-------------------------------------------------------------------

Portlander Becomes First To Obtain Marijuana Card (The Oregonian says
multiple sclerosis patient Jeanelle Bluhm received the first
medical-marijuana registry card from the Oregon Health Division Friday,
becoming the first person in the United States to be formally granted
permission by a state to own and use marijuana for medical purposes.)

Newshawk: Portland NORML http://www.pdxnorml.org/
Pubdate: Sat, May 22 1999
Source: Oregonian, The (OR)
Copyright: 1999 The Oregonian
Contact: letters@news.oregonian.com
Address: 1320 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
Fax: 503-294-4193
Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Forum: http://forums.oregonlive.com/
Author: Patrick O'Neill, the Oregonian

PORTLANDER BECOMES FIRST TO OBTAIN MARIJUANA CARD

* Jeanelle Bluhm, who has multiple sclerosis, will use the drug to relieve
painful muscle spasms brought on by the disease

Jeanelle Bluhm has a green thumb. She plans to home-can some tomatoes this
year.

"And I plan to put some marijuana up in Ziploc bags," she said.

On Friday, Bluhm became the first person in the United States to be
formally granted permission by a state to own and use marijuana for medical
purposes.

The 47-year-old Portland resident applied for Oregon's first medical
marijuana card because of her multiple sclerosis, a debilitating disease of
the nerves.

A former hospice nurse who gets around on a battery-powered scooter, Bluhm
accepted her wallet-sized laminated card, No. 00001, bearing a light blue
State of Oregon seal, from Kelly Paige, manager of the Oregon Health
Division's medical marijuana program.

Oregon is the first state to take an active part in regulating marijuana
for medical use, issuing registration cards to those who qualify under the
state's new law. Although California law allows residents to use marijuana
as a medicine, that state has no registration process.

In November, Oregon voters approved a measure that allows anyone who has
cancer, HIV disease, glaucoma, severe pain, wasting, nausea, seizures or
muscle spasms, to use marijuana with a doctor's permission.

Bluhm said marijuana helps to stave off painful muscle spasms that wrack
her body.

"It relaxes me," she said. "I'm not interested in Valium . . . in Prozac.
Why should I be if I have a natural herb I can use?"

Bluhm will be the first of many Oregonians to receive the card. So far,
Paige said, she's mailed out 600 packets of information to interested
patients and has received 35 completed applications, along with the $150
annual fee. Another 135 people have returned application forms, and Paige
is inspecting them to see if they're complete. Paige said Bluhm was the
first person to complete the forms.

Bluhm was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1982 but was in remission
until 1995, when she began feeling ill.

"The unfortunate thing about MS is that it causes muscle spasms -- up and
down the back, sometimes it's the legs, sometimes it's the arms," she said.

Her background as a nurse made her apprehensive about her illness.

"As a nurse you see the worst side of the disease," she said. "You see an
MS patient in extreme conditions. I knew what was ahead of me."

Bluhm said she's used marijuana illegally since 1996, when she became
involved with The Alternative Health Center, a downtown Portland clinic
that supplied marijuana to people with debilitating illnesses. After seeing
how marijuana helped people with AIDS and cancer patients undergoing
chemotherapy, she said, "I became a real believer."

In October 1997, Portland police closed down the clinic, and Bluhm was
forced to rely on friends and acquaintances for her supply of "herb," as
she calls it.

Now, she said, her card "gives me the right to comply with the law. I'm not
a lawbreaker."

The law allows Bluhm to own three mature and four immature marijuana plants
and one ounce of usable marijuana for each mature plant. She likes the idea
of raising her own plants.

"I'm not interested in pharmaceuticals," she said. "I'm more interested in
a natural approach."

"I do have a green thumb, thank God," she said. "But I'm not able to move
the pots and lamps by myself."

The law allows her to have a helper assist with the plants. The helper also
must be registered with the program.

Paige, the marijuana program manager, said many applicants can't find a
doctor who will approve use of the drug, which is required to get a card.

Dr. Richard Bayer, a chief petitioner for the medical marijuana measure,
said many physicians worry about running afoul of the federal Drug
Enforcement Administration, which licenses doctors to prescribe narcotics.
While medical marijuana is legal under state law, federal law still bans
the drug. Doctors worry that the agency might sanction them if they approve
marijuana for their patients.

But once doctors become familiar with guidelines published by the Oregon
Medical Association, Bayer said, they should have fewer reservations about
letting their patients use the drug.

[SIDEBAR]

Medical Marijuana

Who qualifies: Anyone who has cancer, glaucoma, HIV disease, severe
wasting, pain, nausea, seizures or muscle spasms and whose doctor agrees
that marijuana might alleviate symptoms.

How to apply: Call Kelly Paige, coordinator of the Oregon Health Division's
Medical Marijuana Registry, 503-731-4011, Ext. 640. She will send a packet
that includes a copy of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, the rules
governing the program, guidelines for registration, an application form and
a form for a physician to fill out.

Fee for the card: $150.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Guilty Verdict In Key Pot Trial: Federal Case Breaks (The Sacramento Bee
expands on yesterday's news about the first conviction for cultivation of a
California medical-marijuana patient by a federal jury - except B.E. Smith's
recommendation for cannabis is said here to have been written by a
chiropractor, which would make it invalid even under Proposition 215.)

Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 11:13:43 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: Guilty Verdict In Key Pot Trial: Federal Case Breaks
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield
Pubdate: Sat, 22 May 1999
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 1999 The Sacramento Bee
Contact: opinion@sacbee.com
Address: P.O.Box 15779, Sacramento, CA 95852
Feedback: http://www.sacbee.com/about_us/sacbeemail.html
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Forum: http://www.sacbee.com/voices/voices_forum.html
Author: Denny Walsh, Bee Staff Writer

GUILTY VERDICT IN KEY POT TRIAL: FEDERAL CASE BREAKS GROUND

B.E. Smith, a Vietnam veteran whose postwar stress and disillusionment
with government caused him to retreat to the rugged isolation of
Trinity County, was found guilty Friday in Sacramento federal court of
marijuana cultivation and possession.

The trial has been closely watched nationwide because it could help
determine whether medicinal necessity is a valid marijuana defense in
courts governed by federal law, which does not recognize California's
medicinal exception for pot.

Smith, 52, insists that trauma from the war prompted him to begin
smoking marijuana and he secured a doctor's prescription after passage
of the state's Compassionate Use Act, which legalized marijuana for
those with medical authorization.

Over the strong objections of Smith's attorneys, U.S. District Judge
Garland E. Burrell Jr. ruled before the trial that medicinal necessity
was not available to Smith as a defense.

Robert Booker, a Smith attorney, said after the verdict that his
planned appeal could well set precedent for medicinal defenses in the
nine states and two territorial possessions covered by the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals.

But Booker predicted that federal prosecutors will ease their hardline
approach even before the appellate court rules.

He noted that the Clinton administration announced Friday a release of
its hold on government-grown, research-quality marijuana to scientists
who want to study its medical effects.

Smith's trial, which featured movie star Woody Harrelson as a defense
witness, was the first criminal marijuana trial in a California
federal court involving a medicinal claim since passage of Proposition
215 in 1996. There were some angry utterances from Smith supporters as
the seven men and five women on the jury filed out a side door of the
courtroom, escorted by U.S. marshals.

The emotional level rose in the courtroom when Burrell ordered Smith
taken into custody immediately.

His attorneys argued the law allows discretion on release pending
appeal. The judge, however, said that is true only when there are
potentially significant issues on appeal. In this case, he said, there
are no such issues, and that includes his rejection of Smith's
selective prosecution and medicinal claims and his refusal to remove
himself as the trial judge. As Smith was led away in handcuffs, there
were shouts of, "We love you, dad," and "You're a free man." Outside
the courtroom, a tearful friend said, "The only victim here is B.E."

In a hallway interview, Booker said his client "will come out OK, and
the country will too. It took a brave soldier to stand up on the front
lines of this issue."

Booker said that during the daylong deliberations, Burrell refused the
jury's request to look at federal statutes showing an exception to the
possession prohibition and that Smith's 87 plant garden in Denny was
not the variety of cannabis legally defined as marijuana.

"They were misled," said Booker of the jury. "If they had seen the
truth, the verdict would have been different."

Not so, said Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Steven Lapham. He said the
exception is for a prescribed drug and federal law prohibits a
prescription for marijuana. He also noted that Smith's prescription
was written by a chiropractor.

Moreover, the prosecutor said, Smith and others with whom he claimed a
caretaker relationship could not grow or smoke marijuana legally even
under state law. Proposition 215 allows growing only by people with a
terminal illness or no alternative remedy for an ailment or by a
designated caregiver, he said. "This guy is simply abusing the
Compassionate Use Act, and it doesn't supersede federal law anyway."

Lapham further said Smith was growing a variety of cannabis
botanically identical to the one specified in the federal statute. It
bears a different name, he said, because it is endemic to India.

Federal appellate courts have found that Congress, in the 1970
Controlled Substances Act, "intended to outlaw marijuana in all its
forms and varieties," he said.

The defense attorneys put forth "arguments that have long ago been
dealt with by the courts," Lapham said. "They simply couldn't live
with the rules."

***

From: "ralph sherrow" (ralphkat@hotmail.com)
To: ralphkat@hotmail.com
Subject: Fwd: Smith guilty now what?
Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 11:54:52 PDT

For one thing, BE Smith did not have a doctor's recommendation. It was a
chiropractor, dressed in a tie-die t-shirt who showed up in court to testify.
No wonder they didn't let him use the prop 215 defense. Not good & it upsets
a lot of advocates & they don't even know what's going on.

Ralph

PS: If you want to know, I suggest you call Ryan Landers to get the scoop,
before you get too upset. Ryan's phone is 916-448-6442

Ralph

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Federal jury convicts man of marijuana cultivation (The Associated Press
version)

From: "Peter McWilliams" (peter@mcwilliams.com)
To: "Peter McWilliams" (peter@mcwilliams.com)
Subject: The Associated Press on Smith trial
Date: Mon, 24 May 1999 11:04:28 -0700

Here's the Associated Press' take on the Smith verdict. Thank heavens Woody
was there--without a celebrity it might never had made trhe A.P. at all.

Take care,

Peter

***

Federal jury convicts man of marijuana cultivation

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP, 5/22/99) -- A man who said his Vietnam war
experiences caused him to begin using marijuana was convicted of
pot cultivation and possession in a case that included actor Woody
Harrelson as a defense witness.

