Willie Nelson: “I Smoke Pot and it is None of the Government’s Business”

Click here to subscribe to NORMLtv and receive alerts whenever new content is added.

NORML Advisory board member, and long time cannabis law reform advocate, Willie Nelson recently filmed a new PSA for NORML. Check it out below or on NORMLtv.

“Let’s get the government out of our private lives, once and for all, and stop arresting smokers. Let’s take a stand for personal freedom.” – Willie Nelson

Be sure to tune in to NORMLtv every week to catch up on the latest marijuana news. Subscribe to NORMLtv or follow us on Twitter to be notified as soon as new content is added.

Breaking: Clinical Trial Data Yet Again Affirms Cannabis’ Efficacy

Is it any wonder that the US government fights tooth-and-nail to hinder researchers’ attempts to conduct clinical trials assessing the therapeutic utility of cannabis as a medicine? After all, each and every time the federal government begrudgingly allows for such studies they’re faced with credibility-shattering results like this:

Marijuana relieves muscles tightness, pain of multiple sclerosis: Study
via the Toronto Star

Smoking marijuana can relieve muscle tightness, spasticity (contractions) and pain often experienced by those with multiple sclerosis, says research out of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

The findings, just published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, included a controlled trial with 30 participants to understand whether inhaled cannabis would help complicated cases where existing pharmaceuticals are ineffective or trigger adverse side effects.

MS is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain and spinal cord.

The disease attacks the myelin, the protective covering wrapped around the nerves of the central nervous system, and — among other symptoms — can cause loss of balance, impaired speech, extreme fatigue, double vision and paralysis.

The average age of the research participants was 50 years with 63 per cent of the study population female.

More than half the participants needed walking aids and 20 per cent used wheelchairs.

Rather than rely on self-reporting by patients regarding their muscle spasticity — a subjective measure — health professionals rated each patient’s joints on the modified Ashworth scale, a common objective tool to evaluate intensity of muscle tone.

The researchers found that the individuals in the group that smoked cannabis experienced an almost one-third decrease on the Ashworth scale — 2.74 points from a baseline score of 9.3 — meaning spasticity improved, compared to the placebo group.

As well, pain scores decreased by about 50 per cent.

“We saw a beneficial effect of smoked cannabis on treatment-resistant spasticity and pain associated with multiple sclerosis among our participants,” says Dr. Jody Corey-Bloom of the university’s department of neuroscience.

To those familiar with medicinal cannabis research, the results are hardly surprising. After all, Sativex — an oral spray containing plant cannabis extracts — is already legal by prescription to treat MS-related symptoms in over a dozen countries, including Canada, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Spain. Further, long-term assessments of the drug indicate that in addition to symptom management, cannabinoids may also play a role in halting the course of the disease.

Nevertheless, the National MS Society — like the US government — shares little enthusiasm for cannabis medicine, stating, “Studies completed thus far have not provided convincing evidence that marijuana or its derivatives provide substantiated benefits for symptoms of MS.”

Patient advocacy organizations, like the MS Society, have a responsibility to represent the interests of their constituents and to advise practitioners regarding best treatment practices. Why then does this responsibility not extend to patients who use cannabis as an alternative treatment therapy or to those that might one day potentially benefit from its use?

US Representatives Debate Defunding DEA’s Ability to Raid Medical Marijuana States

UPDATE: Full C-SPAN video of the entire debate below –”R”R

[Update: Like previous vote totals for spending amendments to stop the federal government from spending tax dollars harassing state-sanctioned cannabisbusinesses and patients, unfortunately this vote too lost by virtually the same margins, 262-163, with 135 Democrats and 28 Republicans supporting the amendment.]

One of my favorite things about hosting NORML SHOW LIVE is the ability to break in with live coverage of events that are important to the cannabis community. Thanks to a timely tweet from SSDP, our associate producer Kaliko Castille tracked down the live C-SPAN coverage of a debate in the US House over an amendment that would defund the DEA from being able to prosecute raids in medical marijuana states. We interrupted our replay of a video interview with Dr. Donald Tashkin to cover the news.

