If you really believe in what's right, go to my 360 page, and click my
feed.. great stuff!!!

Met my fiance here! hehe. Thought I should share it with any other guys who
are worried about ending up alone like I was. Check it out
http://www.thousandsmatchedhere.info/vzfs

Thought Id share something with ya'll. Great fun and it actually works. Met   my
girl on here, http://www.internetbar.info/igprt and so far it's been the best
year of my life! Wish you all the    same happiness.

>From: sashanova <sashanova@...>
>Reply-To: sashanova <sashanova@...>
>To: TheCrackwalker Peace <patootie1@...>
>Subject: Fwd: Fw: Old Dogs and Children, and Watermellon Wine
>Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 10:15:36 -0400
>
> >
> >
> >       Subject: Fw: Old Dogs and Children, and Watermellon Wine
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >                                 Hope you enjoy this since it is
> > purposely sent to all you old friends - and some young ones too ...
> >
> >                                 Mike's PlaceThe Fifties .
> >                                 Were you a kid in the Fifties or so ?
> > Everybody makes fun of our childhood!  Comedians joke.  Grandkids
> > snicker. Twenty-something's shudder and say "Eeeew!"  But was our
> > childhood really all that bad?  Judge for yourself:
> >
> >                                 In 1953 the US population was less
> > than 150 million . Yet you knew more people then, and knew them
> > better ...
> >                                 And that was good.
> >
> >
> >                                 The average annual salary was under
> > $3,000. Yet our parents could put some of it away for a rainy day and
> > still live a decent life . And that was good.
> >
> >
> >                                 A loaf of bread cost about 15 cents
> > ... But it was safe for a five-year-old to skate to the store and buy
> > one ...
> >                                 And that was good.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >                                 Prime-Time meant I Love Lucy, Ozzie
> > and Harriet, Gunsmoke and Lassie . So nobody ever heard of ratings or
> > filters .
> >                                 And that was good.
> >
> >
> >
> >                                 We didn't have air-conditioning ...
> > So the windows stayed up and half a dozen mothers ran outside when
> > you fell off your bike.
> >                                 And that was good.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >                                 Your teacher was either Miss Matthews
> > or Mrs. Logan or Mr. Adkins ... But not Ms Becky or Mr.Dan ... And
> > that was good.
> >
> >                                 The only hazardous material you knew
> > about ... Was a patch of grassburrs around the light pole at the
> > corner .
> >                                 And that was good.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >                                 You loved to climb into a fresh bed
> > ... Because sheets were dried
> >                                 on the clothesline . And that was
> > good.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >                                 People generally lived in the same
> > hometown with their relatives ... So "child care" meant grandparents
> > or aunts and uncles ... And that was good.
> >
> >                                 Parents were respected and their
> > rules were law ... Children did
> >                                 not talk back . And that was good.
> >
> >
> >                                 TV was in black-and-white . But all
> > outdoors was in glorious color ... And that was certainly good.
> >
> >                                 Your Dad knew how to adjust
> > everybody's carburetor ... And the Dad next door knew how to adjust
> > all the TV knobs .. And that
> >                                 was very good.
> >
> >
> >
> >                                 Your grandma grew snap beans in the
> > back yard ... And chickens behind the garage ... And that was
> > definitely good.
> >
> >                                 And just when you were about to do
> > something really bad ... Chances were you'd run into your Dad's high
> > school coach ... Or the nosy old lady from up the street . Or your
> > little sister's piano teacher ... Or somebody from Church . ALL of
> > whom knew your parents' phone number ... And YOUR first name .
> >                                 And even THAT was good! ~~~~~
> > REMEMBER .
> >
> >
> >
> >                                 Send this on to someone who can still
> > remember Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Laurel & Hardy, Abbott &
> > Costello, Sky King, Little Lulu comics, Brenda Starr, Howdy Doody and
> > The Peanut Gallery, The Lone Ranger, The Shadow Knows, Nellie Belle,
> > Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk as well as the sound of a reel
> > mower on Saturday morning, and summers filled with bike rides,
> > playing in cowboy land, playing hide and seek and kick-the-can and
> > Simon Says, baseball games, amateur shows at the local theater before
> > the Saturday matinee, bowling and visits to the pool...and eating
> > Kool-Aid powder with sugar, and wax lips and bubblegum cigars ...
> >
> >
> >
> >                                 Didn't that feel good, just to go
> > back and say, Yeah, I remember that!  And was it really that long
> > ago?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>______________________________________________________________________
>Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca


Peace
TheCrackwalker

by Robert Browning

I
My first thought was, he lied in every word,
That hoary cripple, with malicious eye
Askance to watch the workings of his lie
On mine, and mouth scarce able to afford
Suppression of the glee, that pursed and scored
Its edge, at one more victim gained thereby.

II
What else should he be set for, with his staff?
What, save to waylay with his lies, ensnare
All travellers who might find him posted there,
And ask the road? I guessed what skull-like laugh
Would break, what crutch 'gin write my epitaph
For pastime in the dusty thoroughfare.

III
If at his counsel I should turn aside
Into that ominous tract which, all agree,
Hides the Dark Tower. Yet acquiescingly
I did turn as he pointed, neither pride
Now hope rekindling at the end descried,
So much as gladness that some end might be.

IV
For, what with my whole world-wide wandering,
What with my search drawn out through years, my hope
Dwindled into a ghost not fit to cope
With that obstreperous joy success would bring,
I hardly tried now to rebuke the spring
My heart made, finding failure in its scope.

V
As when a sick man very near to death
Seems dead indeed, and feels begin and end
The tears and takes the farewell of each friend,
And hears one bit the other go, draw breath
Freelier outside, ('since all is o'er,' he saith
And the blow fallen no grieving can amend;')

VI
When some discuss if near the other graves
be room enough for this, and when a day
Suits best for carrying the corpse away,
With care about the banners, scarves and staves
And still the man hears all, and only craves
He may not shame such tender love and stay.

VII
Thus, I had so long suffered in this quest,
Heard failure prophesied so oft, been writ
So many times among 'The Band' to wit,
The knights who to the Dark Tower's search addressed
Their steps - that just to fail as they, seemed best,
And all the doubt was now - should I be fit?

VIII
So, quiet as despair I turned from him,
That hateful cripple, out of his highway
Into the path he pointed. All the day
Had been a dreary one at best, and dim
Was settling to its close, yet shot one grim
Red leer to see the plain catch its estray.

