[Courtesy of Americans for Safe Access]

For Immediate Release: June 14, 2008
Contact: ASA Media Liaison Kris Hermes at (510) 681-6361 or AMA-MSS member Sunil Aggarwal at (206) 375-3785

Medical Student Section of AMA Unanimously Endorses Medical Marijuana
Resolution proceeds to AMA House of Delegates for a vote in November

Chicago, IL -- The Medical Student Section (MSS) of the American Medical Association (AMA) unanimously approved a resolution yesterday urging the AMA to support the reclassification of marijuana for medical use. The AMA is currently holding its annual conference in Chicago and is making a number of policy decisions over the next few days. The MSS will send the resolution to the AMA House of Delegates for a final vote at its interim meeting in November. With nearly 50,000 members, the MSS is the largest and most influential organization of medical students in the United States.

"While it is an historic occasion for any section of the AMA to endorse medical marijuana, the MSS is merely affirming existing science and urging the adoption of a sensible medical marijuana policy," said medical student and AMA-MSS member Sunil Aggarwal, who is leading the effort to seek AMA endorsement. "As a future medical doctor, I look forward to exploring and utilizing the many medical benefits of cannabinoid medicines in patient care."

Aggarwal is also supported by many of his colleagues in the AMA already in the field of medicine. "This is a positive and necessary step in the right direction," said Dr. David Ostrow, a member of the AMA and Chair of the Medical & Scientific Advisory Board of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the country's largest medical marijuana advocacy organization. "We are hopeful that the full house of delegates will follow the example set by the American College of Physicians earlier this year and vote to support this resolution, thereby placing the needs and safety of our patients above politics."

The American College of Physicians (ACP) adopted a resolution in February, on which the AMA-MSS resolution is based. Like the AMA-MSS resolution, the ACP called for rescheduling of marijuana and an expansion of research into its medical efficacy. The ACP, at 124,000 members, is ranked as the country's second largest physician group and the largest organization of doctors of internal medicine.

Since 1996, twelve U.S. states have adopted medical marijuana laws, and in 2002 a Times/CNN poll showed that 80% of Americans support access to physician-recommended medical marijuana.

‘A Climate for Change’ is a 2-day summit, with post-summit professional development workshops, that will inform, enliven and expand your understanding of addiction.

A number of our readers wrote in this weekend to point out that drug czar John Walters was stumping the "marijuana causes mental illness" bandwagon. It was probably inevitable. After all, a year ago we reported, "Reefer Madness Strikes a Leading British Newspaper," and this and other spurious claims have continued to emanate from various outlets and agencies ever since.

Still, propaganda is no less irritating for having anticipated it. So I could only sigh when I received a copy of a New York Times story that a member had forwarded, with his note "Walters is at it again." The article did quote people on the other side, which is good. But there's no way around the headline, which is what most people will ever read and which did not reflect any controversy or disagreement over the drug czar's claims.

Master stats and criminology expert Matthew Robinson (author of the famed "Lies, Damn Lies, and Drug War Statistics" picked a similar title for his detailed critique of Walters, "Here We Go Again: White House Makes Scary Claims About Marijuana." I'll leave it to readers to follow the link for the bulk of Robinson's analysis, but the major thing to keep in mind is that Walters has not met the three-level burden of proof to back up his claims. Those levels are the following:

1. One must show a correlation. Marijuana use and mental illness have to show up in many of the same people. That might not be so hard to demonstrate, but the reason for the correlation may be as simple as the fact that lots of people use marijuana, so most physicial or psychological issues may be represented among its users. Which leads to the second needed level:
2. One must show a temporal order. That is, it is necessary to prove that marijuana use preceded the onset of mental illness. If marijuana use began later, there obviously is no causation. Even if they start at about the same time, there may be no causation.
3. And then there is a third, very crucial intellectual requirement for drawing the conclusion that marijuana use causes mental illness. That is the need to demonstrate a "lack of spuriousness" -- which means eliminating the possibility that other factors could have led to both the marijuana use and the mental illness. For example, physical or other life issues may have led an individual to become depressed, and that person may have then begun using marijuana because of being depressed. Or there could be biological or personality factors that make both depression and drug use more likely. Or there could be other things going on.

