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Woman convicted of growing marijuana wants medical dispensation (The
Associated Press says Pamela Jill Stafsholt of Grants Pass, Oregon, who was
convicted on Dec. 3, the same day the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act took
effect, has petitioned to have her terms of probation changed so she can use
cannabis to relieve the nausea caused by her treatment for arthritis.
Otherwise, Deputy District Attorney Allan Smith will have her sent to prison
for failing a drug test, apparently because she lawfully took the
prescription drug, Marinol.)

Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/)
Pubdate: Tue, Jun 08 1999
Source: The Associated Press (OR)
Copyright: 1999 The Associated Press
Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Forum: http://forums.oregonlive.com/
Author: no byline

Woman convicted of growing marijuana wants medical dispensation

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) -- A Grants Pass woman who was convicted of growing
marijuana is asking to have her probation rules changed so she can use it to
relieve nausea caused by treatment for arthritis.

A Jackson County judge is considering the request by Pamela Jill Stafsholt.

Last March, a probation officer alleged that Stafsholt, 41, flunked a urine
test for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in violation of her
probation from December convictions for growing marijuana and child neglect.

Her Dec. 3 convictions came the same day that the Oregon Medical Marijuana
Act went into effect, allowing certain people to legally use pot to relieve
symptoms of illnesses.

Defense lawyer Roger Lee Clark said Stafsholt was prescribed a drug
containing THC to relieve nausea from chemotherapy she is getting for
rheumatoid arthritis, but the drug did not work for her.

Deputy District Attorney Allan Smith said the medical use is just a
smokescreen, because the 150 grams of marijuana and 28 plants she had when
arrested represents much more than anyone would need for personal use.

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Hemp-Growing Gardens Proposed for S.F. (The San Francisco Chronicle says
Supervisor Mark Leno proposed Monday that nonprofit gardens in the combined
city and county be allowed to grow and process industrial hemp.)

Date: Tue, 08 Jun 1999 10:29:52 -0500
From: "Frank S. World" 
Organization: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/7417/
To: DPFCA , DPFWI (dpfwi@drugsense.org)
Subject: DPFCA: US CA SFC: Hemp-Growing Gardens Proposed for S.F.
Sender: owner-dpfca@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/dpfca/
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com 
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Tuesday, June 8, 1999

HEMP-GROWING GARDENS PROPOSED FOR S.F.
Moneymaker for nonprofits supervisor says

Edward Epstein, Chronicle Staff Writer

Bidding to have San Francisco join the growing movement to turn hemp into a
commercial product, Supervisor Mark Leno proposed yesterday that nonprofit
gardens in the city be allowed to grow and process the banned substance.

Hemp, a much milder relative of marijuana, is supposed to be legal to grow
by permit in the United States for industrial purposes. But since the 1950s,
the federal government has effectively blocked its cultivation by making it
impossible to get permits.

Advocates of the plant speak of it as practically a miracle product that can
be used in a wide range of items -- food, clothing, soap, paper, carpets and
more. And while the cane- like hemp plant cannot be grown in this country,
imports of hemp products are soaring, to $75 million in 1997 from $43
million in 1993.

``I'd like to see San Francisco get ahead of the ball on this. This would
help our nonprofits do good and make money at the same time,'' Leno said at
the board meeting.

He asked City Attorney Louise Renne's staff to write a proposed ordinance
embodying his idea.

Leno's plan is patterned after a law recently signed by North Dakota
Governor Edward Schafer allowing farmers in his state to ask for permits
from the Drug Enforcement Administration to grow hemp.

Hawaii, where the sugar industry is faltering, has a similar proposal
nearing enactment, said John Roulac of Hemptech, a Sebastopol hemp seed
supplier. Kentucky, home to troubled tobacco farms, is breeding a grassroots
hemp movement.

Roulac said Leno's idea is a good one, although he is not sure of the
commercial possibilities in a city like San Francisco.

``Any message to the American people and farmers and business on this is
good. We want America to catch up to the rest of the world,'' Roulac said.
``But hemp would be grown on farms, although long- term there is potential
for hemp to be grown on smaller plots.''

The DEA's position is that hemp is classified along with marijuana because
it contains the same active substance, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.
But whereas pot can be 5 to 20 percent THC, industrial hemp is less than 1
percent THC.

The federal government also maintains that easing up on hemp would send the
wrong message to young people about drugs.

Roulac said that was nothing to worry about. ``You get a headache from
smoking hemp. And the more you smoke, the worse the headache,'' he said.

The DEA has not said what it will do if farmers in North Dakota and Hawaii
approach it for permits.

Leno said he had spoken recently with one nonprofit agency, the San
Francisco League of Urban Gardeners, and had gotten an enthusiastic response
from executive director Mohammed Naru. Naru was unavailable for comment
yesterday.

The group gets city funds to help train people in gardening skills.

Fears have also been expressed that commercial pot growers would mix in
their plants with hemp.

But Leno said it would be hard to grow hemp and marijuana in the same field
because hemp plants mature in 90 days and marijuana in 150. The pot plants
would be destroyed when the hemp is harvested.

He also said studies have found that cross-pollination between the two
plants results in marijuana losing its potency.

(c) 1999 San Francisco Chronicle Page A15

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Orange County prosecutor among dozen arrested on drug charges (The Associated
Press says Deputy District Attorney Bryan Ray Kazarian, 35, is being held
without bail and faces a life sentence if convicted of tipping off drug ring
leaders.)