IX
For mark! No sooner was I fairly found
Pledged to the plain, after a pace or two,
Than, pausing to throw backwards a last view
O'er the safe road, 'twas gone; grey plain all round;
Nothing but plain to the horizon's bound.
I might go on, naught else remained to do.

X
So on I went. I think I never saw
Such starved ignoble nature; nothing throve:
For flowers - as well expect a cedar grove!
But cockle, spurge, according to their law
Might propagate their kind with none to awe,
You'd think; a burr had been a treasure trove.

XI
No! penury, inertness and grimace,
In some strange sort, were the land's portion. 'See
'Or shut your eyes,' said Nature peevishly,
'It nothing skills: I cannot help my case:
''Tis the Last Judgement's fire must cure this place
'Calcine its clods and set my prisoners free.'

XII
If there pushed any ragged thistle-stalk
Above its mates, the head was chopped, the bents
Were jealous else. What made those holes and rents
In the dock's harsh swarth leaves, bruised as to baulk
All hope of greenness? Tis a brute must walk
Pashing their life out, with a brute's intents.

XIII
As for the grass, it grew as scant as hair
In leprosy; thin dry blades pricked the mud
Which underneath looked kneaded up with blood.
One stiff blind horse, his every bone a-stare,
Stood stupified, however he came there:
Thrust out past service from the devil's stud!

XIV
Alive? he might be dead for aught I knew,
With that red gaunt and colloped neck a-strain.
And shut eyes underneath the rusty mane;
Seldom went such grotesqueness with such woe;
I never saw a brute I hated so;
He must be wicked to deserve such pain.

XV
I shut my eyes and turned them on my heart,
As a man calls for wine before he fights,
I asked one draught of earlier, happier sights,
Ere fitly I could hope to play my part.
Think first, fight afterwards, the soldier's art:
One taste of the old time sets all to rights.

XVI
Not it! I fancied Cuthbert's reddening face
Beneath its garniture of curly gold,
Dear fellow, till I almost felt him fold
An arm to mine to fix me to the place,
The way he used. Alas, one night's disgrace!
Out went my heart's new fire and left it cold.

XVII
Giles then, the soul of honour - there he stands
Frank as ten years ago when knighted first,
What honest man should dare (he said) he durst.
Good - but the scene shifts - faugh! what hangman hands
Pin to his breast a parchment? His own bands
Read it. Poor traitor, spit upon and curst!

XVIII
Better this present than a past like that:
Back therefore to my darkening path again!
No sound, no sight as far as eye could strain.
Will the night send a howlet or a bat?
I asked: when something on the dismal flat
Came to arrest my thoughts and change their train.

XIX
A sudden little river crossed my path
As unexpected as a serpent comes.
No sluggish tide congenial to the glooms;
This, as it frothed by, might have been a bath
For the fiend's glowing hoof - to see the wrath
Of its black eddy bespate with flakes and spumes.

XX
So petty yet so spiteful! All along,
Low scrubby alders kneeled down over it;
Drenched willows flung them headlong in a fit
Of mute despair, a suicidal throng:
The river which had done them all the wrong,
Whate'er that was, rolled by, deterred no whit.

XXI
Which, while I forded - good saints, how I feared
To set my foot upon a dead man's cheek,
Each step, of feel the spear I thrust to seek
For hollows, tangled in his hair or beard!
- It may have been a water-rat I speared,
But, ugh! it sounded like a baby's shriek.

XXII
Glad was I when I reached the other bank.
Now for a better country. Vain presage!
Who were the strugglers, what war did they wage,
Whose savage trample thus could pad the dank
soil to a plash? Toads in a poisoned tank
Or wild cats in a red-hot iron cage -

XXIII
The fight must so have seemed in that fell cirque,
What penned them there, with all the plain to choose?
No footprint leading to that horrid mews,
None out of it. Mad brewage set to work
Their brains, no doubt, like galley-slaves the Turk
Pits for his pastime, Christians against Jews.

XXIV
And more than that - a furlong on - why, there!
What bad use was that engine for, that wheel,
Or brake, not wheel - that harrow fit to reel
Men's bodies out like silk? With all the air
Of Tophet's tool, on earth left unaware
Or brought to sharpen its rusty teeth of steel.

XXV
Then came a bit of stubbed ground, once a wood,
Next a marsh it would seem, and now mere earth
Desperate and done with; (so a fool finds mirth,
Makes a thing and then mars it, till his mood
Changes and off he goes!) within a rood -
Bog, clay and rubble, sand, and stark black dearth.

XXVI
Now blotches rankling, coloured gay and grim,
Now patches where some leanness of the soil's
Broke into moss, or substances like boils;
Then came some palsied oak, a cleft in him
Like a distorted mouth that splits its rim
Gaping at death, and dies while it recoils.

XXVII
And just as far as ever from the end!
Naught in the distance but the evening, naught
To point my footstep further! At the thought,
A great black bird, Apollyon's bosom friend,
Sailed past, not best his wide wing dragon-penned
That brushed my cap - perchance the guide I sought.

XXVIII
For, looking up, aware I somehow grew,
'Spite of the dusk, the plain had given place
All round to mountains - with such name to grace
Mere ugly heights and heaps now stolen in view.
How thus they had surprised me - solve it, you!
How to get from them was no clearer case.

XXIX
Yet half I seemed to recognise some trick
Of mischief happened to me, God knows when -
In a bad dream perhaps. Here ended, then
Progress this way. When, in the very nick
Of giving up, one time more, came a click
As when a trap shuts - you're inside the den.

XXX
Burningly it came on me all at once,
This was the place! those two hills on the right,
Crouched like two bulls locked horn in horn in fight;
While to the left a tall scalped mountain ... Dunce,
Dotard, a-dozing at the very nonce,
After a life spent training for the sight!

XXXI
What in the midst lay but the Tower itself?
The round squat turret, blind as the fool's heart,
Built of brown stone, without a counterpart
In the whole world. The tempest's mocking elf
Points to the shipman thus the unseen shelf
He strikes on, only when the timbers start.

XXXII
Not see? because of night perhaps? - why day
Came back again for that! before it left
The dying sunset kindled through a cleft:
The hills, like giants at a hunting, lay,
Chin upon hand, to see the game at bay, -
'Now stab and end the creature - to the heft!'

XXXIII
Not hear? When noise was everywhere! it tolled
Increasing like a bell. Names in my ears
Of all the lost adventurers, my peers -
How such a one was strong, and such was bold,
And such was fortunate, yet each of old
Lost, lost! one moment knelled the woe of years.