And now you know more about statistics than the drug czar does. :)

[Courtesy of Marijuana Policy Project] 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 17, 2008

Study Confirms Medical Marijuana Pain Relief
University of California Clinical Trial Shows Relief of Neuropathic Pain, Mild Side Effects

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications, 202-215-4205

DAVIS, CALIFORNIA -- A clinical trial conducted at the University of California at Davis and just published online by the Journal of Pain has demonstrated significant relief of neuropathic pain (pain caused by damage to nerves) stemming from a variety of causes. This is the second study in just over a year to show that marijuana relieves neuropathic pain, which is notoriously resistant to treatment with conventional pain drugs, including opioid narcotics. A UC San Francisco study published last year showed relief of HIV/AIDS-related neuropathy.

    In the new study, 38 patients experiencing neuropathic pain from diabetes, spinal injury, multiple sclerosis and other causes were given marijuana cigarettes of three different strengths: Zero percent THC (placebo), 3.5 percent THC or 7 percent THC. In each session, patients took the same number of puffs, following a standardized procedure to ensure uniformity of the dose received at each strength.

    Both doses of marijuana reduced pain significantly, producing marked declines in pain intensity that lasted over five hours. Researchers Barth Wilsey and colleagues wrote that side effects "were relatively inconsequential," and "psychoactive effects were minimal and well-tolerated." Although the scientists did express caution about the neurocognitive effects of the higher dose -- reflected in lower scores on some tests of memory and problem solving, the study was not designed to examine the potential for marijuana to allow reduced doses of narcotic painkillers that also cause cognitive impairment, a benefit widely reported by patients. For a copy of the complete study, contact MPP director of communications Bruce Mirken at 202-215-4205.

    "This is yet more proof that the American College of Physicians was right that U.S. government policy on medical marijuana is totally divorced from scientific reality," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "Congress needs to act to end the federal war on medical marijuana, but in the meantime states should act on their own to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest, as several states are considering right now."

    States where legislators are presently considering medical marijuana legislation include Illinois, New York and Minnesota. A medical marijuana initiative has qualified for Michigan's November ballot.

    With more than 23,000 members and 180,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

####

2008 global conference on methamphetamine: science, strategy, and response        prague, september 15 – 16

<http://www.globalmethconference.com>

Abstract Submission Deadline ENDS April 22nd, 2008

Abstract Submission Guidelines

Topics and areas to be discussed include
 
Regional Updates  / Pharmacology / Enforcement Programs  / Clandestine Drug Cleanup / The Matrix Model of Treatment / Women and Methamphetamine / Latest Research /Health Consequences /  Policy  / Prosecution Issues / Trafficking / Toxicology / Innovative Interventions / Replacement Therapies / Prevention and Education / Hepatitis A, B, & C Virus / HIV Risk Behavior / Methamphetamine and Reproductive Health / Treatment / Youth and Use / Patterns of Use / Harm Reduction / innovative Interventions / Use Among MSM / Trafficking  / Community-based Coalitions / Injection Drug Use / Epidemiology

1) Individual proposals for presentations are welcome.
 
2) Presentation formats may include
 
Individual papers
    Reports on research-in-progress

luciano.colonna@globalmeth.com
+00 (1) 801 635 7736 (USA mobile)
+44 (0) 208 987 6021 (London tell)
+44 (0) 208 994 1533 (London fax)
lucianocolonna (skype)

[Courtesy of Americans for Safe Access]

Dear ASA Supporter,

Dr. Donald Abrams of University of California, San Francisco needs individuals who are currently using Oxycontin or MS Contin to join an important medical cannabis study! This research could potentially provide clinical proof that when added to conventional narcotic pain drugs, marijuana can provide added relief and often allow much-reduced doses of these dangerous narcotics.

