Regardless of the THC4MS trial outcome, sick people and those who help them will still face arrest and possible imprisonment. Pain and discomfort come in a range of unpleasant flavours - nausea, sickness, throbbing, itching, aching, stabbing, stinging, pounding, piercing. But all have one thing in common. Those who endure it want it to stop. Why is there such pressure in favour of the use of synthetics or THC Marinol (Dronabinol) and Nabilone rather than natural cannabis, to the extent that researchers and sick people who wish to use the latter are forced to use the former instead? [continues 182 words]
RE: CALEB Bradley's Dec. 29 letter. At the end of Bradley's letter about THC staying in the system for months, the only editorial comment you had to offer was "That's a problem for pot users to figure out." So what you are saying is, it is OK for the police to violate the civil rights and liberties of all Canadians, and to profile a certain segment of society, based on "supposed dangers" that they say exists? Are we supposed to just accept this ridiculous new law, simply because the police say we need a new law? Police say all kinds of stuff, and when it comes to marijuana, almost all of it has proven to be a complete lie. Russell Barth [end]
On New Year's Day, Colorado initiated 21 new laws. The blood-alcohol definition for persistent drunk drivers was lowered from .20 percent to .17 percent, and those drivers are now required to drive with an ignition interlock device. Training requirements are now increased for marriage and family therapists, from 1,000 hours to 1,500 hours. Colorado also beefed up protections for homebuyers who unknowingly purchase property that had been used for methamphetamine production. Under the new law, home sale contracts now need to disclose whether the property had been used for meth production. Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, said that the clean-up and health risks involved for individuals in this situation are immense. [continues 54 words]
Questions over the effectiveness of the popular DARE anti-drug/alcohol program in the schools has led the Board of Education to consider developing its own program. School board members also were startled to hear that the police department re-established DARE classes last fall in the town's public schools without informing School Supt. Irene Cornish. DARE, which stands for "Drug Abuse Resistance Education," employs police officers in school classrooms to teach children to resist peer pressure to use drugs or alcohol. [continues 776 words]
Tough criminal sentences are popular with the voters. So are lower taxes. North Carolinians are learning, once again, that they can't have both at the same time. They'll have to decide which they want if they are to avoid the kind of costly and dangerous prison crowding problems the state experienced throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The state's prison population is on the rise, and it appears that the latest construction push won't meet demand for inmate beds. The latest estimates from the N.C. Department of Correction say that even with the completion of prisons set to open in 2008, the state will still be 400 beds shy of what it needs to house all its inmates that year. [continues 332 words]
AMHERST - A trial date has finally been set for a Maccan man who claims he was growing marijuana to help himself and 300 others with medical conditions, but it will still be months before Rick Simpson faces a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge and jury. In Supreme Court on Thursday, Mr. Simpson's two-week trial was slated to begin Sept. 10, 25 months after police raided his property and allegedly seized more than 1,200 marijuana plants. Mr. Simpson, 57, did not speak during the hearing, but lawyer Jim O'Neil indicated his former client would defend himself at trial. Mr. O'Neil did not say why he would no longer be involved in the case. [continues 274 words]
It is not often that high school do gooders have reason to consult with their drug dealing peers on where to procure 600 tiny ziplock bags. But that is exactly what Mary Corcoran and fellow students resorted to in order to launch what they called "the baggie campaign," an innovative, anti marijuana event held last month at the Academy of American Studies in Long Island City. Corcoran and her peers are members of their school's chapter of SADD, a national organization once dedicated solely to drunken driving awareness and prevention. In recent times, the group's mandate has expanded to cover an array of social issues for teens, making it more pertinent to urban schools. [continues 476 words]
Levenmouth's MP believes drug laws should be relaxed and a more tolerant approach - like that in Holland - should be adopted. John MacDougall, MP for Glenrothes Constituency, reckoned bringing drug users into the open, rather than dealing with them on the sidelines, might show young people the drug lifestyle was far from glamorous. Prime Minister Tony Blair has appointed Mr MacDougall to a role as link MP with Holland, with his main brief to find out how effective Dutch policies on drug use were and the differences they'd made to communities. [continues 432 words]
The mother of cannabis campaigner Lezley Gibson has pleaded with the judge preparing to sentence her daughter to be lenient, saying: "She was just trying to help people". Liz Nicholls, 63, this week spoke of the stress of seeing her seriously-ill daughter give evidence in court before being convicted of conspiring to supply the class C drug. She has called on the government to change the laws surrounding cannabis and for pharmaceutical companies to perform more detailed research into the drug's medical uses. Mrs Gibson, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, and her husband Mark produced more than 20,000 Canna-Biz chocolate bars at their Alston home and sent them to others with the condition - so long as they had medical proof. [continues 526 words]
Liberal MP Offers Alternatives To Destroying Afghanistan Crop Opium is a key element of the current conflict in Afghanistan. Opium poppies are now a form of livelihood for many farmers. But U.S. commanders with NATO forces have ordered poppy fields destroyed, sending farmers stripped of their livelihood straight to the Taliban: at least the Taliban and drug lords allow the farmers means to put food on the table, Liberal MP Keith Martin (Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca) said. "The Americans only want to destroy more of the poppy crop, which drives the subsistence farmers to the Taliban." [continues 329 words]
Trail resident Peter Roglich is left bewildered after local RCMP seized roughly 200 marijuana plants from his personal grow-op last week. According to Roglich, he and his wife have both been diagnosed with Hepatitis C, are using the plants for exclusively for medicinal purposes; and have been licensed to do so for the past six months. Roglich says he has a certified licence through Health Canada and cannot understand what provoked the RCMP to enter his home. The Roglich household was charged with two counts, including possession of a controlled substance under section 4-Sub-1 of the Controlled Drug and Substances Act (CDSA) and production of a controlled substance under section Sub-1 of the CDSA. [continues 309 words]