XXXIV
There they stood, ranged along the hillsides, met
To view the last of me, a living frame
For one more picture! In a sheet of flame
I saw them and I knew them all. And yet
Dauntless the slug-horn to my lips I set,
And blew. 'Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came.'


---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------


Robert Browning, 1855

2005 Marijuana Law Reform Legislation Introduced In States Nationwide

February 10, 2005 - Washington, DC, USA



Washington, DC: Over a dozen state legislatures will be debating
proposals to liberalize state marijuana penalties this spring.
Already, several state bills to depenalize the possession of small
amounts of cannabis for personal use and/or to legalize the
medicinal use of marijuana under a physician's supervision have been
introduced, and several more are pending. Below is a summary of this
year's more prominent state legislative proposals.

Medical Marijuana

Bills to legalize the use of medicinal marijuana by qualified
patients are currently before the legislatures of Connecticut,
Illinois, Iowa, New Jersey, New Mexico and Tennessee. In Texas,
lawmakers are also debating a proposal to allow medicinal cannabis
patients to raise an affirmative defense of medical necessity at
trial. Next week, legislation protecting medical cannabis patients
from state prosecution is scheduled to be introduced in Alabama and
Ohio, while similar bills are anticipated to be introduced in
Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.

Decriminalization

To date, two states are considering bills to remove criminal
penalties for the possession of minor amounts of marijuana. In New
Hampshire, House Bill 197 seeks to remove marijuana from the
state's "Controlled Drug Act" so that individuals found in
possession of cannabis will no longer face criminal penalties. The
bill is currently before the House Criminal Justice and Public
Safety Committee, where it is scheduled to be heard next week. In
Texas, lawmakers are considering legislation, House Bill 254, to
reduce the penalties on the possession of up to one ounce of
marijuana to a Class C misdemeanor. If passed by the legislature,
individuals charged with simple marijuana possession will face a
ticket and a fine in lieu of criminal prosecution.

February 10, 2005 - Washington, DC, USA



Washington, DC: Research published this week in the journal
Neurology speculating that marijuana's effects on the
cerebrovascular system may bring about residual cognitive deficits
in longtime users is not supported by the majority of available
clinical evidence.

Numerous prior reviews of marijuana's potential impact on
neurocognitive performance include:

A 2003 meta-analysis published in the Journal of the International
Neuropsychological Society that "failed to reveal a substantial,
systematic effect of long-term, regular cannabis consumption on the
neurocognitive functioning of users who were not acutely
intoxicated;"

A 2002 clinical trial published in the Canadian Medical Association
Journal that determined, "Marijuana does not have a long-term
negative impact on global intelligence;"

A 2001 study published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry
that found that long-term cannabis smokers who abstained from the
drug for one week "showed virtually no significant differences from
control subjects (those who had smoked marijuana less than 50 times
in their lives) on a battery of 10 neuropsychological tests."
Researchers added, "Former heavy users, who had consumed little or
no cannabis in the three months before testing, [also] showed no
significant differences from control subjects on any of these tests
on any of the testing days;"

A 1999 clinical trial published in the American Journal of
Epidemiology that found "no significant differences in cognitive
decline between heavy users, light users, and nonusers of cannabis"
over a 15-year period.

More recently, a study published last fall in the journal
Psychological Medicine examining the potential long-term residual
effects of cannabis on cognition in monozygotic male twins
reported "an absence of marked long-term residual effects of
marijuana use on cognitive abilities."

In addition, a scientific review published earlier this month in the
journal Current Opinion in Pharmacology concluded, "There is little
evidence ... that long-term cannabis uses causes permanent cognitive
impairment. ... Overall, by comparison with other drugs used mainly
for 'recreational' purposes, cannabis could be rated a relatively
safe drug."

February 10, 2005 - Munich, Germany



Munich, Germany: Researchers at the University Hospital of Munich
have begun the first ever clinical patient trial examining the
efficacy of cannabis extracts as a treatment for Crohn's disease,
according to a press release issued by the hospital. Crohn's disease
is a chronic inflammation of the intestine, characterized by severe
abdominal pain, nausea, and weight loss.

Clinical research published last year by the Max Planck Institute
for Psychiatry in Munich found that cannabinoids prevent an
experimental inflammation of the colon in animals. Researchers in
Italy had previously speculated that modulating "the endogenous
cannabinoid system could provide new therapeutics for the treatment
of a number of gastrointestinal diseases," including gastric ulcers
and Crohn's disease.

I am an active member of the NC LIbertarian party. We received this
notice today and I am sharing this with you in hopes that we have
some folks who might could help

-----Forwarded Message-----
From: Stacey Swimme <stacey@...>
Sent: Feb 10, 2005 3:13 PM
Subject: Legal Funds Needed for SC MMJ Custody Case

Hello!

Our names are Dianna & Eddie Davis. Our family has been torn apart
because of our use of medicinal marijuana and we are writing to ask
for
a much-needed donation to our legal fund. I have Multiple Sclerosis
and
I deal with very few of the problems that most people with MS deal
with,
due to my use of the marijuana. Eddie has Epilepsy, Muscular
Dystrophy
and possible Multiple Sclerosis. The marijuana helps to keep him from
having seizures as well as helping him deal with the chronic pain
that
he lives with daily. We were both already using the marijuana for
medical reasons when we met in 1998 and then married in March 1999.
We
had custody of all four of our children, two a piece from previous
marriages and we had become a real family.

On September 18, 2003, there was a knock at our door and when I
answered
there was a Police Officer there who told me that he knew we had
possession of marijuana and that the Department of Social Services
(DSS)
was on their way to remove our children from our home. He said that
he
needed to come in and talk about this situation and followed me right
into our bedroom, even though he had no search warrant. Later that
day,
the DSS showed up to take our children away when they got home from
school. We tried to explain to the Police Officers and the DSS
Investigators that we use the marijuana for medicinal reasons only,
but
everything we said was ignored.

While the DSS case was pending, an agreement was made giving
temporary
custody of the two younger children, now 11 & 13 years old, with
their
aunt, my ex-sister-in-law. The DSS has since closed their case
against
us, but we have to go back into court to regain custody of our
children.
Our efforts to work with legal aid organizations like South Carolina?
s
Centers for Equal Justice have failed due to their disinterest in
defending medical marijuana patients. Therefore, we are currently
seeking private counsel.

