented a video excerpt from the CBC program ondrug policy, David Suzuki's The Nature of Things.
Committee members seemed to appreciate the chance to watch TV and hopefullytook advantage of Oscapella's offer to provide each of them with a recordingof the entire program. Oscapella once again made a compelling plea forthe Committee to "examine in a truly non-partisan manner the manypossible alternatives to the criminal prohibition of drugs". A niceidea, but don't hold your breath Eugene.
Committee member Paul Szabo repeated an earlier attack on Oscapella,saying that Oscapella "didn't have the guts" to tell the Committeewhat he stood for. Szabo does not have the brain cells to comprehend Oscapella'sposition. No doubt Szabo thinks Oscapella stands for cocaine vending machinesin nursery schools.
Szabo, seemingly suffering from a loss of short-term memory, accusedOscapella of "offering no suggestions" as to what alternativesthe Committee might explore. Fortunately, Mr Oscapella was able to jarSzabo's foggy memory by drawing his attention to a binder he had with him,containing about 400 pages of documentation on alternatives.
Oscapella also reminded Szabo that he, Oscapella, had assisted in thedevelopment of proposals that would have amended Bill C-8, had such amendmentsever been seriously considered.
Tolerance in Dispute
Subsequent evidence, presented by the eloquent Jean-Claude Bernheim,President of the Ligue Antiprohibitioniste du Quebec, seemed to fall ondeaf ears.
Paul Szabo asked Bernheim the following loaded, long-winded and poorlyphrased question, "if young people were told that drugs, which aretoday prohibited as illegal substances, are all of a sudden legal to use,and that the government will provide them safely, cheaply, etc, so thatthere's a harm reduction in attitude, do you have an opinion as to whetheror not you think the use of drugs by young people would increase or decrease?"
Bernheim adroitly cited the Dutch experience with cannabis tolerancethat resulted in a brief increase in cannabis use and a steady declineof all recreational drug use thereafter. Evidently Szabo has not studiedDutch drug policy.
Martin maybe Seeing the Light
On the bright side, Committee member Keith Martin seems to be comingto his senses. In a February appearance on CBC Newsworld's Ralph BenmerguiShow, Martin said that "marijuana is clogging up our court system,wasting our police officers' time, so let's decriminalize it". ThoughMartin shows more compassion for the court system than the cannabis usersclogging it up, the evidence presented before the Committee may be sinkingin.
Martin continued "This is not a moral issue, this is a health issue".Overlooking the immorality of incarcerating cannabis users, Martin's apparentchange of heart is encouraging.
A Fist Full of Dollars
Following the compassionate but hurried testimony of Rachell Bard andMary Ellen Jeans of the Canadian Nurses Association, the February 11 meetingbecame a partisan bickering match between the Committee members.
Chairman Roger Simmons reminded the Committee that, due to the controlof the Committee budget by Reform MP Grant Hill, a planned regional meetingin Newfoundland had been cancelled. The Chairman observed that the alternateplan of flying the east coast witnesses to Ottawa would cost more thantransporting the Committee members to Newfoundland.
Reformer Keith Martin recommended the east coast witnesses submit theirevidence on paper to save taxpayers the transportation costs. So much fora "hearing". Liberal Joseph Volpe agreed with Martin, sayingthat after the Committee had been given three or four weeks to read thesubmissions they could gather to discuss the evidence.
Said Volpe, "We used to do that at university, and I think it'sa great idea, but we used to finish that off with a test." Volpe maybe on to something. How about a timed comprehension test on the reportof the Le Dain Commission and the Coroner's Report into Illicit NarcoticOverdose Deaths in British Columbia? We'd happily publish the test resultsin Cannabis Canada.
Obviously irritated by what he called Grant Hill's "nickel anddiming", Chairman Simmons remarked, "It gets to the point whereI can tell you how to save all the money. Let's have no hearings. Let'sgo home."
It's odd that the Committee should suddenly become so concerned aboutwasting public funds, especially considering that more is spent on prohibitionenforcement every hour than the Committee could spend in a year. ChairmanSimmons recognized this absurdity saying "This is such a farce, thishypocrisy about saving money." Canadian drug policy is certainly hypocritical,but my dictionary defines a farce as, "a comedy marked by humour andextravagant wit". The Committee's performance is a what playwrightscall a tragedy.
Chairman Simmons summed it all up with the eloquent statement "It'sso full of hypocrisy I could vomit." Funny he should mention that.The war on drugs is so full of hypocrisy I sometimes feel nauseous. I wouldrecommend the Chairman smoke a joint to settle his stomach, but in Canadaeven making that recommendation can get you arrested.
Recent Updates
The Committee met again on February 18 to hear evidence from MothersAgainst Drunk Driving, Concerns Canada, the Council on Drug Abuse and ParentsAgainst Drugs. Unfortunately the transcript of this meeting was not availableat the time this article was written. As of February 21 the Committee hadnot scheduled anymore meetings.