Dr. Abrams has conducted numerous groundbreaking medical marijuana studies and you could be involved in his next historic project! Time is of the essence, be one of two dozen people to impact medical marijuana research for the future.

In order to ensure that this necessary research continues and is a success, Dr. Abrams is seeking out individuals who meet the following qualifications:

To qualify, you must:

Be taking either OxyContin or MS Contin (or Kadian) twice daily;

Have smoked marijuana at least 6 times in the past;

Be willing NOT to smoke marijuana for a month prior to screening for the study;

Be willing not to smoke cigarettes at least 2 weeks prior to screening and through the study;

Be 18 years or older;

Meet some additional criteria;

And you cannot:

Be pregnant, trying to become pregnant, or breastfeeding;

Be on chemo, radiation, or other cancer therapy;

Be currently using alcohol or recreational drugs;

Have kidney or liver failure, severe heart problems, high blood pressure, lung disease or a severe psychiatric disorder.

The study takes place at San Francisco General Hospital, in the clinical research center, and is a 5-day inpatient stay. Participants may be eligible to receive up to $520.00 for travel reimbursements. You can read more about the study here: www.AmericansforSafeAccess.org/AbramsPainStudy

How to Get Involved:
If you meet the qualifications above and are interested in participating in this historical research please contact Paul Couey at: 415-476-9554 ext 315 or e-mail at: pcouey@php.ucsf.edu. Let Paul know you found out about this study from ASA.

If you do not meet the criteria above, there is still an important role for you to play! Please forward this message on to any lists you belong to, any community members you know might be interested, and your family and friends!

If you have questions about the study or need more information, please contact Sonnet@AmericansforSafeAccess.org

Sincerely,

Sonnet Seeborg Gabbard
Field Coordinator
Americans for Safe Access

This free public seminar will present the latest data from the BC Alcohol and Other Drug Monitoring System, a multi-site and multi-component collaborative project which reports patterns of substance use (alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs) and related harms across BC.

Abstract Submission Deadline extended to April 22nd, 2008!

Abstract Submission Guidelines Topics and areas to be discussed include:

Pharmacology * Research * Trafficking * Treatment * Policy * Mental Health * Global Markets * HIV * Hepatitis * Community Education * Law Enforcement * Women *Trafficking * Production * Epidemiology * Demand Reduction * Harm Reduction * Public Health * MSM Sexual Risk * Youth * Environmental Issues * Commerce * Rapid Assessment* Replacement Therapy * Injection Drug Use * Asia * Prescribed Usage * Central Asia * Eastern Europe * Caribbean * Latin America * Oceania * North America * Western & Central Europe * Sub-Saharan Africa

1) Individual proposals for presentations are welcome.

2) Presentation formats may include individual papers, reports on research-in-progress, round-table discussions, topic-centred workshops, or a format more appropriate to your own work.

- Please indicate your presentation format in your proposal.

- Please make sure that your proposal identifies the language you wish to present in.

3) Please send a 250-word proposal - along with a short bio - to the email address below.

- Your abstract should not contain more than 250 words.

- No abstract will be accepted without a short bio.

Please send your abstract to abstracts@globalmethconference.com.

The Deadline for abstract submissions is April 22, 2008, 20:00 GMT. Speakers will be notified by May 2nd, 2008.

Please email Luciano Colonna at luciano.colonna@globalmeth.com with any questions or concerns.

Register now and benefit from the standard registration fee until June 1, 2008.

Hotel and travel information can be found at www.globalmethconference.com

Washington, D.C.: Communities are bearing the cost of a massive explosion in the jail population which has nearly doubled in less than two decades, according to a new report released today by the Justice Policy Institute (JPI). The research found that jails are now warehousing more people--who have not been found guilty of any crime--for longer periods of time than ever before. The research shows that in part due to the rising costs of bail, people arrested today are much more likely to serve jail time before trial than they would have been twenty years ago, even though crime rates are nearly at the lowest levels in thirty years.