Unfortunately, we cannot afford to do this without help from the
community. Eddie just recently started receiving Social Security
Disability checks, after almost 2 years with no income, and I average
$40-$60 per week working at home as a Medical Transcriptionist so
that I
can take care of Eddie. We barely make enough income to support
ourselves and pay the child-support that I am ordered to pay on the
two
youngest children. There is no way that we can afford on our own to
hire
an attorney at this time, and we find ourselves being forced to ask
for
help. Please consider donating to our legal fund to enable us to
hire an
attorney from the nearby city of Anderson, SC. We have met with an
attorney who said that he would be happy to help us, but needs
$2,000.00
as a retainer-fee first. He said that more money may be necessary,
but
we are for now seeking donations to cover that retainer.

If you can find it in your heart to make a donation to help us,
please
do so!! We are desperate to have at least part of our family back
together once again. We do not deserve to lose the right to raise our
own children just because we use marijuana to improve our health.
Thank
you so much for your time and any help that you can offer.

Sincerely,
Dianna & Eddie Davis
diandavis@...
864-638-2032

Please send any donations to:
Davis Legal Fund
P. O. Box 1161
Walhalla, SC 29691

Clinical Studies Begin to Replace Emotion with Evidence

By Daniel DeNoon
WebMD Medical News  Reviewed By Michael Smith, MD
on Friday, August 29, 2003

August 29, 2003 -- A sea change in science is slowly turning the
tide of the medical marijuana debate.


For hundreds of years, marijuana has been used to treat a wide
variety of illnesses. But the herb has been illegal throughout the
modern era of scientific medical research. Patients swear the drug
works to relieve pain, prevent seizures, and counteract the nausea-
inducing effects of cancer chemotherapy. But by today's standards,
there's no definitive proof that this is so.


Why not? Nearly all U.S.-funded marijuana research has looked for
harmful effects from using marijuana as a recreational drug.
Meanwhile, there's been little money -- and huge regulatory hurdles -
- for studies of marijuana's benefits. That's now changing despite
the fact that marijuana remains classed as a Schedule I drug -- a
dangerous compound with no medical uses.


Why now? Evidence is beginning to break down the wall of emotion
preventing medical marijuana research.


Expert Panels, Breakthrough Findings


It was never clear exactly how marijuana -- which scientists call
cannabis -- exerted its euphoria-inducing effects on the brain.
Then, in the 1980s, a series of breakthrough studies showed that the
body actually makes its own cannabis-like compounds -- cannabinoids.


Why are they there? That question led to the discovery that the body
has an entire system based on cannabinoid signals. The signals seem
to calm down overexcited nerve cells, says Igor Grant, MD, professor
of psychiatry and director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis
Research (CMCR) at the University of California, San Diego.


"It may be the cannabinoid systems -- this is a crude example -- but
I think of them as our internal shock absorbers," Grant tells
WebMD. "They are circuits that prevent overexcitability, kind of
dampers. If that's correct, there are going to be a number of
medical applications. For example, I wouldn't be surprised if there
were applications for epilepsy and other types of seizures."


Grant isn't the only scientist excited by these possibilities.


In 1997, a National Institutes of Health expert panel concluded that
more needs to be known about possible marijuana benefits. In 1999,
the Institute of Medicine agreed. It pointed to several areas crying
out for clinical marijuana research, notes CMCR co-director Andrew
Mattison, PhD.


"There are cannabinoid receptor systems in the brain areas that
regulate motion -- and, in retrospect, we know that people with
multiple sclerosis and difficulty with spasticity sometimes use
medicinal cannabis. That is one of the Institute of Medicine
indications for clinical trials," Mattison tells WebMD.


"There is a cannabinoid receptor for pain, another site that
modulates appetite -- there's going to be a wealth of basic science
research that will hopefully have clinical and practical
applications to many different medical indications."




Early Clinical Findings Support More Research


Although funded through 2003 and only at various University of
California locations by the California state legislature, the CMCR
has, by default, become the national clearinghouse for marijuana
research.


The CMCR works closely with state and federal regulators - including
the FDA, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the National
Institute on Drug Abuse (the only legal source of marijuana in the
U.S.). CMCR provides funds for clinical trials of marijuana. It's
won national praise for holding its investigators to the highest
scientific standards.


Even before the CMCR was up and running, one stubborn researcher
managed to launch a marijuana clinical trial. Donald Abrams, MD, now
chief of hematology/oncology at San Francisco General Hospital, is
best known for being one of the first doctors to recognize and treat
the illness that came to be known as AIDS. AIDS patients have long
used marijuana to fight the terrible wasting the disease causes.
It's also been said to help an extremely painful condition known as
peripheral neuropathy -- a painful nerve disease that has few
effective treatments.


Abrams wanted to get federal approval to see whether marijuana
really works for this condition. But years of effort proved futile
in the face of opposition by federal agencies. Finally, Abrams had a
brainstorm. Marijuana affects the immune system. It was just
possible that the drug was making patients worse, not better. He
submitted a research proposal to look for a harmful effect of
marijuana -- and finally won the approval he sought.


The results of that trial appear in the August 19 issue of Annals of
Internal Medicine. And they contradict previous studies done in the
test tube and with lab animals.


"Much of the published work on marijuana and the immune system is
focused on animals and in vitro studies," Abrams tells WebMD. "And,
well, if you flood a lot of petri dishes with THC [the active
ingredient in marijuana], the immune-cell cultures are going to do
poorly.


"In our clinical trial we really didn't see any detriment to the
immune system from smoking cannabis. Basically we saw no
perturbation of HIV viral load, no detriment to the immune system,
and no significant interaction with anti-HIV drugs."


With CMCR funds, Abrams is now doing his peripheral neuropathy
study. And he's well on the way to launching a study to see whether
adding marijuana to other pain drugs can give relief to dying cancer
patients. Overall, the CMCR now has five full-fledged clinical
trials under way, which will enroll some 450 patients.


Doctors' Shifting Attitudes on Medical Marijuana


In the last week of July 2003, Medscape -- WebMD's web site for
medical professionals -- asked its members what they thought about
medical marijuana. It wasn't a scientific poll, although a member's
vote is counted only once. Still, the results were surprising. There
was a huge response. Three out of four doctors -- and nine out of 10
nurses -- said they favored decriminalization of marijuana for
medical uses.


Is it a real trend? Abrams thinks so, but warns that long-held
attitudes are slow to change.