For More Information...
- For more information contact Committee Clerk Pierre Rodrique, c/oStanding Committee on Health, 6th Floor, 180 Wellington St, House of Commons,Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6; phone (613) 992-1775; fax (613) 996-1626.
Committee Chair Roger Simmons can be reached by email at simmor@parl.gc.ca.The Committee's World Wide Web homepage is at http://www.parl.gc.ca/cgi-bin/committees/english_committee.pl?sant
- The Health Show transcript can be found on the Internet at http://www.tv.cbc.ca/television/healthshow/pastitem/maryjane.html
Footnote:
* 1: Marinol has many serious drawbacks. A patient taking three capsulesa day must spend over $5,000 to use the drug for one year. Because Marinolenters the bloodstream slowly, it yields lower THC concentrations per dosethan cannabis. Bioavailability of THC when inhaled is 20% versus 6% wheningested. Oral THC absorption is erratic and it is much more difficultfor patients to titrate their own dose. Marinol does not contain cannabidiol,the cannabinoid which ameliorates the unpleasant side effects of pure THC.Finally, swallowing and keeping down Marinol capsules is problematic forAIDS and chemotherapy patients suffering from nausea.
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
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From ???@??? Thu May 01 09:49:27 1997 Received: from peace.netnation.com(majordom@peace.netnation.com [204.174.223.1]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.5/8.8.5)with ESMTP id CAA19633; Thu, 1 May 1997 02:33:06 -0400 (EDT) Received:(from majordom@localhost) by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id WAA12732for cclist-list; Wed, 30 Apr 1997 22:16:21 -0700 Received: from front.netnation.com(root@front.netnation.com [204.174.223.7]) by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5)with ESMTP id WAA12726 for <cclist@netnation.com>; Wed, 30 Apr 199722:16:20 -0700 Received: from [204.174.36.145] (d145.portal.ca [204.174.36.145])by front.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.4) with SMTP id WAA13259 for <cclist@hempbc.com>;Wed, 30 Apr 1997 22:16:36 -0700 X-Sender: hempbc02@mail.hempbc.com Message-Id:<v01530500af8dd77d0206@[204.174.36.145]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type:text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 22:20:58-0700 To: cclist@hempbc.com From: muggles@hempbc.com (Cannabis Canada)Subject: cclist New Law put into Force, No More Policy Review Sender: owner-cclist@netnation.comPrecedence: bulk Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com X-UIDL: 2bd4a2fa9240993d2e5c1c0457517e2f
I have recently learned two disappointing pieces of information fromHealth Canada.
The first is that the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act will be putinto force on May 14.
The second is that the drug policy review, officially called "AReview of the Misuse and Abuse of Substances" being done by the StandingCommittee on Health, is being prematurely ended due to the upcoming election.When I asked Committee Clerk Paul Rodrigue if the review would continueafter the election, he told me that was "up to Parliament".
Have a nice day.
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, CANNABIS CANADA, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
To unsubscribe from this list send an email to majordomo@netnation.comwith the words "unsubscribe cclist" in the body of the message.
From ???@??? Thu May 01 09:49:24 1997 Received: from mx2.mail.interlog.net(root@mx2.mail.interlog.net [198.53.145.12]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.5/8.6.10)with ESMTP id XAA15504 for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Wed, 30 Apr 199723:10:33 -0400 (EDT) Received: from peace.netnation.com (majordom@peace.netnation.com[204.174.223.1]) by mx2.mail.interlog.net (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id XAA10698for <iorfida@interlog.com>; Wed, 30 Apr 1997 23:04:55 -0400 (EDT)Received: (from majordom@localhost) by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5)id TAA11800 for ccletters-list; Wed, 30 Apr 1997 19:29:32 -0700 Received:from front.netnation.com (root@front.netnation.com [204.174.223.7]) bypeace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id TAA11794 for <ccletters@netnation.com>;Wed, 30 Apr 1997 19:29:31 -0700 Received: from [204.174.36.173] (d173.portal.ca[204.174.36.173]) by front.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.4) with SMTP id TAA09292for <ccletters@hempbc.com>; Wed, 30 Apr 1997 19:29:33 -0700 X-Sender:hempbc02@mail.hempbc.com Message-Id: <v01530500af8daef4f19b@[204.174.36.184]>Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 19:34:09 -0700 To: ccletters@hempbc.com From: muggles@hempbc.com(Cannabis Canada) Subject: Say Goodbye to CCletters! Content-Transfer-Encoding:8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by peace.netnation.comid TAA11795 Sender: owner-ccletters@netnation.com Precedence: bulk Reply-To:ccletters@hempbc.com X-UIDL: 7aa761e288375780b587bb8d54f08c9c
In the week since I posted my request for the CCletters membership toexpress their desire to write 2 letters a month I have received only ahalf-dozen responses. As enthusiastic as they were, this is hardly enoughsupport for me to spend the time and effort necessary to maintain thislist.