Attorneys for B.E. Smith, 52, said following the verdict that they
would appeal the decision.

The case is believed to be the first criminal marijuana trial in a
California federal court involving a medicinal claim since passage
of California's medical marijuana law in 1996.

That law allows people to grow marijuana for personal use if they
have medical authorization. Growers generally must have a terminal
illness or no alternative remedy for an ailment.

Smith, a resident of rural Trinity County, was led from the
courtroom in handcuffs following the verdict by the jury of seven
men and five women. Sentencing is pending before U.S. District
Judge Garland Burrell Jr.

Federal prosecutors said Smith did not meet the medical
authorization standards, and noted that Smith's prescription was
written by a chiropractor. They also said federal law, which
supersedes state law, prohibits prescriptions for marijuana.

Harrelson, who met Smith several years ago during environmental
protests over the Headwaters Forest, testified in Smith's behalf.

On Friday, Harrelson and Burrell clashed verbally in court, with
the actor accusing Burrell of "keeping the truth from the jury,"
referring to the judge's earlier decision barring Smith from using
medicinal use as a defense.

"How do you sleep at night," Harrelson said at one point.

Burrell suggested to defense lawyers that Harrelson's presence was
an attempt to disrupt the trial. The judge also said Harrelson, a
performer in the TV sitcom "Cheers" who has appeared in the films
"Natural Born Killers" and "Indecent Proposal," said Harrelson
"didn't have much respect for the law."

Smith testified that smoking marijuana successfully curbed his abuse
of alcohol. He did not make a secret of growing it for himself and
others after passage of Proposition 215, he said.

The following year, Smith planted an 87-plant marijuana garden on
land in Denny that he leased from a friend, Martin Lederer.

In September 1997 the government seized the plants and, two months
later, Smith and Lederer were charged in a federal grand jury
indictment. Lederer earlier pleaded guilty to possession and is
awaiting sentencing.

***

Date: Mon, 24 May 1999 16:54:13 EDT
Originator: friends@freecannabis.org
Sender: friends@freecannabis.org
From: Jim Rosenfield (jnr@insightweb.com)
To: Multiple recipients of list (friends@freecannabis.org)
Subject: Re: The Associated Press on Smith trial

In case you want to express your feelings about this
sloppy reporting, here is the correct contact info:

Associated Press
Bureau Chief: Sharon Theimer
t. 916-448-9555
f. 916-446-2756

>Federal jury convicts man of marijuana cultivation
>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP, 5/22/99) -- A man who said his Vietnam war
>experiences caused him

No, he uses pot to alleviate symptoms arising from his TSD resulting
from his war experience.

>That law allows people to grow marijuana for personal use if they
>have medical authorization. Growers generally must have a terminal
>illness or no alternative remedy for an ailment.

This is NOT true. The law says nothing on this, it is an interpretation
spun from Brad Gates, Dan Lungren and others, but not from the California
law.

Jim Rosenfield

Insight Web Design
http://www.insightweb.com
jnr@insightweb.com
tel: 310-836-0926
fax: 310-836-0592
Culver City CA [postal by request]

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Arizonans Support Medical Marijuana (According to the Arizona Republic, a
statewide poll conducted in April by the Behavior Research Center in Phoenix
shows 66 percent of respondents opposed federal authorities' threats to
revoke the licenses of Arizona doctors who prescribe marijuana.)

Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 22:17:44 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US AZ: MMJ: Arizonans Support Medical Marijuana
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Frank S. World
Pubdate: 22 May 1999
Source: Arizona Republic (AZ)
Copyright: 1999, The Arizona Republic.
Contact: Opinions@pni.com
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/news/
Forum: http://www.azcentral.com/pni-bin/WebX?azc

ARIZONANS SUPPORT MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Two out of three Arizonans support doctors' authority to prescribe
marijuana for patients who have a medical need for it, according to a poll
by the Behavior Research Center in Phoenix.

The poll says 66 percent of the 708 heads of households who were polled
oppose federal authorities' threats to revoke the licenses of Arizona
doctors who prescribe marijuana. Twenty-seven percent supported federal
medical license revocation for prescribing pot.

The April poll had a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.

Arizona voters in 1996 and 1998 approved the medical use of marijuana.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Poll Finds Support For Drug Law Reform (The Times Union, in Albany, New York,
recaps the results of the poll released last week by Zogby International,
which found that New Yorkers, by a 2-1 ratio, wouldn't consider a politician
"soft on crime" for voting to reform the state's Rockefeller-era
mandatory-minimum sentencing laws for drug offenders.)

Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 17:12:39 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US NY: Poll Finds Support For Drug Law Reform
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: EWCHIEF
Pubdate: Sat, 22 May 1999
Source: Times Union (NY)
Copyright: 1999, Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation
Contact: tuletters@timesunion.com
Address: Box 15000, Albany, NY 12212
Feedback: http://www.timesunion.com/react/
Website: http://www.timesunion.com/
Forum: http://www.timesunion.com/react/forums/

POLL FINDS SUPPORT FOR DRUG LAW REFORM

Most New Yorkers Don'T See Changing Strict Sentencing Laws As Being
Soft On Crime

ALBANY -- By a 2-1 ratio, New Yorkers wouldn't consider a politician
"soft on crime" for voting to reform the state's tough drug-sentencing laws,
according to a poll released this week.