"Crime rates are down, but you're more likely to serve time in jail today than you would have been twenty years ago," said the report's co-author Amanda Petteruti. "Jail bonds have skyrocketed, so that means if you're poor, you do time. People are being punished before they're found guilty-justice is undermined."

The report, Jailing Communities: The Impact of Jail Expansion and Effective Public Safety Strategies, found jail population growth (22 percent), is having serious consequences for communities that are now paying tens of billions yearly to sustain jails. Jails are filled with people with drug addictions, the homeless and people charged with immigration offenses. The report concludes that jails have become the "new asylums," with six out of 10 people in jail living with a mental illness.

The impact of increased jail imprisonment is not borne equally by all members of a community. New data reveal that Latinos are most likely to have to pay bail, have the highest bail amounts, are least likely to be able to pay and, by far, the least likely to be released prior to trial. African Americans are nearly five times as likely to be incarcerated in jails as whites and almost three times as likely as Latinos. Further exacerbating jail crowding problems is the increase in the number of people being held in jails for immigration violations-up 500 percent in the last decade.

In 2004, local governments spent a staggering $97 billion on criminal justice, including police, the courts and jails. Over $19 billion of county money went to financing jails alone. By way of comparison, during the same time period, local governments spent just $8.7 billion
on libraries and only $28 billion on higher education.

"These counties just cannot afford to invest the bulk of their local public safety budget in jails, and we are beginning to see why--the more a community relies on jails, the less it has to invest in education, employment and proven public safety strategies," says Nastassia Walsh, co-author of the report.

Research shows that places that increased their jail populations did not necessarily see a drop in violent crimes. Falling jail incarceration rates are associated with declining violent crime rates in some of the country's largest counties and cities, like New York City.

"The investment in building more jail beds is not making communities safer," says Derrick Johnson, NAACP National Board member. "Instead these investments serve only to unfairly target communities of color and waste taxpayer dollars."

The report recommends that communities take action to reduce their jail populations and increase public safety by:

* Improving release procedures for pretrial and sentenced populations. Implementing pretrial release programs that release people from jail before trial can help alleviate jail populations. Reforming bail guidelines would allow a greater number of people to post bail, leaving space open in jails for people who may pose a greater threat to public safety.

* Developing and implementing alternatives to incarceration. Alternatives such as community-based corrections would permit people to be removed from the jail, allowing them to continue to work, stay with their families, and be part of the community, while under supervision.

* Re-examining policies that lock up individuals for nonviolent crimes. Reducing the number of people in jail for nonviolent offenses leaves resources and space available for people who may need to be detained for a public safety reason.

* Diverting people with mental health and drug treatment needs to the public health system and community-based treatment. People who suffer from mental health or substance abuse problems are better served by receiving treatment in their community. Treatment is more cost-effective than incarceration and promotes a positive public safety agenda.

* Diverting spending on jail construction to agencies that work on community supervision and make community supervision effective. Reallocating funding to probation services will allow people to be placed in appropriate treatment or other social services and is a less costly investment in public safety.

* Providing more funding for front-end services such as education, employment, and housing. Research has shown that education, employment, drug treatment, health care, and the availability of affordable housing coincide with lower crime rates.

For more information on Jailing Communities, contact LaWanda Johnson at 202-558-7974, ext. 308.

###

The Justice Policy Institute is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank dedicated to ending society's reliance on incarceration and promoting effective and just solutions to social problems. For more information, visit www.justicepolicy.org.

Hosted by the NYU Wagner Criminal Justice Student Group, the Students of African Descent Alliance, and the Correctional Association of NY.

Join leading academicians, activists, political figures and lawyers in a discussion on a critical, oft neglected, public policy issue of the day: how police, prosecutorial and prison related practices lead to the dramatically disproportionate confinement of poor people of color.

The eighth biennial Tucson conference continues an interdisciplinary tradition of intense, far-ranging and rigorous discussions on all approaches to the the fundamental issue of how the brain produces conscious experience.

