[Mb-civic] drug news

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

December 2, 2004

The NORML E-Zine is a free weekly compilation of major news items
regarding marijuana policy. Text of archived stories is available on
NORML's website at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3442

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* US Drug War Fails At Home, Undermines Human Rights   And Democracy Abroad
* Pot Extracts Alleviate Intractable Pain
* Canadians Want Marijuana Smokers "Left Alone"

___________________________________________________________

US Drug War Fails At Home, Undermines Human Rights 
And Democracy Abroad, Study Says
    Washington, DC:  United States drug policies have failed to reduce
illicit drug use or drug availability in America, while undermining human
rights and destabilizing democracy abroad, particularly in Latin America,
according to a study released this week by the nonprofit Washington 
Office on Latin America (WOLA).
    US drug control efforts in Latin America have not reduced the supply
of illicit drugs entering the United States and have instead caused
"widespread, often profoundly damaging, harm to citizens' lives and their
nations' democracies," concludes the report, entitled "Drugs and 
Democracy
in Latin America: The Impact of US Policy."  The study notes that the
retail prices for illicit drugs, specifically cocaine and heroin, have
fallen dramatically even though government spending on efforts to reduce
supply and demand have risen greatly.  The report further notes that the
number of drug offenders incarcerated in America has risen from
approximately 45,000 in 1981 to over 480,000 in 2002.
    "It's time for policy makers to face up to the fact that the war on
drugs is not working, and to take a more effective and less damaging
approach," said John Walsh, WOLA's Senior Associate for Drug Policy.
"We've been tough on drugs; now it's time to get smart on drugs."
    An executive summary of the study is available online at:
http://www.wola.org

___________________________________________________
Pot Extracts Alleviate Intractable Pain, Study Says
    Middlesex, United Kingdom:  Medicinal cannabis extracts significantly
reduce pain and other symptoms compared to placebo in patients suffering
from nerve damage (brachial plexus injury), according to clinical trial
data published in the December issue of the journal Pain.
    Forty-eight patients participated in the double-blind, randomized,
placebo-controlled trial.  All of the patients enrolled in the trial
suffered from "intractable symptoms regardless of current analgesic
therapy."
    Volunteers were administered one of the following: cannabis extracts
containing equal amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol
(CBD), cannabis extracts containing primarily THC, or placebo via an
oromucosal spray.  Researchers analyzed the effect of the extracts on
patients' mean pain severity score during the final seven days of
treatment, as well as other pain-related quality of life assessments.
    Authors found that the extracts improved patients' mean pain severity
scores in a statistically significant manner, though researchers noted
that this improvement was slightly less than they had initially
hypothesized. Authors also noted that volunteers experienced significantly
improved sleep as a result of the cannabis therapy.
    "Studies of longer duration in neuropathic pain are required to
confirm a clinically relevant improvement in the treatment of this
condition," authors concluded.
    Earlier this year, clinical results from a pilot study in the United
States found that inhaled cannabis significantly relieved pain in patients
suffering from HIV-related neuropathy.  A 1997 report from the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) determined that neuropathic pain (pain from
nerve damage) is typically unresponsive to standard analgesics, and
recommended that cannabinoids "may be useful in this inadequately 
treated
type of pain."
    For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior
Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500.

___________________________________________________
Canadians Want Marijuana Smokers "Left Alone," 
Survey Says
    Ottawa, Ontario:  Canadians oppose law enforcement efforts to arrest
and prosecute adults for the recreational use of marijuana, according to a
national poll 1,000 Canadians conducted by SES Research Inc. and
commissioned by NORML Canada.
    According to the survey, 57 percent of respondents believed that
adults who possess small quantities of marijuana for personal use should
be left alone and not be subject to any type of criminal or civil
sanction.  One in three Canadians responded that they supported fining
adults for using marijuana, while only eight percent said that such
behavior should be subject to criminal prosecution.
    A majority of Canadians also responded that they backed taxing and
regulating marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol.
    "The results show that Canadians feel the government is going in the
wrong direction" regarding marijuana policy, said NORML Canada 
Executive
Director Jody Pressman.  "The people ... understand [that] prohibition
isn't working now and never will.  Taxing and regulating cannabis would
generate billions of dollars in new revenue for social programs and
finally remove the criminal element from the sale and distribution of
marijuana."
    Detailed polling data is available online at:
http://www.normlcanada.org

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