Respondents said they would not be likely to vote against their state
legislator for supporting reducing drug sentences. They also said they
favor sending drug offenders to treatment programs rather than jail
in the survey conducted by Zogby International.

The results come when several proposals to reform the state's strict
Rockefeller-era drug laws are floating around the state Capitol and
just days after the leader of the Assembly said he wouldn't act on
drug sentencing reform because he feared his members would be labeled
soft on crime.

The poll indicated that could be an unfounded fear.

"It is misguided," said pollster John Zogby of Utica. "Basically, New
Yorkers are saying the war on crime is won. We've built a helluva lot
of prisons. Now, we've got to equivocate between the drug kingpins and
the (small-time) user on the streets."

The state's drug laws, adopted under the late Gov. Nelson A.
Rockefeller, are among the nation's strictest. For example, someone
selling more than two ounces of a narcotic or possessing more than
four ounces could be sentenced to 15 years to life.

Critics have blamed the Rockefeller drug laws for the state's
burgeoning prison population, now around 70,000. About 22,000 of those
are drug offenders, although not all were sentenced under Rockefeller
guidelines.

At least five reform proposals are currently being pushed in the state
Legislature, ranging from ending mandatory minimum sentences for
certain crimes to doubling the drug amounts required to constitute a
crime to allowing appeals-level courts to review sentences of a
relative few drug offenders.

Sixty-four percent of respondents said they wouldn't consider anyone
who votes for reducing prison terms soft on drugs, compared with 31
percent who would. The results cut evenly across geographic borders,
with 65 percent of upstate voters -- considered more conservative than
downstate -- saying they wouldn't label a politician soft on drugs for
supporting reform.

Sixty-six percent of Democrats said the same, as did 58 percent of
Republicans and 70 percent of non-enrolled voters. Sixty-six percent
of whites supported that position, as did 64 percent of blacks, 55
percent of Asians and 50 percent of Hispanics.

Asked about voting for a candidate, 51 percent of those surveyed said
they would more likely support someone who voted for giving judges more
discretion on sentencing for drug crimes and for reducing sentences. Just 24
percent said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who
supported that view.

Earlier this week, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-
Manhattan, said the house wouldn't take up sentencing reform because
the Speaker feared his Democratic colleagues in suburban and rural
districts would be labeled soft on crime. Silver wasn't available
Friday and a spokesman declined further comment.

Zogby said Silver could be blocking action -- in opposition to many of
his urban colleagues who want reform -- to either keep Gov. George Pataki
from getting credit for changing the laws or to use it for leverage in
negotiating other criminal justice laws.

Silver has vowed not to agree to any crime bill package that doesn't
include a ban on assault weapons. Pataki has been pushing for strictly
limiting parole for nonviolent offenders.

The Senate, which tends to support stronger penalties for most crimes,
will study the reform proposals but won't commit to anything because
of a poll, said a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno,
R-Brunswick.

The poll surveyed 700 likely voters statewide and had a margin of
error of 3.8 percentage points.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

New Laws Signed At Anti-Drug Rally (The Miami Herald says Florida Gov. Jeb
Bush signed three anti-drug bills into law Friday at the Orange Bowl in Miami
in front of thousands of cheering schoolchildren from the DARE program. One
law calls for mandatory-minimum prison sentences for "drug" traffickers. The
"Special K" law adds ketamine to the list of illegal drugs. And the third law
creates an Office of Drug Control in the governor's office.)

Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 09:34:32 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US FL: New Laws Signed At Anti-Drug Rally
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Mike Gogulski
Pubdate: 22 May 1999
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 1999 The Miami Herald
Contact: heralded@herald.com
Address: One Herald Plaza, Miami FL 33132-1693
Fax: (305) 376-8950
Website: http://www.herald.com/
Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?mherald
Author: Ana Acle

NEW LAWS SIGNED AT ANTI-DRUG RALLY

Gov. Jeb Bush signed three anti-drug bills into law Friday at the Orange
Bowl in Miami in front of thousands of cheering schoolchildren from the
Drug Awareness Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program.

The governor then dashed to the Florida Keys to fish with 40 children from
the Liberty City charter school that he helped create and to chat with
Monroe County leaders at Islamorada's Cheeca Lodge resort.

Monroe County Commissioner Nora Williams said she and her colleagues on the
commission, members of the Islamorada Village Council and Key West Mayor
Sheila Mullins used the time to discuss the proposed widening of the
18-mile stretch and a toll on U.S. 1, and to urge the governor to lobby to
make funding for Keys water quality problems a priority in the Congress.

"We are not managing to get the support we need from our senators in
Washington," Williams said of efforts to get federal funding for Keys
sewage treatment. "We are a small place, and it's hard for us to. But the
need here is greater than anywhere we know.

"We need the governor's help to raise our profile in Washington. He's
already written letters for us, but it may take a phone call and some
persuasion."

In Miami-Dade County, Bush focused on a different battle, the war on drugs.

The Three Strikes law that he signed at the Orange Bowl makes three-time
violent felony offenders serve a mandatory minimum prison sentence. A
first-degree felony, for example, requires a minimum 30-year sentence. The
law also calls for minimum mandatory prison sentences for drug traffickers.

The Special K law adds ketamine to the list of illegal drugs. Ketamine is
an animal tranquilizer that has been seen mostly in night dance events
known as raves.