I wish we would have broken in earlier to hear the remarks from Rep. Nadler and the other representatives who spoke on the issue. Full coverage of the debate should be up on C-SPAN’s website soon. For now, enjoy the remarks of Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO). Then recoil back to reality with Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) comparing medical marijuana to sex trafficking and a voice vote dominated by bellowing Republicans to kill the amendment.

Connecticut Will Be 17th State To Legalize Medical Marijuana

After a raucous debate last night that lasted longer than anticipated, the Connecticut senate passed a medical cannabis bill approved by the House earlier in the session that will now head to Governor Dannel Malloy’s willing pen for signature.

With Connecticut passing a medical cannabis bill, approximately one third of the US population now resides in a state that has decided to act in favor of it’s citizens’ will, as compared to the remarkably recalcitrant federal government, which, moronically, still insists cannabis is a dangerous ‘narcotic’ and has no accepted medical value what so ever.

Congratulations to Connecticut NORML and it’s coordinator Erik Williams for leading the charge to write and pass this important and affirming legislation (Erik and company had previously worked the legislature hard in 2011 to pass cannabis decriminalization laws)!

"Today is a day of hope, compassion and dignity and I thank all of the legislators who worked hard on this legislation and who voted to pass this bill," said Erik Williams, Executive Director of Connecticut NORML. "I am so happy for all the patients who will have another medicinal option to discuss with their doctor and for all of those currently suffering with debilitating conditions who will no longer suffer the indignity of being sick and a criminal."

The statewide efforts of Connecticut NORML resulted in tens of thousands of phone calls, emails, patient and legislator meetings, and letters to legislators. "Patients and doctors told their stories and asked legislators to tell them ‘No, you haven’t suffered enough,’" said Williams. "Many others stressed that this bill did medical marijuana the correct way and that Connecticut had an opportunity to be a leader in America on this issue. Our strategy and dedication has obviously paid off."

Connecticut’s bill creates guidelines and regulations for cultivation centers and dispensaries.

Read more about Connecticut’s new medical cannabis law here.

The New England clean sweep may happen this year with the New Hampshire legislature possibly overriding the Governor’s oft veto of their medical cannabis bills next week. In Massachusetts, this November voters are expected to approve by a large margin a medical cannabis legalization initiative (in 2008 Massachusetts voters approved a decriminalization initiative by a whopping sixty five percent).

From west to east, the states with legal protections for lawful medical cannabis patients are: Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, Colorado, Michigan, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont and Maine (as well as the District of Columbia).

Help us reform the marijuana laws in your state by making a donation to NORML today! Together we WILL legalize cannabis.

NORML to Protest D.E.A. Imprisonment, Starvation of UCSD Student

Contact: Michael Cindrich (619) 262-2500 | Lance Rogers (619) 333-6882

Please be advised that on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 4:20 p.m., the local chapter of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) will protest the Drug Enforcement Administration’s detention of UCSD Engineering student Daniel Chong for five days without food and water. The protest will take place outside of the DEA office compound at 4560 Viewridge Avenue in San Diego. If you can’t be in San Diego, show your solidarity by joining the protest live online at live.norml.org.

According to news reports, Chong was arrested for smoking marijuana at a 4/20 party with other UCSD students. He was transported to a DEA holding cell and then forgotten about. During his five days in the federal cell, Chong had no access to food, water, or access to the outside world. He was forced to drink his own urine to stay alive. At one point, Chong broke his glasses with his teeth and used the glass shards to attempt suicide. He attempted to carve the words "Sorry Mom" into his arm. According to Chong, he "pretty much lost (his) mind" during the ordeal.

NORML advocates for the full legalization of marijuana so that innocent users such as Daniel Chong are not subjected to torture at the hands of the DEA. Over 20 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana offenses since 1965. NORML believes that the time has come to amend criminal prohibition and replace it with a system of legalization, regulation, and education.

More information can be found at San Diego NORML’s Facebook page.