I am disappointed that more of the 100+ people who have subscribed themselvesto this list apparently aren't interested in actually writing to the media,and I'm a little curious why most of you bothered to subcribe yourselvesin the first place.
I strongly suggest that those 6 people who wanted to write letters subscribeto Mattalk, where your passion and efforts will be put to good use. Thanksfor your support, too bad you're in such a minority.
Unless I receive a flood of emails over the next few days expressingCCletters subscribers' desire to actually write letters, this is the lastpost that you will be receiving from CCletters.
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, Cannabis Canada, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
From ???@??? Sat May 17 08:47:46 1997 Received: from peace.netnation.com(majordom@peace.netnation.com [204.174.223.1]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.5/8.8.5)with ESMTP id BAA19235; Sat, 17 May 1997 01:33:56 -0400 (EDT) Received:(from majordom@localhost) by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id QAA28949for cclist-list; Fri, 16 May 1997 16:12:32 -0700 Received: from front.netnation.com(root@front.netnation.com [204.174.223.7]) by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5)with ESMTP id QAA28942 for <cclist@netnation.com>; Fri, 16 May 199716:12:30 -0700 Received: from [204.174.36.184] (d148.portal.ca [204.174.36.148])by front.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.4) with SMTP id QAA18955 for <cclist@hempbc.com>;Fri, 16 May 1997 16:12:36 -0700 X-Sender: hempbc02@mail.hempbc.com Message-Id:<v01530502afa2986392ae@[204.174.36.184]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type:text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Fri, 16 May 1997 16:17:05-0700 To: cclist@hempbc.com From: muggles@hempbc.com (Cannabis Canada)Subject: 2 Stores Raided Within 24 Hours of New Drug Law Sender: cclist@netnation.comPrecedence: bulk Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com X-UIDL: e8ccf5287f56ecaf858e1bd7204268dd
On May 14, The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act was put into forceby the Ministry of Health. Within 24 hours two Canadian hemp stores wereraided by police. No charges were laid, but police cleaned out both stores.
RAID IN NEWFOUNDLAND On May 14, Newfoundland's first hempstore got itsfirst taste of police harassment. Six cops raided Hempware, and stole alltheir pipes, bongs, rollies and tokestones. "I had only been opensix weeks." Said storeowner Nycky Temple.
The police didn't find any pot, nor did they press any charges. It lookslike they thought they would have a better chance of keeping the loot ifthey didn't have to explain why.
Nycky Temple can be reached at (709) 738-4367
RAID IN SASKATCHEWAN The next day, on the morning of May 15, a plainclothescop came into Regina's Vinyl Exchange, bought a Cannabis Canada, and thencame back shortly afterwards with seven other plainclothes cops. The authoritiesstole all their pipes, bongs, rollies, scales, their entire stock of booksand magazines (including Cannabis Canada) - even their hempseed treats.
Owner Mike says he's been open for two years and only once has he hadany run-ins with the police. "About a year ago, Ernie the beat copcame by, threatening and waving 462.2 around... and then nothing untilthis. They cleaned us out." of all 4000 dollars worth of their hempsupplies, said Mike.
The police found no marijuana, and have yet to press charges as of May16.
Mike can be contacted at (306) 244-7090.
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, CANNABIS CANADA, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
To unsubscribe from this list, send an email to majordomo@netnation.comwith the words "unsubscribe cclist" in the body of the message.
From ???@??? Tue May 27 07:10:46 1997 Received: from peace.netnation.com(majordom@peace.netnation.com [204.174.223.1]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.5/8.8.5)with ESMTP id DAA11453; Tue, 27 May 1997 03:25:20 -0400 (EDT) From: cclist@netnation.comReceived: (from majordom@localhost) by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5)id XAA09317 for cclist-list; Mon, 26 May 1997 23:05:33 -0700 Date: Mon,26 May 1997 23:05:33 -0700 Message-Id: <199705270605.XAA09317@peace.netnation.com>X-UIDL: 88a1443cb21307e353108732b997e688
-- To everyone on CClist, Sender: cclist@netnation.com Precedence: bulkReply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Organization: Cannabis Canada http://www.hempbc.com/The message from a8@mary-world.com titled "new" was an accident.My sincerest apologies. We had just reconfigured the mailer and obviouslywe made an error.
It was just a generic spam sent to cclist, but it got sent to everyoneon the list. This won't happen again. Those responsible have been severelychastised.
We did NOT and never have "rented" our list to anyone. Eventhough you all got spammed, your addresses were not revealed to anyoneor anything.
Once again, my apologies.
- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, CANNABIS CANADA, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp" - Subscribe to CannabisCanada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to: Suite 504, 21 Water St.,Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit Cannabis Canada online at http://www.hempbc.com- To unsubscribe from this list send an email to majordomo@netnation.comwith the words "unsubscribe cclist" in the body of the message.
From ???@??? Thu Jun 05 00:13:54 1997 Received: from peace.netnation.com(majordom@peace.netnation.com [204.174.223.1]) by gold.interlog.com (8.8.5/8.8.5)with ESMTP id WAA11703; Wed, 4 Jun 1997 22:40:21 -0400 (EDT) Received:(from majordom@localhost) by peace.netnation.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id RAA27003for cclist-list; Wed, 4 Jun 1997 17:53:58 -0700 X-Sender: hempbc02@mail.hempbc.comMessage-Id: <v01530500afbbcc261aae@[204.174.36.173]> Mime-Version:1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Wed, 4Jun 1997 17:58:27 -0800 To: cclist@hempbc.com From: muggles@hempbc.com(Cannabis Canada) Subject: CC: Cannabis Canada seized in Saskatoon Sender:cclist@netnation.com Precedence: bulk Reply-To: muggles@hempbc.com Organization:Cannabis Canada http://www.hempbc.com/ X-UIDL: 8ce7e061bfd6b8164ea49f2a92f8dd40
The following is an article that appeared in Saskatoon's StarPhoenix,about the police raid and seizure of paraphernalia, grow books and magazineslike Cannabis Canada and High Times.
This is the first time that Cannabis Canada magazine has ever been seizedon the shelves in Canada, and the first time for High Times since the banon "pro-drug" literature was deemed unconstitutional in the OntarioCourt of Justice.
*** Note that in the post "2 Stores Raided Within 24 Hours of NewDrug Law" we incorrectly identified the store Vinyl Exchange was inRegina. It is in fact in Saskatoon. ***
* StarPhoenix Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, May 30
Store busted for dope magazines By Dan Zakreski of the StarPhoenix
Saskatoon bookstore operators are outrages by a police raid on a downtownstore that resulted in criminal charges against the owner and the seizureof a number of cannabis-related books and magazines.
On may 15, police raided the Vinyl Exchange on 128 Second Avenue Borthand seized owner Mike Spindloe's inventory of Cannabis Canada, High Timesand Hemp Times magazines, plus an array of pipes and smoking paraphernalia.
Spindloe is facing charges of selling literature that promnotes illicutdrug use. He appears in provincial court June 25.
The magazines are avialavle in at least 15 other Saskatoon bookstores,says Midwest News Agencies sales manager Glen Roney, the local wholesaler.
"These are all mainstream magazines, between 15 and 20 stores carrysome or all of the titles. In the case of High Times (an American Magazine),it comes through Canada Customs and is distributed nationally," hesaid. "These Magazines are not drug paraphernalia."
City Police Sgt. Dave Kovach said the raid and charges stemmed froman investigation by an officer, not a complaint. Kovach issued a word ofcaution to other bookstore owners. "The Criminal Code is very clear.If we see this literature in other stores, they could be charged as well,"he said. "Anyone that has this literature can face the same consequences.. .search, seizure, and charges."
Robert Green at Broadway Book Marchants, which sells Cannabis Canada,says he's concerned with the police action "beacuse it censorious,and that's always a concern for someone in the information business. Thisis certainly disturbing."
Ernie Meili at Saskatoon Bookstore says the police targeting one store"is not fair," and he suggests the department may not be up onits law. "They absolutely do not have the right," he said. AssedDarwin Megyesi at the Readers Nook: "I don't agree with the seizure,but I won't worry about it until someone tries to tell me what I can'tsell in my store."
As for Spindloe, he says the experience had been like "waking upin a bad dream that doesn't stop. It's been like a break-in."
Spindloe knew something was up when a plainclothes officer he knew cameinto the store and purchased a copy of Cannabis Canada. He exited the store"and waved his arm. Car doors opened up all over the street and sevenplainclothes officers came into the store with a search warrant and startedloading material into boxes." He estimated police seized $4000 worthof merchandise.
Spindloe has since started a petition aimed at getting the charges droppedand the merchandise returned. He is also accepting donations for a defencefund.
-- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, CANNABIS CANADA, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp"
Subscribe to Cannabis Canada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to:Suite 504, 21 Water St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit CannabisCanada online at http://www.hempbc.com
- Dana Larsen (muggles@hempbc.com) Editor, CANNABIS CANADA, "Canada'sNational Magazine of Marijuana & Hemp" - Subscribe to CannabisCanada! Call 1-800-330-HEMP for info. Write to: Suite 504, 21 Water St.,Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1 Visit Cannabis Canada online at http://www.hempbc.com- To unsubscribe from this list send an email to majordomo@netnation.comwith the words "unsubscribe cclist" in the body of the message.