The third law creates an Office of Drug Control in the governor's office.
It will direct state policy on drug control, including prevention,
education, treatment and law enforcement. State drug czar Jim McDonough
attended the event.

After signing the bills, Bush gave pens to some of the children.

"He didn't have to come and sign all those papers for us," said an
impressed Justin Castiglione, 11, of Highland Oaks Middle School.

The children, an estimated 15,000, graduated from the D.A.R.E. program at
their schools, a 17-week course designed to help them resist drugs.

Led by Miami-Dade Police Director Carlos Alvarez, the children raised their
right hands and swore to be drug-free. They pledged to say no to alcohol,
tobacco and illegal drugs, and to help their friends do the same.

"As long as you choose to stay away from drugs, everything is at your
doorstep," Bush told the children. "You can be a police officer, mayor,
governor or even president of the United States."

Later, the governor told reporters: "It's important for kids to know
there's a lot of good in this world" in the wake of the school shootings in
Colorado and Georgia.

Wearing a tie adorned with children and the American flag, Bush towered
over all of the other officials, including Miami Mayor Joe Carollo.

Moments later, the children watched a phony shootout on the football field
between drug dealers and police officers. The Miami-Dade Police Special
Response Team, Miami Special Weapons and Tactics, and the Florida Highway
Patrol Tactical Response Team took on "bad guys."

FHP brought out its armored personnel carrier, a vehicle that resembles a
tank with wheels.

As the alleged drug dealers fell to their deaths, the children cheered.

Three-time World Wrestling Federation champ Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson then
told the children the difference between television and real life:

"When you see The Rock wrestling on Mondays, that's just TV," Johnson said.
"You know that when an officer stops The Rock for speeding, he's not going
to put the officer on the ground."

Herald staff writer Marika Lynch contributed to this report.

e-mail: aacle@herald.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------

U.S. Moves Toward Marijuana Research (A different Associated Press version
from America Online)

From: LawBerger@aol.com
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 13:12:16 EDT
Subject: DPFOR: Fwd: US Moves Toward Marijuana Research
To: dpfor@drugsense.org
Sender: owner-dpfor@drugsense.org
Reply-To: dpfor@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/

From: AOLNews@aol.com
Full-name: AOL News
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 11:36:08 EDT
Subject: US Moves Toward Marijuana Research
To: undisclosed-recipients:;

US Moves Toward Marijuana Research

.c The Associated Press

By PAUL RECER

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Clinton administration today released new guidelines
to ease the availability of marijuana for medical research, in a move that
officials believe will quicken the pace of studies into the drug's possible
beneficial uses.

The new guidelines, ``an extension of an existing process,'' will make it
easier for academic researchers to obtain samples of research-grade marijuana
grown by the government, said Campbell Gardett, a spokesman for the
Department of Health and Human Services.

The guidelines were endorsed by the White House Office of National Drug
Policy as part of an effort to more thoroughly understand the benefits and
risks of using marijuana to treat medical conditions.

``Such research will allow us to better understand what benefits might
actually exist for the use of cannabinoid-based drugs,'' the drug policy
office said in a statement.

``This decision underscores the federal government's commitment to ensuring
that the discussion of the medical efficacy and safety of cannabionoids takes
place within the context of medicine and science.''

The drug policy office, in the past, has resisted efforts by some groups to
make medical marijuana more readily available, but officials at the agency
insisted today that the new directive is ``not a reversal of policy.''

There has been increasing pressure from organizations, researchers and
physicians for more research into the medical uses of marijuana.

In California, voters passed an initiative in 1996 that would allow patients
to grow and use marijuana if it was prescribed by their doctors. The federal
response was to warn that doctors could be penalized if they helped their
patients get the drug.

Some federal scientists have conducted marijuana research in the past, but
many academic and private researchers have complained of the difficulty of
getting research-grade marijuana from tightly controlled government supplies.

The new guidelines will ease the process, while assuring that the drug is
available only to legitimate researchers, Gardett said.

The guidelines say that HHS has determined that it will make research-grade
marijuana available ``on a cost reimbursement basis,'' which means that
researchers or their sponsors will help defray the government cost of raising
the weed on government lands.

The intent of the policy, also, is to ensure that the marijuana used in
research is of high quality.

Valid research, the guidelines say, requires that ``the substance ... must
have a consistent and predictable potency, must be free of contamination and
must be available in sufficient amounts to support the needs of the study.''

In the last few months, committees of experts have recommended in two major
studies a more extensive program of scientific research into marijuana.

Committees for both the National Academy of Sciences and the National
Institutes of Health concluded there is evidence that marijuana can be useful
in the treatment of some patients who have not responded well to other
therapies.

Many cancer patients and people with AIDS have said that marijuana, often
obtained illegally, is able to relieve nausea and to restore appetite. Other
patients have used marijuana to combat glaucoma, the sight-robbing disease
caused by a buildup of pressure in the eye.

AP-NY-05-21-99 1130EDT

Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP
news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise
distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Marijuana Moves Higher On Medical Research List (The New York Times version
in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 06:08:52 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: MMJ: Marijuana Moves Higher On Medical Research List
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Smith
Pubdate: Sat, 22 May 1999
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)
Copyright: 1999 Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Contact: editpage@seattle-pi.com
Website: http://www.seattle-pi.com/
Author: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, The New York Times

MARIJUANA MOVES HIGHER ON MEDICAL RESEARCH LIST

WASHINGTON -- Despite intense interest in the medical benefits of
marijuana, few scientists are studying it, because the government has
always required that such work be paid for by scarce grant money from
the National Institutes of Health.

