Ottawa, ON, Apr. 20 (UPI) -- Canada has become the first country in the world to approve a cannabis spray that relieves pain in multiple sclerosis sufferers. Sativex, which is administered by an oral spray, relieves pain in patients that suffer from MS and is expected to hit the shelves by late spring, the Globe and Mail reported Wednesday. Neuropathic pain, or nerve pain, is a common symptom of MS and can occur in as many as 86 percent of people with the disease, Health Canada said. [continues 91 words]
SAN FRANCISCO -- One panel member at the 2005 National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws conference said the event was like preaching to the choir. If that's the case then the choir was fully attentive during the first day of the conference here Thursday. NORML's Executive Director, Allen St. Pierre, addressed the crowd of about 200 at the Cathedral Hill Hotel. "I don't see a bright and endearing future," St. Pierre said. He said that a majority of the responsible adults who smoke marijuana are unorganized and not connected. [continues 835 words]
The initiative petition that would legalize use and possession of marijuana in Nevada will be put on the next election ballot. More than 80,000 people signed the petitions asking lawmakers to legalize possession of up to an ounce of pot and authorizing the state to license retailers who would sell it. Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy Project said the initiative would also double current penalties for selling to minors and penalties for driving under the influence of marijuana. He urged The Nevada Assembly's Judiciary Committee to support the petition, saying current marijuana laws are part of a 35-year war on drugs that is a total failure. [continues 391 words]
The initiative petition that would legalize use and possession of marijuana will be put on the next election ballot. More than 80,000 people signed the petitions asking lawmakers to legalize possession of up to an ounce of pot and authorizing the state to license retailers who would sell it. Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy Project said the initiative would also double current penalties for selling to minors and penalties for driving under the influence of marijuana. He urged The Nevada Assembly's Judiciary Committee to support the petition saying current marijuana laws are part of a 35-year-old war on drugs that is a total failure. [continues 393 words]
A panel of Nevada lawmakers refused Thursday to take a position on whether the state should legalize marijuana, choosing instead to let voters decide next November. The Assembly Judiciary Committee tabled a citizen initiative petition that would allow adults to possess one ounce of marijuana, meaning the question will appear on the 2006 ballot. Although lawmakers did not take a formal vote on the issue, many seemed uncomfortable with the prospect of making Nevada the first state in the nation to legalize pot. [continues 377 words]
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - If Nevada voters want to legalize marijuana, they're going to have to do it themselves. An Assembly panel declined to vote Thursday on an initiative petition that would have legalized possession of one ounce of marijuana, and the non-vote automatically puts the issue on the November 2006 ballot. In 2002, Nevada voters rejected a petition to legalize up to three ounces of marijuana by a 61-39 margin. The latest proposal would put the legal limit an adult could possess at one ounce. [continues 558 words]
Allen St. Pierre, NORML's longtime second-in-command, has succeeded Keith Stroup as national director. The Washington Post devoted a long article Jan. 4 to Stroup's departure. Reporter Peter Carlson and his editors didn't spare the lame puns we've come to expect when the subject is cannabis. "Exhale, Stage Left," was the inane headline. ("Left" means you want the working class to have power. Neither Keith Stroup nor NORML ever pursued such a goal.) The subhead was misleading: "At 61, Longtime Marijuana Lobby Leader Keith Stroup Is Finally Leaving the Joint." (Stroup is not giving up his drug of choice.) [continues 1383 words]
Founder of a National Marijuana Advocacy Group Says It's Time to Hand Over the Reins to a Younger Man. Keith Stroup's mouth is dry. His brain is foggy. America's most famous marijuana lobbyist admits that a powerful drug has messed up his mind. The drug isn't marijuana, although he smokes that nearly every night. It's Tylenol cold medicine. He took some this morning, he says, and it made him feel goofy, spacey, stoned. "I hate taking it," he says. "But my nose was running and I kept sneezing and I thought, 'I gotta take something.' " [continues 2689 words]
At 61, Longtime Marijuana Lobby Leader Keith Stroup Is Finally Leaving the Joint Keith Stroup's mouth is dry. His brain is foggy. America's most famous marijuana lobbyist admits that a powerful drug has messed up his mind. The drug isn't marijuana, although he smokes that nearly every night. It's Tylenol cold medicine. He took some this morning, he says, and it made him feel goofy, spacey, stoned. "I hate taking it," he says. "But my nose was running and I kept sneezing and I thought, 'I gotta take something.' " [continues 2689 words]
