NORML news

A couple of items of interest from NORML this week. The ACLU has joined a lawsuit against the DEA for denying the UMASS researchers a license to grow research grade marijuana as part of clinical testing for its medical use.

The DEA rejected [the UMASS] application in December 2004, stating that the establishment of a cannabis production facility "would not be consistent with public interest" because marijuana is "the most heavily abused of all Schedule I controlled substances," and that NIDA's crop was of "sufficient quality" to meet researchers' present needs. The agency further noted that it discouraged research investigating the medical utility of smoked cannabis, stating, "Smoked marijuana ... ultimately cannot be the permitted delivery system for any potential marijuana medication due to the deleterious effects and the difficulty monitoring the efficaciousness of smoked marijuana."

Complete BS of course. Read that as the DEA won't authorize anything with even the remotest possibility of proving the medicinal value of cannabis because it would render their cushy jobs as prohibitionists obsolete.

On a brighter note, the March issue of the Journal of TRAUMA Injury, Infection, and Critical Care published the findings of researchers at the State University of New York proving that marijuana smoking alone has not been responsible for trauma related injuries in emergency rooms, contrary to John Walters and the DEA's assertions to the contrary.

NORML Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano notes, "Among trauma patients requiring hospitalization, cannabis is rarely mentioned independent of other drugs. More importantly, cannabis use alone is not associated with the sort of serious or violent injuries that are typically correlated with the use of alcohol and cocaine - two substances that, unlike marijuana, often increase aggressive or risk-taking behavior among users."

We of course knew this. You simply don't smoke marijuana and feel like committing violent acts, unless you count, for instance, devouring a whole box of Oreos as violence.