"I was pretty much the Lone Ranger of medical marijuana research a
few years ago. But not now," he says. "Still, researchers are wary
of marijuana research. They feel their reputation may be tainted.
And they may be right. For several years I've been invited to do
grand rounds at a local hospital in the Bay area. Last year they
disinvited me, and I hear it was because of my marijuana research.
I've been disinvited from other speaking engagements, too."


"I think these attitudes will change over time -- but it will be
slow-going," Mattison says. "Dr. Abrams' comment is typical. People
in the medical profession may chuckle at marijuana research and
think it is not a bona fide area for scientific investigation. But
that will change as the science becomes more clear and more
understandable and there are, at some point, some practical
applications."




One surprising source of support is moral encouragement from
conservative politicians.


"We get a number of stories from elected officials who say, 'Look, I
am not for legalization of marijuana. But my sick mother, relative,
son, is using it and doing so much better, -- there must be
something in it,'" Mattison says.


"A number of people have friends where medical therapies aren't
working, and cannabis provided relief from spasticity, pain, nausea,
or vomiting. That is turning some opinions and helping people let go
of the stereotypical notion that medical marijuana is for potheads."


The CMCR has put aside enough money to complete all its currently
approved clinical trials. But the California budget crisis means no
more money this year -- at least. Does this mean that clinical
research into medical marijuana is over? Grant doesn't think so.


"I think that even if our center runs on hard times, the ball has
started rolling," he says. "Clinicians and neuroscientists have an
interest in this. There is gong to be more research, and more
clinical work, whether we do it or not. Eventually, I foresee NIH
[National Institutes of Health] clinical trials. That's my hunch."


A Final Warning


What's changing is the attitude toward investigating possible
marijuana benefits. This means more and more doctors are keeping an
open mind -- not jumping to the conclusion that the drug will be all
things to all people.


"I don't know what the answers will be," Grant says. "The data that
are out there suggest there will be some positive applications for
marijuana. If I had to bet, I'd say there will be some applications
useful for patients in the future."


But, he warns, the opposite could easily be true. The one sure thing
about medical research is that it doesn't always provide the answers
people expect.


"The caution is that, in the movement toward making marijuana
available to patients with no other treatment options, there is the
assumption that it is in fact useful. We have to be careful about
that," Grant says. "It may be useful for some things, but not useful
for others. And if patients take things that are not useful, they
may be harming themselves. I urge them to be cautious instead of
jumping on the bandwagon and maybe hurting themselves."

Making Music Switches Off Stress

Recreational Music Making Turns Off Fired-Up Stress Genes

By Daniel DeNoon
WebMD Medical News  Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
on Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Feb. 8, 2005 -- Playing with a music machine turns off the body's
stress machine, researchers say.

Some 300 years ago, British dramatist William Congreve noted music
has charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or to bend a
knotted oak. Now researchers have put the first of these three
claims to the test.

To create as much savagery as possible within people's breasts,
Barry Bittman, MD, of the Body-Mind Wellness Center in Meadville,
Penn, and colleagues devised a fiendish plan. They got 32 volunteers
to spend an hour trying -- individually -- to solve a nearly
impossible jigsaw puzzle. They told the volunteers that whoever did
best would get $50. And they tormented them by telling them that
others were doing much better, and by reminding them -- more and
more often -- that time was running out.

As if that weren't enough, the volunteers gave blood. This was done
to test the blood for the activity of 45 stress-related genes. Sure
enough, the genes fired like crazy -- although in different patterns
for different individuals.

But the study was just beginning. Now Bittman's team had two of the
volunteers continue work on the puzzle. Two others got to read
magazines and relax as best they could. The rest participated in
what the researchers call a novel Recreational Music-Making program.
The program, the authors note, emphasizes "personal expression,
group support, and quality-of-life enhancement rather than mastery
and performance."

At the heart of the music program, called the Clavinova Connection,
is a computerized keyboard instrument called the Clavinova, made by
Yamaha, which helped fund the study.

After participating in the Clavinova Connection -- that is, after
listening to "Arrival Song," participating in the "Mind-Body
Wellness Warm-up," thumping along with the "Drum Circle," playing
an "Improvisation," discussing "Musical Insight,", playing the "Song
of the Day," recapping with the "Mind-Body Wellness Cool-Down,"
having a "Reflection" discussion, and hearing a "Farewell Song" --
participants once again had their blood tested for stress-gene
activity.

Responses differed widely from person to person. However, Bittman
and colleagues report, there was "reversal" in 19 of the 45 markers
for stress genes. Those who just sat in the waiting room and read
reversed only six of these markers. And those who -- bitterly, one
supposes -- had to continue with the frustrating puzzle had no gene-
stress-marker reversal at all.

"While we were challenged at first by such a wide range of
responses, closer examination of the data revealed what we
eventually termed individualized genomic stress induction
signatures," Bittman says, in a news release. "With ongoing
research, recreational music making could potentially serve as a
rational stress-reduction activity along with other lifestyle
strategies that include healthy nutrition and exercise."

The study appears in the February issue of Medical Science Monitor.

Take this quiz to evaluate your emotional needs.
don't try to travel this path alone. We all need a support system.

https://data.webmd.com/sdclive/sdcform.aspx?
formid=depressionQuiz&z=3074_00000_2350_sp_07

Most Americans aren't raised to sit and say "Om." But meditation has
gained millions of converts, helping them ease chronic pain,
anxiety, stress, improve heart health, boost mood and immunity, and
resolve pregnancy problems.

Any condition that's caused or worsened by stress can be alleviated
through meditation, says cardiologist Herbert Benson, MD, well known
for three decades of research into the health effects of meditation.
He is the founder of the Mind/Body Institute at Harvard Medical
School's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

The rest of the article can be found at:
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/99/105340.htm

__________________________________________________
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I don't work any more. Can't take the stress of socialphobia. I always feel
so inferior. I start DBT (Dialectical behaviour training) thisd march, I am
not quite sure what to expect.

I get stoned when I have to go somewhere.

