February 16, 2007 -Drug Policy Forum: Lenexa KS, Sunday, Feb. 18th, 3 p.m. -KS Legislature: HB 2359 Sale of Drug Paraphernalia -Medical Marijuana: Research News & DEA Ruling -Lou Dobbs: Drug War is Failure -North Dakota: Hemp Licenses Issued -Next Volunteer Meeting February 24, 1 p.m. The Drug Policy Forum of Kansas is a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations are tax-deductible. Thank you to everyone who donated to DPFKS in 2006! Your contribution does make a difference! Drug Policy Forum This Weekend Tri-County Libertarians present: The War on Drugs: No-brainer or Insanity? Sunday, February 18, 3 p.m., with Laura Green, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Forum of Kansas and Brian Leininger, of Law Enforcement against Prohibition. Lenexa Community Center (AB room) 13420 Oak Street; Lenexa, KS 66215 Law Proposes Making Sales of Paraphernalia Illegal in KS HB 2359, a bill that would clarify certain definitions of drug paraphernalia and would increase penalties for possessing certain drug paraphernalia if the offense occurs within 1,000 feet of a school. Read our policy paper on this bill and why the legislature is short-changing Kansas kids. (Hint to Lawmakers in Topeka: Drug control strategies that include effective drug education are what deter kids from using drugs, not more laws!) Journal Neurology Reports Marijuana Useful for Intense Pain This month the medical journal Neurology reports on research conducted by Dr. Donald Abrams, of the University of California at San Francisco using smoked marijuana in HIV patients. The research found that; "Smoked cannabis was well tolerated and effectively relieved chronic neuropathic pain from HIV-associated sensory neuropathy." Patients suffering from peripheral neuropathy can feel as if their hands and feet are on fire, or as if they're being stabbed with a knife. Neuropathic pain — that is, pain caused by damage to the nerves — is also common in several other illnesses, including multiple sclerosis Since the advent of AIDS, medical practitioners have been able to do very little to ease the suffering caused by neuropathy. Indeed, there are no FDA-approved treatments for peripheral neuropathy in HIV patients. Even powerful, dangerous, and highly addictive narcotic painkillers are often ineffective in mitigating this pain. Read the abstract of the journal article here. This is one more article in a long list of medical research validating what patients have been telling doctors--smoked marijuana is effective medicine in some cases. Why then does the government continue to deny and arrest people who use marijuana with the recommendation of their physician? "I can state confidently, as a physician with extensive practice and specialized expertise in pain management that marijuana can prove, and has proven, medically useful to at least some chronic pain patients." --Dr. Richard Gracer, Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management. DEA Administrative Judge Overturns Government Pot Farm Monopoly Professor Lyle Craker of the University of Mass., Amherst, working with the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) started petitioning the DEA six years ago to allow him to grow marijuana at the University. He wanted to use the plant to supply researchers around the country who had legitimate research purposes, but were unable to obtain it from the government's supply. The DEA, citing the University of Mississippi's 36-year monopoly on growing "official" marijuana, refused Prof. Craker's request. So he sued them. Opining that the government's supply of marijuana was 'inadequate' for researchers who have a valid need to use the substance in research, the judge ruled in favor of Professor Craker's application. "For too long the DEA has inappropriately inserted politics into a regulatory process that should be left to the FDA and medical science," said Allen Hopper, an attorney with the ACLU Drug Law Reform project who help litigate the case in a press release. Now it's up to DEA top Administrator Karen Tandy who has 20 days to either agree or disagree with the judge's ruling. Learn more in the Judge's decision here. The University of Mississippi grows marijuana for research and also to supply the 5 remaining legal federal medical marijuana patients who receive 300 "joints" per month from the government under the Investigational New Drug program. The program was abruptly halted by former President Bush when thousands of applications from persons who were HIV-positive, or had AIDS, applied to receive the drug in the early 1990s. CNN's Conservative Host Calls War on Drugs "Forgotten" Lou Dobbs this week called the Drug Czar to task for suggesting that the war on drugs was being won, writing in a commentary piece on the network's web site, "Obviously, John Walters and I are not looking at the same statistics." Dobbs called the more than 22 million people who abuse drugs in the US and the lack of available treatment "incredible." He goes on to say "We're fighting a war that is inflicting even greater casualties than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and, incredibly, costing even more money." Dobbs calls for more treatment as the "only option" to "victory" in this war. Read the entire report on the CNN web site here. North Dakota Issues Licenses for Hemp Farmers According to a press release by the North Dakota Agriculture department the first license to grow industrial hemp, under a law passed by the legislature last year, was issued to state Rep. David Monson (R-Osnabrock). The assistant majority leader, who is also a farmer and strong proponent of industrial hemp, and other North Dakota would-be hemp farmers will now seek registration from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). But given the agency's hostile attitude toward hemp approval seems unlikely. Recently, the DEA refused to waive the non-refundable annual $2,293 registration fee, despite Johnson's request that it do so. Just this week, the North Dakota House passed two resolutions on the issue, urging Congress and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to allow farmers to grow the crop. At the federal level, Congress has tentatively waded into the debate, with pro-hemp legislation introduced by Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul. Although North Dakota has moved to make hemp farming legal, it remains illegal under federal law. While hemp products may be sold and consumed in the United States, federal law prohibits growing it here, so American farmers are forced to stand by and watch as imported hemp products cross the border from Canada and come overseas from Europe, where it is legally grown. Hemp can grow in all of the fifty US states. Kansas has not taken up the issue. Next Volunteer Meeting Saturday, February 24, 1 p.m. at the DPFKS offices 941 Kentucky Street, Lawrence, KS 785-841-8278 for more information. Won't you help us promote innovative drug policies by sending your tax-deductible donation today? Add yourself to our mailing list by going to our web site www.dpfks.org. To unsubscribe, reply to this message with the word unsubscribe Our mailing address is DPFKS, 941 Kentucky, Lawrence, Kansas 66044