Monkeys repeatedly dosed themselves with the main active ingredient of marijuana in a new federal study. The researchers say that result emphasizes the idea that people can get hooked on pot and provides a new way to test therapies. Lab animals will actively dose themselves with most drugs abused by people, but marijuana has been an exception, said researcher Steven Goldberg of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, called NIDA. Some people might interpret that as suggesting it has little potential for addiction, he said. But the new work found that squirrel monkeys repeatedly pushed a lever to get injections of the marijuana ingredient THC, Goldberg and colleagues report in the November issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience. [end]
A new plan to tackle the dramatic rise in illicit drug use among Melbourne's homeless will be introduced at three crisis accommodation centres around the city. The $7.5 million initiative, to be announced by the State Government soon, will link crisis shelters in North Melbourne, Southbank and West Melbourne with detoxification and rehabilitation facilities. The three-year trial is a key component of Labor's drug policy and aims to lead homeless people with drug addictions into stable and secure accommodation. [continues 388 words]
Roger Christie -- make that the Rev. Roger Christie of the Hawai'i Cannabis Ministry -- knows he could use his remote patch of land on the Big Island to perform his first wedding ceremony with marijuana as a sacrament. But Christie doesn't want marijuana for religious or medical reasons to be hidden away, even in a beautiful corner of the Puna District such as Kehena Beach. No, Christie wants his church services to draw a crowd. So he's looking for just the right place in Hilo for his first wedding that includes marijuana. [continues 751 words]
Marijuana crusader Grant Krieger wants the right to deliver cannabis to bed-ridden, terminally-ill outpatients, his lawyer said in Calgary yesterday. While the federal government allows dying Canadians to apply for the right to ingest marijuana, there is no one to supply it, said Adriano Iovinelli. [end]
The citizens initiative to legalize marijuana, which will appear as Proposition 5 on the ballot next month, will do much more than legalize marijuana. And it's the details that have some opponents up in arms. "What they're asking for is the moon and everything in it," said Aaron Harrop, a substance abuse counselor who is co-chairman of the No on 5 campaign. Len Karpinski, the Anchorage man who drafted the proposed law, said Proposition 5 began as a bill proposed years ago by Californian Jack Herer, author of the pro-hemp primer "The Emperor Wears No Clothes." [continues 1591 words]
Allotment For Colombia Is Short 469,000 Gallons WASHINGTON - The State Department cannot account for 469,000 gallons of aviation fuel it bought for Colombian anti-drug missions, and a Republican senator wants congressional auditors to investigate. In seeking the inquiry, Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, recalled that Congress recently approved a $1.3 billion Colombian anti-drug package. "I want to be sure that we have the best chance of seeing that money produce real results," he said. [continues 303 words]
Which state is Tony Knowles governor of? In his letter to the editor opposing Proposition 5 ("Hemp initiative is foolish and dangerous for state citizens," Oct. 11), Knowles imagines some state where children and adults have no access to marijuana because it is illegal. Unfortunately the rest of us live in Alaska, where anybody who wants marijuana can get it easily and where children sell marijuana to other children in schools. Knowles imagines a place where the law of supply and demand is voluntary, but in Alaska banning marijuana just turns regulation of it over to the tender mercies of drug dealers in the black market. [continues 555 words]
NEW YORK--In a new federal study that researchers say emphasizes the idea that people can get hooked on marijuana and provides a new way to test therapies, monkeys repeatedly dosed themselves with the main active ingredient of pot. Lab animals will actively dose themselves with most drugs abused by people, but marijuana has been an exception, said researcher Steven Goldberg of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The study found that squirrel monkeys repeatedly pushed a lever to get injections of marijuana ingredient THC, Goldberg and colleagues report in the November issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience. [continues 86 words]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House drug control policy director Barry McCaffrey announced on Monday he will resign two weeks before the inauguration of President Clinton's successor in January. In a statement McCaffrey said he will leave his job on Jan. 6, meaning he would not be a part of the next administration. Either Democratic Vice President Al Gore or Republican Texas Gov. George W. Bush will be inaugurated as the next president on Jan. 20. McCaffrey, a retired Army general, will be concluding 40 years of public service. He plans to pursue opportunities in the private sector. [continues 173 words]
Community Coalitions Take Up The Fight Where Schools Leave Off. The Approach Allows People To Tackle Issues Specific To Where They Live. Until recently, most communities combated drug use with a two-pronged attack: Schools educated young people about the dangers, and police arrested violators. But across Orange County, residents are finding a third way. By joining together in small groups and coalitions, parents, educators and others are finding success in spreading the anti-drug message around their neighborhoods. "Research over the last 20 years has shown that the most successful prevention efforts are those that are community-based," said Robin Knox, project director for Community Service Programs Project PATH. A nonprofit organization, CSP Project PATH has helped put together several neighborhood coalitions. Education was once deemed the primary means for prevention, Knox said. But researchers have found that education only goes so far. Community organizations can personalize issues and address problems specific to their neighborhoods, he said. [continues 599 words]
While what happened in Tulia - the arrest and sentencing to very long prison terms of a large share of the town's young black men under the guise of the war on drugs - should shock every American, it is only the tip of the iceberg. According to the federal Household Survey, "most current illicit drug users are white. There were an estimated 9.9 million whites (72 percent of all users), 2 million blacks (15 percent), and 1.4 million Hispanics (10 percent) who were current illicit drug users in 1998." [continues 100 words]