'ere


Crack

>From: erissa blue <erissablue@...>
>Reply-To: erissaspotpage@yahoogroups.com
>To: erissaspotpage@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: RE: [erissaspotpage] Welcome to our newest members
>Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 04:12:19 -0800 (PST)
>
>the social phobia thing is a major hindrance when it comes to seeking a
>job. I've skipped out on many promising job interviews because I was scared
>as hell to go and be in a semi-confrontational environment
>
>TheCrackwalker Peace <patootie1@...> wrote:
>Hi erissablue
>
>I use pot medicinally. I suffer from Borderline personality disorder which
>I
>swear is mini bipolar and I have socialphobia. So bad I can't leave my
>house
>without a great deal of effort on my part.
>I use the pot to level my moods and to gain me some strength to talk to
>people. :)
>
>I am a total hermit when I am "sick" I think pot should be legalized for
>all
>but if it has to be medicinal then mental illnesses should be considered
>for
>medicinal marijuana
>
>Crack
>
> >From: "erissablue" <erissablue@...>
> >Reply-To: erissaspotpage@yahoogroups.com
> >To: erissaspotpage@yahoogroups.com
> >Subject: [erissaspotpage] Welcome to our newest members
> >Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 23:56:24 -0000
> >
> >
> >Our group is growing slowly but surely.
> >I would love to hear from our little gang as to how they use Mary
> >Jane and what ailments they are currently treating.
> >
> >I have fibromyalgia, which brings about a whole host of ailments.
> >Not to mention manic/depressive disorder. And I was actually shocked
> >at the difference the herb made in my manic phases, as well as being
> >a mood lifter when I am depressed.
> >
> >I don't like it that people think the only medusers are ones with
> >terminal illnesses like cancer. A lot of people could benefit from
> >it that are NOT dying. And I wish more of the medical community
> >would take this into account.
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>Peace
>TheCrackwalker
>
>
>
>
>---------------------------------
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>    To visit your group on the web, go to:
>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/erissaspotpage/
>
>    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>erissaspotpage-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>
>
>
>---------------------------------
>Do you Yahoo!?
>  Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term'


Peace
TheCrackwalker

Hi erissablue

I use pot medicinally. I suffer from Borderline personality disorder which I
swear is mini bipolar and I have socialphobia. So bad I can't leave my house
without a great deal of effort on my part.
I use the pot to level my moods and to gain me some strength to talk to
people. :)

I am a total hermit when I am "sick" I think pot should be legalized for all
but if it has to be medicinal then mental illnesses should be considered for
medicinal marijuana

Crack

>From: "erissablue" <erissablue@...>
>Reply-To: erissaspotpage@yahoogroups.com
>To: erissaspotpage@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [erissaspotpage] Welcome to our newest members
>Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 23:56:24 -0000
>
>
>Our group is growing slowly but surely.
>I would love to hear from our little gang as to how they use Mary
>Jane and what ailments they are currently treating.
>
>I have fibromyalgia, which brings about a whole host of ailments.
>Not to mention manic/depressive disorder. And I was actually shocked
>at the difference the herb made in my manic phases, as well as being
>a mood lifter when I am depressed.
>
>I don't like it that people think the only medusers are ones with
>terminal illnesses like cancer. A lot of people could benefit from
>it that are NOT dying. And I wish more of the medical community
>would take this into account.
>
>
>


Peace
TheCrackwalker

Our group is growing slowly but surely.
I would love to hear from our little gang as to how they use Mary
Jane and what ailments they are currently treating.

I have fibromyalgia, which brings about a whole host of ailments.
Not to mention manic/depressive disorder. And I was actually shocked
at the difference the herb made in my manic phases, as well as being
a mood lifter when I am depressed.

I don't like it that people think the only medusers are ones with
terminal illnesses like cancer. A lot of people could benefit from
it that are NOT dying. And I wish more of the medical community
would take this into account.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 2005--Following the hit off-
Broadway run, Ideal Entertainment Group and Magic Arts &
Entertainment are bringing THE MARIJUANA-LOGUES starring TOMMY CHONG
to cities across the North America beginning February of 2005.

Chong, best known for his legendary contribution to American
counterculture in the comedy team Cheech & Chong, will continue with
THE MARIJUANA-LOGUES, a stage show written by Arj Barker, Doug
Benson and Tony Camin and directed by Jim Millan.

It's an evening of side-splitting humor that has a nation buzzing.
Chong lights up the live theater stage with his unique perspective
on life.

From hazy to highbrow, THE MARIJUANA-LOGUES proves that the stories
surrounding the bud are as varied as those who indulge.

The Associated Press raves, "THE MARIJUANA-LOGUES lights up NYC!
Emitting an air that is slightly subversive and laughter-inducing."
Newsday adds, "A good time, man," and Entertainment Weekly praises
the show's "premium quality nuggets," while Time Out New York
raves "it's a damn fine piece of bong-fueled theater."

During Cheech and Chong's reign, they recorded six gold comedy
albums, including the 1974 Grammy winner "Los Cochinos," and starred
in seven films, most of which Chong co-wrote and directed such
as "Up in Smoke," one of Warner Bros.' highest grossing features.
Chong can also be seen in his recurring role on Fox's "That 70's
Show."

Tickets and information: www.marijuanalogues.com or www.PotShow.com

Souder Says Drug Czar's Fake News Didn't Break Law

---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------

By Sylvia A. Smith, Washington Editor
Source: Journal Gazette

Washington -- The drug czar's office didn't break a federal law with
its packaged anti-drug news stories that were narrated by fake
journalists, Rep. Mark Souder, R-3rd, said Friday. But the video
news releases sent to hundreds of TV stations in the past three
years should have made clear that they were produced at taxpayer
expense, he said. Souder, who chairs a subcommittee that oversees
national anti-drug programs, said the General Accountability Office
was wrong when it ruled that the Office of National Drug Control
Policy violated the law by sending the pre-packaged news stories to
TV stations without disclosing to viewers that the government had
produced them.

The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, said the anti-drug video
news releases were "covert propaganda" and violated a ban against
publicity and propaganda.

The video releases "are complete, audio-video presentations that
ONDCP designed for broadcast by television news organizations as
news reports, without the need for any production effort by the news
organization," the GAO said.

In its report, the GAO quoted the drug policy office's top lawyer as
saying that the video clips "are produced in the same manner as if
produced by a television news organization. Many television news
organizations are willing to use (prepackaged news stories) since
they help broadcasters reduce the cost of gathering and producing
news."

The Bush administration has gotten a black eye lately because of
payments it made to journalists and commentators to promote various
social programs. The journalists wrote commentaries in support of
the programs without disclosing that they were on the government
payroll.

Souder said the video news releases are a different matter, however,
because the TV stations were told that the government wrote,
produced and distributed the material. In the case of journalists
who accepted government money and then wrote about government
programs in glowing terms, the relationship was not disclosed, he
said.

One of the video news releases issued by the Office of National Drug
Control Policy, for instance, was about teen driving and marijuana
use. Its narrator identified himself as "this is Mike Morris
reporting." The GAO reviewed five other video news releases and said
that although they were mailed to TV stations clearly marked as
coming from the drug czar's office, the news clips themselves did
not tell viewers who produced the reports.