From: "Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "HempTalk" (hemp-talk@hemp.net)
Subject: HT: prosecutor among dozen arrested on drug charges
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1999 22:51:32 -0700
Organization: Washington Hemp Education Network
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

Orange County prosecutor among dozen arrested on drug charges

The Associated Press
06/08/99 12:01 AM Eastern

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- An Orange County prosecutor accused of tipping off
drug ring leaders was among a dozen people arrested for investigation of drug
trafficking and money laundering.

Deputy District Attorney Bryan Ray Kazarian, 35, faces a life sentence if
convicted, Orange County District Attorney Anthony Rackauckas said Monday.

Kazarian was arrested Sunday along with Howard Irvine Coones, 44, founder of
the Orange County Hells Angels chapter

Kazarian appeared in U.S. District Court on Monday afternoon and was ordered
held without bail. A deputy district attorney for six years, Kazarian worked
in an anti-gang unit until January when he was moved to a job inside the
office so he "could be more efficiently monitored," Rackauckas said.

Prosecutors said the charges covered different conspiracies, including money
laundering and the distribution of cocaine, methamphetamine and prescription
drugs.

Some of the drug distribution charges involved the shipping of chemicals from
New Jersey for the manufacturing of methamphetamine that was shipped to
Hawaii inside Harley-Davidson motorcycles and motorcycle shipping crates.

The money laundering charges involved millions of dollars, investigators
said.

Kazarian's attorney, Malcolm Guleserian, argued that Ward was using Kazarian
for information and duped him.

"They had a friendship," Guleserian said. "The government made wide
speculative leaps."

Documents filed with the court alleged that Kazarian tipped ring members on
the status of police investigations. Prosecutors said Kazarian advised Ward
to not deposit money into a bank account to prevent the government from
finding it.

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Drug czar backs medical cannabis (The BBC says the British government's drug
czar, Keith Hellawell, has told BBC News Online he supports the use of
cannabis for medicinal purposes. He also said it would not be "a tragedy" if
one of his six grandchildren experimented with drugs. And he rejected the
notion of a "slippery slope" from cannabis use to drugs that, in his phrase,
cause "most harm" - heroin and cocaine.)

From: GranVizier@webtv.net
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1999 19:36:28 -0400 (EDT)
To: cp@telelists.com
Subject: [cp] UK: Drug czar backs medical cannabis

Tuesday, June 8, 1999
Published at 12:02 GMT 13:02 UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk_politics/newsid_363000/363857.stm
UK Politics

Drug czar backs medical cannabis

A campaigner takes part in a cannabis experiment

The government's drug czar, Keith Hellawell, has told BBC News Online he
supports the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes.

Keith Hellawell: "This country is leading research to see the effects of
cannabis derivatives." He also said it would not be "a tragedy" if one of
his six grandchildren experimented with drugs.

Mr Hellawell said the government was working hard to complete tests on
cannabis, which could make it available to cancer patients and others.

"I support the use of cannabis on medical grounds," he said. "I also
have a great deal of sympathy because I've met a lot of people who have
got genuine illnesses and feel that this substances can help them."

Keith Hellawell: "I support the use of cannabis on medical grounds." But
the drug czar said cannabis could not be made available on prescription
immediately as tests had to be completed first.

He added that it appeared the "active" element of cannabis, known as
THC, may not be the component responsible for pain relief.

"We're leading in this country in supporting medical and clinical
research to see the effects of cannabis derivatives in the treatment in
a broad range of ailments," he said.

The 'myth' about legalisation

The drug czar said he did not expect cannabis to be legalised at any
point in the foreseeable future.

Keith Hellawell: "Unless all drugs were freely available, you would
still have a marketplace."

"Even the Netherlands had signed a United Nations treaty opposing making
any drugs freely available, while decriminalisation in that country had
not solved the problem.

"If we take Holland the restricted use of drugs in Holland has not
undermined the drug economy.

The Dutch approach to cannabis has not reduced crime, the drug czar
argues.

"They have got substantial problems with drugs dealers who deal in other
substances. There's a myth that if we legalise a substance it would
somehow take the illegality out of it."

Mr Hellawell said he did not see any benefits in Britain following the
Dutch model, although he would not say it had failed.

"We have a system where the police are able to caution people rather
than take them to court - that is not the case in Holland or in other
countries. So each country deals with it in its own way."

He rejected the suggestion he might have a different opinion without the
influence of politicians such as Prime Minister Tony Blair and Home
Secretary Jack Straw.

"Not at all, I advise them," he said. "My position is adviser to the
prime minister and the government of Great Britain, so they're following
my advice."

'Not a normal part of childhood'

The drug czar rejected the notion of a "slippery slope" from cannabis
use to drugs that, in his phrase, cause "most harm" - heroin and
cocaine.

Leah Betts died after taking ecstasy: The consequences of
experimentation can be tragic.

"I used to be able to say I'd never met a heroin addict who hadn't
started with smoking cannabis. That's now not the case."

He admitted it would not necessarily be a tragedy if a young person,
such as one of his grandchildren, tried drugs.

But he pointed out using drugs even once could have tragic consequences,
including death.

"It may not be a tragedy. I don't think it's a normal part of growing
up.

"I do take issue with this idea that drugs are normal for young people.
I speak to a lot of audiences of young people and they'd get very cross
if I said that because the majority of young people still do not use
drugs."

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[End]