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Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Tue, 06 May 2014 04:20:21 PST
Poll: Majority of Colorado Voters Positive About State's Experience With Legalization
Hamden, CT: Fifty-two percent of Colorado voters believe that legalizing cannabis has been "good" for the state and 54 percent say they are supportive of the new laws regulating the plant's retail production and sale, according to the results of a Quinnipiac University poll released this week.
Fifty-five percent of Colorado voters approved Amendment 64 in November 2012, which allows for the personal possession and cultivation of cannabis by those age 21 and older. Separate provisions in the law allow for the state-licensed commercial production and retail sale of cannabis and cannabis-infused products. Retail cannabis sales began on January 1 of this year.
Other results released by the Quinnipiac University poll include:
49 percent of voters admit they've tried marijuana, but only 15 percent admit using it since it became legal for sale on January 1;
Driving has not become more dangerous because of legalized marijuana, voters say 54 - 39 percent;
Legalized marijuana will save the state and taxpayers a significant amount of money, voters say 53 - 41 percent;
Legalized marijuana will have a positive impact on the state's criminal justice system, voters say 50 - 40 percent;
Legalized marijuana "increases personal freedoms in a positive way," voters say 53 - 44 percent;
Legalized marijuana has not "eroded the moral fiber" of people in Colorado, voters say 67 - 30 percent.
A strong majority of Democrats (69 percent) and Independents (56 percent), but not Republicans (28 percent) said that marijuana legalization has been good for the state.
The Quinnipiac poll possesses a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points.
Arizona: Supreme Court Rejects DUI Per Se Limit For THC Metabolites
Phoenix, AZ: The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled against a 1990 state law that classified the presence of inert THC metabolites in blood or urine as a per se traffic safety violation.
Carboxy-THC, the primary metabolite (breakdown product) of THC is not psychoactive. Because it is lipid soluble, the metabolite may remain detectable in blood or urine for periods of time that extend well beyond any suspected period of impairment. As a result, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration acknowledges, "It is ... currently impossible to predict specific effects based on THC-COOH concentrations."
Yet under Arizona law, the mere presence of carboxy THC - absent any evidence of behavioral impairment - was classified as a criminal violation of the state's traffic safety laws. (Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Utah impose similar statutes.) On April 22, the Court struck down this provision.
Writing for the majority, Justice Robert Brutinel opined: "The State's interpretation that 'its metabolite' includes any byproduct of a drug listed in § 13-3401 found in a driver's system leads to absurd results. ... Most notably, this interpretation would create criminal liability regardless of how long the metabolite remains in the driver's system or whether it has any impairing effect."
He added: "Additionally, this interpretation would criminalize otherwise legal conduct. In 2010, Arizona voters passed the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act ("AMMA"), legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. ... Because carboxy-THC can remain in the body for as many as twenty-eight to thirty days after ingestion, the State's position suggests that a medical-marijuana user could face prosecution for driving any time nearly a month after they had legally ingested marijuana."
The Court concluded: "Because the legislature intended to prevent impaired driving, we hold that the 'metabolite' reference in § 28-1381(A)(3) is limited to any of a proscribed substance's metabolites that are capable of causing impairment. Accordingly, ... drivers cannot be convicted of the (A)(3) offense based merely on the presence of a non-impairing metabolite that may reflect the prior usage of marijuana."
The Court did not address provisions in the state's per se DUI law outlawing the operation of a motor vehicle with any presence of THC in one's blood even though, according to NHTSA, "It is difficult to establish a relationship between a person's THC blood or plasma concentration and performance impairing effects."
Survey: Fibromyalgia Patients Report Subjective Relief From Cannabis
Golden, CO: Fibromyalgia patients who have tried cannabis say that it is more likely to relieve their symptoms than are conventional alternatives, according to the findings of an online survey of over 1,300 subjects conducted by The National Pain Foundation and NationalPainReport.com.
Of those surveyed, 379 respondents reported having used cannabis therapeutically. Sixty-two percent of them rated the substance to be "very effective" in the treatment of their condition. Only five percent of said that cannabis did "not work at all."
By comparison, among those who had used the prescription drug Cymbalta, only eight percent rated the drug as "very effective," and 60 percent said it did "not work at all." Among those who had used Lyrica, ten percent said that drug was "very effective," versus 61 percent who reported no relief. Among those who had used Savella, ten percent rated the drug as effective, and 68 percent said it was ineffective.
Each of the three prescription drugs assessed in the survey is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of fibromyalgia, a chronic pain syndrome characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and multiple tender points in the neck, spine, shoulders and hips. An estimated five million Americans are afflicted by fibromyalgia, which is often poorly controlled by standard pain medications.
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