Souder said TV stations that aired them could have disclosed the
origin of the segments but chose not to.

The drug czar is under orders from Congress to develop media
campaigns to help prevent and reduce drug abuse among young people.
Among them is a series of commercials with the theme "parents, the
anti-drug."

In a letter, Souder and Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., chairman of the
committee, asked the GAO to withdraw its ruling and reconsider the
law: "GAO's analysis in this case is fundamentally flawed because it
is inconsistent with ONDCP's express authorization to conduct a
media campaign … and does not distinguish between deliberate
concealment of the source by the government from the news media and
subsequent concealment of the source from the public by the news
media."

They said TV stations' use of the video clips might violate
journalistic standards, but it's not illegal for the drug czar to
make and distribute them.

The drug policy office sent the clips to 770 stations; 300 used the
reports, which were seen by 22 million households, the agency said.

Jennifer deVallance, press secretary for the drug czar's office,
said the video news releases date back to the Clinton years. She
said the office stopped issuing them in May when the GAO raised
concerns about another federal agency's similar releases. "We didn't
want any distraction" from the anti-drug campaign, she said. "It
just wasn't worth it."

The six video clips produced in 2002, 2003 and 2004 cost $154,398, a
fraction of the agency's $154 million annual budget for an anti-drug
media campaign.

In their letter, Souder and Davis said if TV stations didn't want to
use the clips, they didn't have to, and that they could have
identified the material as coming from the federal government.

The drug control policy office "does not control the ultimate
content of a television news broadcast. The news organizations do,"
the two lawmakers wrote. "The GAO opinion suggests that media
outlets are passive conduits for any information anyone submits to
them. Those of us in Congress who work with the media to ensure the
public understands the work of the Congress know otherwise."

Complete Title: Souder Says Drug Czar's Fake News Didn't Break
Federal Law

Source: Journal Gazette, The (IN)
Author: Sylvia A. Smith, Washington Editor
Published: February 5, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Journal Gazette
Contact: letters@...
Website: http://www.journalgazette.net

Anti-Drug Office's Videos Defended

---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------

By Christopher Lee, Washington Post Staff Writer
Source: Washington Post

In all of the hubbub over federal public relations contracts, at
least one agency has gotten a bad rap, says Rep. Thomas M. Davis III
(R-Va.), chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform. Davis
said yesterday that the Government Accountability Office was wrong
Jan. 4 when it ruled that the Office of National Drug Control Policy
broke federal law last year by preparing prepackaged news stories
that did not disclose to television viewers that the government had
produced them.

The video news releases, which featured narrators "reporting" on the
Bush administration's anti-drug campaign, constituted "covert
propaganda" and violated a ban against publicity and propaganda, the
GAO found.

Davis disagreed, saying in an interview that if anyone had a duty to
disclose that the videos were government-produced, it was the news
organizations that put them on the air. Davis noted that the
external packaging clearly labeled the videos as government products.

"I don't think there's any legal violation," he said. "I would not
want to start muzzling government organizations on this because of
the way that this stuff is handled by the media."

Davis said Congress directed the drug-control office to engage in
media campaigns to help prevent and reduce drug abuse among young
people.

In a Jan. 19 letter, Davis and Rep. Mark Edward Souder (R-Ind.)
urged the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, to withdraw its
ruling and reconsider the law.

"GAO's analysis in this case is fundamentally flawed because it is
inconsistent with ONDCP's express authorization to conduct a media
campaign . . . and does not distinguish between deliberate
concealment of the source by the government from the news media and
subsequent concealment of the source from the public by the news
media," the lawmakers wrote (emphasis theirs).

Critics cite the videos -- and similar prepackaged news stories
issued by the Department of Health and Human Services last year to
tout the Medicare drug benefit -- as evidence that the Bush
administration is using tax dollars to promote its policies by
surreptitious means. Recent revelations that the Education
Department produced a similar video news release on the No Child
Left Behind law and paid conservative commentator Armstrong Williams
to promote the law further stoked the controversy.

Thomas A. Riley, spokesman for the anti-drug office, said it stopped
using the videos, which cost $155,000, in May after the GAO ruling
on the Medicare videos. Officials believe the videos are legal, he
said, "but if it's going to be controversial or going to be a
distraction, it's just not worth it for us."

Riley said the office's use of such videos began in 1998 during the
Clinton administration. He provided a copy of one from 1999. The
video, about an anti-drug Web site, includes suggested language for
anchors to read, as well as images and a sound bite from an America
Online official. Unlike some Bush-era videos, it does not have a
narrator resembling a reporter, and the material amounts to raw
footage rather than a story that could air with no changes.

Bush said last month that agencies should no longer hire
commentators or journalists to promote policies. Democrats have
asked the GAO to investigate agencies' public relations contracts.

Susan A. Poling, managing associate general counsel at the GAO,
declined to comment on the Davis letter, saying it is an open case.

Last month, when the GAO issued its letter on the drug-control
office's videos, Poling said: "What is objectionable about these is
the fact the viewer has no idea their tax dollars are being used to
write and produce this video segment."

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on Davis's
committee, said the GAO has the right standard -- and Davis and
Souder have the wrong one.

"Their position is straight out of George Orwell," Waxman said in a
statement. "It's astonishing that members [of Congress] would defend
using federal taxpayers to deceive the public. Fabricating news
reports is illegal and unethical."

Davis said that he has not evaluated the Medicare case, and that the
Williams contract was wrong. He said his House committee may take up
the issue of how government messages should be labeled.

Note: Davis Says Ruling That Law Was Violated Is Wrong

Newshawk: Nicholas Thimmesch II
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Author: Christopher Lee, Washington Post Staff Writer
Published: Friday, February 4, 2005; Page A15
Copyright: 2005 Washington Post
Contact: letterstoed@...
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com

Drug Control Office Faulted For Issuing Fake Tapes

---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------

By Ceci Connolly, Washington Post Staff Writer
Source: Washington Post

Shortly before last year's Super Bowl, local news stations across
the country aired a story by Mike Morris describing plans for a new
White House ad campaign on the dangers of drug abuse.


What viewers did not know was that Morris is not a journalist and
his "report" was produced by the government, actions that
constituted illegal "covert propaganda," according to an
investigation by the Government Accountability Office.

