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Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
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- Wed, 18 Mar 2015 04:20:21 PST

Lawmakers Introduce First-Ever Senate Measure Authorizing Medical Marijuana

"Today we join together to say enough is enough"

Washington, DC: Members of the US Senate for the first time have introduced legislation to amend the classification and regulation of cannabis for therapeutic purposes.

On Tuesday, Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States (CARERS) Act, which permits qualified patients, doctors, and businesses to engage in state-sanctioned behavior involving the production, sale, and use of medical cannabis without fear of federal prosecution. It states, "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provisions of this title relating to marihuana shall not apply to any person acting in compliance with State law relating to the production, possession, distribution, dispensation, administration, laboratory testing, or delivery of medical marihuana."

Although Congress enacted spending legislation in December seeking to similarly halt the Justice Department from interfering in state-sanctioned medical marijuana operations, that appropriation measure is set to expire in September.

Separate provisions in the Senate proposal reschedule marijuana at the federal level and remove the compound cannabidiol (CBD) from the Controlled Substances Act altogether. Additional provisions in the bill allow for financial institutions to legally provide services to medical marijuana businesses, permit VA doctors to authorize medical cannabis, and remove existing bureaucratic barriers that limit investigators from clinically studying the plant's safety and therapeutic efficacy.

"Our federal government has long overstepped the boundaries of common sense, fiscal prudence, and compassion" in regard to its marijuana policies, Sen. Booker stated at a press conference. "Today we join together to say enough is enough."

While numerous House measures have previously been introduced to amend federal marijuana policy, members of the US Senate have never before considered such reforms.

Commenting on the new measure, NORML Communications Director Erik Altieri said: "It is indicative of how far the movement to reform our nation's failed marijuana policies has come when a Republican presidential hopeful partners with two high profile Democrats to undo the war on cannabis consumers. While we ultimately believe marijuana should be descheduled from the Controlled Substances Act entirely, this legislation provides an excellent opportunity for Senate leaders to begin engaging in this broader discussion."


Study: Majority Of Medical Marijuana Patients Substitute Cannabis For Prescription Drugs

Providence, RI: The majority of qualified patients in Rhode Island who obtain cannabis from a state-licensed dispensary report having used it as an alternative to conventional prescription drugs, according to a demographic review of patient characteristics published in The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.

Investigators Brown University in Providence and the University of Arkansas reported that over two-thirds of respondents (69 percent) used cannabis to treat chronic pain and that the majority (56 percent) indicated that they had used cannabis as a substitute for pharmaceutical drugs, primarily opioids. Over 90 percent of respondents reported that cannabis was associated with fewer side effects than conventional pain medications.

Most respondents in the study possessed health insurance and had never received treatment for drug or alcohol use. Respondents represented about half of the total number of licensed patients in the state.

The study's findings support previous research "depicting synergistic effects between cannabis and opioid use for chronic pain, and suggests that many participants ... have a desire to reduce their own reliance on opioid medications," authors concluded.

Full text of the study, "Profiles of medicinal cannabis patients attending Compassion Centers in Rhode Island," appears in The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.


Study: Perceived Risk Of Marijuana Use Influenced By Gender, Age, Household Income

Baltimore, MD: Females are nearly twice as likely as males to perceive the regular use of marijuana as risky behavior, according findings published online ahead of print in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Investigators at John Hopkins University and Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health analyzed data from 614,579 participants in the 2002-2012 National Survey on Drug Use and correlated demographic characteristics with subjects' beliefs regarding marijuana's perceived risks.

Researchers reported that female subjects, non-whites, participants over the age of 50 and those with a family income between $20,000 and $49,000 were most likely to believe that cannabis posed a serious threat. By contrast, those least likely to perceive marijuana as risky were between the ages of 18 and 25, had completed high school and/or college and reported a total family income of $75,000 or more.

"The sex differences in perceived risk of regular cannabis use observed in our study are consistent with reports from others showing male-female differences in perceived risk of substance use in general," said Dr. Silvia Martins, a co-author of the study.

Among all respondents, those perceiving "great risk" from cannabis fell significantly in recent years, from 51 percent in 2002 to 40 percent in 2012. Among female respondents, 47 percent perceived cannabis use to be risky in 2012, down from 59 percent in 2002.

National polling data published by the Pew Research Center in 2013 reported that 57 percent of men and 48 percent of women were in favor of legalizing cannabis.

Full text of the study, "Perceived risk of regular cannabis use in the United States from 2002 to 2012: Differences by sex, age, and race/ethnicity," appears online in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.


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