That changed yesterday when the Clinton administration eased the
requirement, announcing that it would sell government-grown marijuana
to privately funded scientists.

The decision was issued as a regulation by the National Institute on
Drug Abuse and is supported by Gen. Barry McCaffrey, who as director
of the Office of National Drug Control Policy has been the
administration's most ardent opponent of the legalization of medical
marijuana.

"Before, the problem was if you wanted marijuana, you had to not only
show that it was high-quality research, you had to show that it was
more important than other competing applications for NIH funding,"
said Chuck Blanchard, chief counsel for McCaffrey's office. "Now, as
long as you are willing to show that it is high-quality research and
also provide your own funding, you can have access to medical marijuana."

Under the ruling, marijuana studies will still be reviewed for their
scientific merit, but it will become easier for state and local
governments to pay for the research. Experts and government officials
hope the studies could some day lead to the development of a new
delivery system for marijuana, such as an inhaler, that would enable
patients to benefit from its active ingredients without suffering the
toxic effects of the smoke.

Some officials already say they hope to take advantage of the new
rule. "This news today gives us great hope," said Mike Nevin, a member
of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. About a year ago, he
said, his board allocated $500,000 for studies of marijuana in cancer
and AIDS patients. "We are hoping the federal government will grant us
the ability to do this study," he said, "and we are willing to pay."

For years, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has paid a farmer at
the University of Mississippi to grow marijuana for research,
primarily studies on addiction. The government also provides the drug
to eight patients under a "compassionate use" program authorized by
the Food and Drug Administration, but that program has been closed to
new participants since 1992.

In recent years, as interest grew in using marijuana as a medicine,
scientists have tried, with limited success, to persuade the National
Institutes of Health to pay for the studies. Only three studies have
been approved so far; among them is one being conducted by Dr. Donald
Abrams of the University of California at San Francisco, who said it
took him five years to obtain approval to study marijuana in AIDS patients.

And even then, Abrams had to mask his true research interest; although
he wanted to examine the effects of marijuana on the weight loss
associated with AIDS, he pitched the study as one that would look at
the potentially toxic interactions between marijuana and standard AIDS
medications. "We designed a study that would appeal to the group of
people funding the grant," he said.

Yesterday's decision comes two months after an exhaustive study by the
Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences,
concluded that the active ingredients in marijuana, called
cannabinoids, appear useful for treating pain, nausea and the severe
weight loss associated with AIDS. Two years ago, a review by NIH
officials reached a similar conclusion.

"We have had several pretty distinguished groups now say that
cannabinoids, not smoked marijuana, may have some real potential
medical usage," said Dr. Steven Gust, special assistant to the
director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

So far, there is only one cannabinoid-based drug on the market,
Marinol, manufactured by Unimed Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Buffalo Grove,
Ill. But some patients complain that the Marinol pills are too potent,
leading researchers to theorize that an inhaler, similar to those used
by asthma patients, might be a more effective form of treatment.

Recognizing that such a method might take years to develop, the
Institute of Medicine report recommended that patients who did not
respond to other therapy be permitted to smoke marijuana. But the new
regulation said the government does not intend to approve
"single-patient requests for marijuana," because they do not "produce
use useful scientific information."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

U.S. Eases Curb On Medical Marijuana Research (The original New York Times
version)

Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 10:17:05 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: us: US Eases Curb On Medical Marijuana Research
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Dick Evans
Pubdate: Sat, 22 May 1999
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 1999 The New York Times Company
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Forum: http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/
Author: SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

US EASES CURB ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA RESEARCH

WASHINGTON -- Despite intense interest in the medical benefits of marijuana,
few scientists are studying it, because the government has always required
that such work be paid for by scarce grant money from the National
Institutes of Health.

That changed Friday when the Clinton administration eased the requirement,
announcing that it would sell government-grown marijuana to privately-funded
scientists.

The decision was issued as a regulation by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse and is supported by General Barry McCaffrey, who as director of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy has been the administration's most
ardent opponent of the legalization of medical marijuana. "Before, the
problem was if you wanted marijuana, you had to not only show that it was
high-quality research, you had to show that it was more important than other
competing applications for NIH funding," said Chuck Blanchard, chief counsel
for McCaffrey's office. "Now, as long as you are willing to show that it is
high-quality research and also provide your own funding, you can have access
to medical marijuana."

Under the ruling, marijuana studies will still be reviewed for their
scientific merit, but it will become easier for state and local governments
to pay for the research. Experts and government officials hope the studies
could some day lead to the development of a new delivery system for
marijuana, such as an inhaler, that would enable patients to benefit from
its active ingredients without suffering the toxic effects of the smoke.
Some officials already say they hope to take advantage of the new rule.
"This news today gives us great hope," said Mike Nevin, a member of the San
Mateo County Board of Supervisors. About a year ago, he said, his board
allocated $500,000 for studies of marijuana in cancer and AIDS patients. "We
are hoping the federal government will grant us the ability to do this
study," he said, "and we are willing to pay."