The World Psychedelic Forum with over 60 seminars, lectures, and panel discussions, presented by more than 50 experts, and some 30 young researchers from all over the world, with a rich audio-visual supporting program, and a variety of external events during three nights offers a unique Easter weekend in Basel for the young and the young at heart, for the interested lay persons, as well as the professional, a gathering you will never forget!

Please join us for this seminal event, which starts Monday evening, March 31 and continues with an all-day program on Tuesday, April 1. The evening program is free of charge. The early bird rate for the all-day program including lunch is $125 if you register before March 17. If you are ready to register for the symposium, go to the online registration form at www.keepingthedooropen.com.

Patients Out of Time is pleased to announce, and invite you to, this amazing conference.

Please join us for international experts representing the latest research and exciting developments in the knowledge and understanding of the unique properties of medical cannabis/marijuana.

Dr. John P. Morgan, one of the leading supporters of drug policy reform within the medical and academic worlds, died last Friday in New York City at age 67.

What happens when a diverse group of drug policy experts from throughout North America convene to discuss solutions to the world drug problem? They begin by agreeing that the drug war must end.

Beyond 2008 is a worldwide forum sponsored by the United Nations to solicit expert testimony evaluating the UN's international drug strategy. The north American conference, which just concluded in Vancouver, brought together an impressive coalition of AIDS organizations, public health groups, human rights advocates, treatment specialists, former police officers, substance abuse researchers, academics, government officials, and others.

Perhaps unintentionally, the UN had created an unprecedented opportunity for a broad coalition of interested parties to articulate their consensus that the time for drug policy reform has come.

As long as the U.S-style "war on drugs" continues, criminals will control what drugs are sold, how much they cost, how deadly those drugs are, and how young their customers will be.

That was the message delivered yesterday by Jack Cole, a retired New Jersey police officer who spent 26 years making arrests in connection with "billions of dollars in cocaine and heroin" as well as other drugs. [The Province]

Surprised to find themselves outnumbered and outclassed, the drug warriors in attendance struggled to retain their composure. Some failed:

Cole's message at the conference drew criticism from Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former speechwriter for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, who is now with Project: Sundial (Supporting United Nations Drug Initiatives and Legislation).

Sabet criticized the Vancouver forum for being made up "80 per cent" by "people who all agree with each other."

The observation that the experts are lined up against him is easily the most accurate claim ever made by this former speechwriter for the Drug Czar. It is typical of the authoritarian drug warrior mindset to conclude that this overwhelming consensus undermines the event's credibility rather than his own.

But this was no hempfest. This was a UN forum featuring respected experts with vast experience and impressive credentials. Their motives could not be impugned. Their agenda could not have been more transparent. They are the voices of everything that is true and real in the drug war debate and their consensus is a force that cannot be dismissed with the flippant pothead jokes and statistical shell-games we've come to expect from the likes of Kevin Sabet.

The drug policy reform consensus is a value statement reached through contemplation not naivety, compassion not selfishness, research not rhetoric, and hope not surrender. That our arguments are increasingly visible in any serious drug policy discussion is no coincidence or conspiracy. We'll fill every room, large or small, until peace is restored and this terrible war is banished into the bowels of history where it belongs.

Update: Kevin Sabet disagrees substantially with what I've written. His response is available here.

Please join us for this interesting forum in the nation's capital! The schedule includes:

DAY 1--

Medical Panels

Dana Beal: Mechanisms of Action
Dr. Ken Alper: Survey of worldwide use

Dr Jeff Kamlet: How to Give Ibogaine Safely

Phillip S. Smith, Writer/Editor

The latest annual Monitoring the Future survey of teen drug use was released Tuesday.

This panel seeks to provide an overview of the issues and challenges to the policies of harm reduction, both globally and domestically, with the goal of fostering discussion and reflection as to how we can advance this work in meaningful and effective ways. Although the focus will be on harm reduction policies specific to drug use, the panel will also explore the main tenets of harm reduction as applicable to other areas of public health.