For years, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has paid a farmer at the
University of Mississippi to grow marijuana for research, primarily studies
on addiction. The government also provides the drug to eight patients under
a "compassionate use" program authorized by the Food and Drug
Administration, but that program has been closed to new participants since
1992. In recent years, as interest grew in using marijuana as a medicine,
scientists have tried, with limited success, to persuade the National
Institutes of Health to pay for the studies. Only three studies have been
approved so far; among them is one being conducted by Dr. Donald Abrams of
the University of California at San Francisco, who said it took him five
years to obtain approval to study marijuana in AIDS patients. And even then,
Abrams had to mask his true research interest; although he wanted to examine
the effects of marijuana on the weight loss associated with AIDS, he pitched
the study as one that would look at the potentially toxic interactions
between marijuana and standard AIDS medications. "We designed a study that
would appeal to the group of people funding the grant," he said.

Friday's decision comes two months after an exhaustive study by the
Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences,
concluded that the active ingredients in marijuana, called cannabinoids,
appear useful for treating pain, nausea and the severe weight loss
associated with AIDS. Two years ago, a review by NIH officials reached a
similar conclusion.

"We have had several pretty distinguished groups now say that cannabinoids,
not smoked marijuana, may have some real potential medical usage," said Dr.
Steven Gust, special assistant to the director of the National Institute on
Drug Abuse. "This is a first step towards ultimately developing purified
forms of cannabinoids that may be FDA-approvable."

So far, there is only one cannabinoid-based drug on the market, Marinol,
manufactured by Unimed Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Buffalo Grove, Ill. But some
patients complain that the Marinol pills are too potent, leading researchers
to theorize that an inhaler, similar to those used by asthma patients, might
be a more effective form of treatment.

Recognizing that such a method might take years to develop, the Institute of
Medicine report recommended that patients who did not respond to other
therapy be permitted to smoke marijuana. But the regulation issued Friday
said the government does not intend to approve "single-patient requests for
marijuana," because they do not "produce use useful scientific information."
Advocates for legalizing marijuana as medicine had both praise and criticism
for Friday's decision. "It is a tiny step forward, but far too tiny," said
Ethan Nadelmann, director of the Lindesmith Center, which backed initiatives
in California and Arizona to make marijuana legal for medical use. "It's an
implicit acknowledgement that the government has blocked research into
medical marijuana for explicitly political reasons for the last two
decades."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Marijuana Research Rules Loosened (A brief Washington Post version)

Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 21:34:53 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US DC: Marijuana Research Rules Loosened
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Jo-D Harrison Dunbar
Pubdate: Sat, 22 May 1999
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Section: Washington In Brief
Copyright: 1999 The Washington Post Company
Address: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071
Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Compiled from reports by the Associated Press, Reuters and staff
writers Stephen Barr and Juliet Eilperin

MARIJUANA RESEARCH RULES LOOSENED

Responding to pressure from scientists and voters, the Clinton
administration loosened restraints yesterday on medical marijuana research.
The move is expected to prompt more studies to see whether the drug helps
people with AIDS, cancer or eye disease.

Scientists with private grants will be able to get legal marijuana from the
government's supply -- grown on a small plot in Mississippi to make sure
it's all the same strength. Previously, only scientists who had won federal
grants had access to that marijuana. And only a few such federal studies
have been approved.

[remaining briefs deleted]

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Government To Sell Pot To More Scientists For Medicinal Studies (The Palm
Beach Post version)

Date: Tue, 25 May 1999 16:22:58 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Government To Sell Pot To More Scientists For Medicinal
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: EWCHIEF
Pubdate: Sat, 22 May 1999
Source: Palm Beach Post (FL)
Copyright: 1999, The Palm Beach Post
Feedback: http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/mail.html
Website: http://www.gopbi.com/
Forum: http://www.gopbi.com/community/forums/

GOVERNMENT TO SELL POT TO MORE SCIENTISTS FOR MEDICINAL STUDIES

Despite intense interest in the medical benefits of marijuana, few
scientists are studying it, because the government has always required that
such work be paid for by scarce grant money from the National Institutes of
Health.

That changed Friday when the Clinton administration eased the requirement,
announcing that it would sell government-grown marijuana to scientists
whose research is paid for by state or county governments or private sources.

The decision was issued as a regulation by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse and is supported by Gen. Barry McCaffrey, who as director of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy has been the administration's most
ardent opponent of the legalization of medical marijuana.

"Before, the problem was if you wanted marijuana, you had to not only show
that it was high-quality research, you had to show that it was more
important than other competing applications for NIH funding," said Chuck
Blanchard, chief counsel for McCaffrey's office. "Now, as long as you are
willing to show that it is high-quality research and also provide your own
funding, you can have access to medical marijuana."

Under the ruling, marijuana studies still will be reviewed for their
scientific merit, but it will become easier for state and local governments
to pay for the research. Experts and government officials hope the studies
could some day lead to the development of a new delivery system for
marijuana, such as an inhaler, that would enable patients to benefit from
its active ingredients without suffering the toxic effects of the smoke.

Some officials already say they hope to take advantage of the new rule.

"This news today gives us great hope," said Mike Nevin, a member of the San
Mateo County Board of Supervisors. About a year ago, he said, his board
allocated $500,000 for studies of marijuana in cancer and AIDS patients.
"We are hoping the federal government will grant us the ability to do this
study," he said, "and we are willing to pay."

For years, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has paid a farmer at the
University of Mississippi to grow marijuana for research, primarily studies
on addiction. The government also provides the drug to eight patients under
a "compassionate use" program authorized by the Food and Drug
Administration, but that program has been closed to new participants since
1992. In recent years, as interest grew in using marijuana as a medicine,
scientists have tried, with limited success, to persuade the National
Institutes of Health to pay for the studies. Only three studies have been
approved; among them is one being conducted by Dr. Donald Abrams of the
University of California at San Francisco, who said it took him five years
to obtain approval to study marijuana in AIDS patients.

And even then, Abrams had to mask his true research interest; although he
wanted to examine the effects of marijuana on the weight loss associated
with AIDS, he pitched the study as one that would look at the potentially
toxic interactions between marijuana and standard AIDS medications. "We
designed a study that would appeal to the group of people funding the
grant," he said.

Friday's decision comes two months after an exhaustive study by the
Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences,
concluded that the active ingredients in marijuana, called cannabinoids,
appear useful for treating pain, nausea and the severe weight loss
associated with AIDS. Two years ago, a review by NIH officials reached a
similar conclusion.

So far, there is only one cannabinoid-based drug on the market, Marinol,
manufactured by Unimed Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Buffalo Grove, Ill. But some
patients complain that the Marinol pills are too potent, leading
researchers to theorize that an inhaler, similar to those used by asthma
patients, might be a more effective form of treatment.

Recognizing that such a method might take years to develop, the Institute
of Medicine report recommended that patients who did not respond to other
therapy be permitted to smoke marijuana. But the regulation issued Friday
said the government does not intend to approve "single-patient requests for
marijuana," because they do not "produce useful scientific information."

Advocates for legalizing marijuana as medicine had both praise and
criticism for Friday's decision. "It is a tiny step forward, but far too
tiny," said Ethan Nadelmann, director of the Lindesmith Center, which
backed initiatives in California and Arizona to make marijuana legal for
medical use.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Some Politicians Begin To Learn A Thing Or Two (The Sydney Morning Herald, in
Australia, says politicians, at least some of them, got the message at the
New South Wales Drug Summit: Shut up and listen, you might learn something.
This became clear on the final day, when the views of experts emerged in the
final communique and resolutions, and when politicians such as the Treasurer,
Mr Egan, and National Party MP Ms Jenny Gardiner admitted, with regret, that
the politicians had taken up too much of the debating time.)

Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 12:10:36 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Australia: Some Politicians Begin To Learn A Thing Or Two
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Ken Russell
Pubdate: Sat, 22 May 1999
Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Contact: letters@smh.fairfax.com.au
Website: http://www.smh.com.au/
Author: Tony Stephens

SOME POLITICIANS BEGIN TO LEARN A THING OR TWO

Politicians, at least some of them, got the message at the Drug Summit: Shut
up and listen, you might learn something.

This became clear on the final day, when the views of experts emerged in the
final communique and resolutions, and when politicians such as the
Treasurer, Mr Egan, and National Party MP Ms Jenny Gardiner admitted, with
regret, that the politicians had taken up too much of the debating time.

Mr Tony Trimingham, who lost his son to heroin and has played a leading role
in the push for drug law reform, declared the outcome "wonderful". He shook
hands with delegates and thanked politicians for listening.

Ms Clover Moore, who had moved the summit's two most controversial motions -
seeking medically supervised injecting rooms and heroin trials - said: "Many
members of Parliament and other delegates changed their minds after they
heard evidence from experts such as Professor David Penington, Dr Alex
Wodak, Justice James Wood and others. Many who would not have supported
medically supervised injecting rooms on Monday are now prepared to support
reform," she said.

The summit has brought more understanding of the problem to politicians and
the community. Professor Ian Webster, president of the Alcohol and Other
Drugs Council of Australia, said the fact that the words compassion and care
were included in the communique could be one of the summit's outstanding
achievements. It would have been most unlikely two years ago that the focus
would be on treatment and rehabilitation rather than punishment. The cynics
had been outnumbered by the optimism, enthusiasm and hard work of the
delegates.

The summit worked at two levels. It was a political struggle because the
Government is under pressure to liberalise drug laws on the grounds that the
present ones have failed, while many people remain horrified at the prospect
of injecting rooms. It is an intellectual struggle because no society has
found an answer. John Maynard Keynes was reported to have said, when accused
of changing his opinion: "When my information changes, I alter my
conclusions. What do you do, sir?"

Several politicians took the Keynesian approach this week, including the
Premier. They might also have taken on board something of the philosophy of
Carl Jung, who said: "Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the
narcotic be alcohol or morphine or idealism." Professor Penington tempered
idealism with pragmatism. Australia had worked through the AIDS problem
better than most nations, he said. "Why can't we do the same with illicit
drugs?"

Mr Carr said the Government would work at the recommendations. The test
would be: will they make the task of the affected families easier, not
harder? He was not flying the white flag of surrender over heroin: "I will
not accept the normalisation of heroin as part of our society. We cannot
remove the stigma because it is caused, not by its legal status, but by the
damage it does."

The Opposition Leader, Mrs Chikarovski, would not wave a white flag, either,
but urged a trebling of whatever funds are spent on the drugs fight.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

[End]