In the second ruling of its kind, the investigative arm of Congress
this week scolded the Bush administration for distributing phony
prepackaged news reports that include a "suggested live intro" for
anchors to read, interviews with Washington officials and a closing
that mimics a typical broadcast news sign off.

Although television stations knew the materials were produced by the
Office of National Drug Control Policy, there was nothing in the two-
minute, prepackaged reports that would indicate to viewers that they
came from the government or that Morris, a former journalist, was
working under contract for the government.

"You think you are getting a news story, but what you are getting is
a paid announcement," said Susan A. Poling, managing associate
general counsel at the GAO. "What is objectionable about these is
the fact the viewer has no idea their tax dollars are being used to
write and produce this video segment."

In May, the GAO concluded that the Department of Health and Human
Services violated two federal laws with similar fake news reports
touting the administration's new Medicare drug benefit. When that
opinion was released, officials at the drug control office decided
to stop the practice, spokesman Thomas A. Riley said.

"Our lawyers disagree with the GAO interpretation," he said.
Nevertheless, if the video releases were going to be "controversial
or create an appearance of a problem," the agency decided it was not
worth pursuing, he said.

The prepackaged news pieces represent a fraction of the anti-drug
messages distributed by the office, Riley said. Production and
distribution of the video news releases cost about $155,000.

Riley said broadcast stations were fully aware they were receiving
materials akin to printed news releases that producers could "slice
and dice it however they want."

In one video, titled "Urging Parents to Get the Facts Straight on
Teen Marijuana Use," news stations were provided a script for the
news anchor. It reads: "Despite the fact that marijuana is the most
widely used illicit drug among today's youth, many parents admit
they're still not taking the drug seriously. Now, the nation's
experts in health, education and safety have joined the Drug Czar to
speak directly to parents about the very real risks of teen
marijuana use. Mike Morris has more."

After interview snippets with John Walters, who heads the drug
control policy office, and other experts, the story closes with the
voiceover: "This is Mike Morris reporting."

In another, the announcer appears to be "reporting" on a news
conference by drug control officials, when "in reality, they are
just paid to say a script," Poling said. "In essence, they're
actors."

The drug control agency distributed at least seven prepackaged news
reports to 770 TV stations. At least 300 news shows used some
portion of the materials, though it was impossible to determine how
many aired the full prepackaged story or just portions such
as "sound bites," Riley said.

If the videos had been identified as coming from the federal agency,
that would have been legal, Poling said. But the television package
looks like authentic independent journalism.

"The critical element of covert propaganda is the concealment of the
agency's role in sponsoring the materials," GAO wrote to Rep. Henry
A. Waxman (D-Calif.), who requested the Jan. 4 report.
"It is illegal to use taxpayer dollars to influence public opinion
surreptitiously," Waxman said yesterday. "Unfortunately, this is the
second time in less than a year that GAO has caught the Bush
administration violating a fundamental principle of open government."

Source: Washington Post (DC)
Author: Ceci Connolly, Washington Post Staff Writer
Published: Friday, January 7, 2005; Page A17
Copyright: 2005 Washington Post
Contact: letterstoed@...
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Bush's Drug Videos Broke Law

---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------

By John Files
Source: New York Times

Washington -- The Government Accountability Office, an investigative
arm of Congress, said on Thursday that the Bush administration
violated federal law by producing and distributing television news
segments about the effects of drug use among young people.


The accountability office said the videos "constitute covert
propaganda" because the government was not identified as the source
of the materials, which were distributed by the Office of National
Drug Control Policy. They were broadcast by nearly 300 television
stations and reached 22 million households, the office said.

The accountability office does not have law enforcement powers, but
its decisions on federal spending are usually considered
authoritative.

In May the office found that the Bush administration had violated
the same law by producing television news segments that portrayed
the new Medicare law as a boon to the elderly.

The accountability office was not critical of the content of the
video segments from the White House drug office, but found that the
format - a made-for-television "story package" - violated the
prohibition on using taxpayer money for propaganda.

Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, the senior Democrat on
the Government Reform Committee, who requested the review, said the
use of the mock news segments broke "a fundamental principle of open
government."

A spokesman for the drug policy office said the review's conclusions
made a "mountain out of a molehill."

The spokesman, Tom Riley, noted that Congress had authorized the
drug policy office to fashion antidrug messages in motion pictures
and television programming and on the Internet. His office stopped
distributing the antidrug videos after the G.A.O. report on the
Medicare segments, Mr. Riley said, and never acted unlawfully.

The drug policy office told investigators that it would have been
difficult for "a reasonable broadcaster" to mistake the videos for
independent news reports.

But the G.A.O. said the drug policy office "made it impossible for
the targeted viewing audience to ascertain that these stories were
produced by the government."

Federal law prohibits the use of federal money for "publicity or
propaganda purposes" not authorized by Congress. The accountability
office has found that federal agencies violated this restriction
when they distributed editorials and newspaper articles written by
government officials without identifying them.
The accountability office said the administration's misuse of
federal money "also constitutes a violation of the Antideficiency
Act," which prohibits spending in excess of appropriations.

Newshawk: E_Johnson
Source: New York Times (NY)
Author: John Files
Published: January 7, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The New York Times Company
Contact: letters@...
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/

AK: Governor Moves to Change Pot Law, Outlaw Small Amounts for
Personal Use

---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------

by Sean Cockerham, Anchorage Daily News, (Source:Anchorage Daily
News)
22 Jan 2005

Possession: A Bill to Outlaw Small Amounts for Personal Use Is
Before the Legislature.

JUNEAU -- Gov. Frank Murkowski on Friday asked the Legislature to
overrule a court ruling that adult Alaskans have the right to
possess marijuana for personal use in their homes.

Murkowski introduced a bill that challenges the state court's ruling
and that would significantly tighten other state marijuana laws --
making a lot more pot crimes into felonies.

"The Legislature finds that marijuana poses a threat to the public
health that justifies prohibiting its use in this state, even by
adults in private," the bill declares.

Everyone expects the fight to go back to the courts if the
Legislature passes the bill. The ruling that made at-home pot
possession of up to four ounces legal for personal use was based on
the right to privacy in the state constitution.

The Legislature cannot change the constitution without a statewide
vote. But the governor hopes the bill and hearings over it will show
the courts that pot is a lot more powerful than it used to be and
that the state has an overriding interest in forbidding it.

William Satterberg, the Fairbanks lawyer who argued the case that
toppled the state prohibition on at-home pot, said he doesn't think
the courts will backtrack.

"Unconstitutional still remains unconstitutional no matter what the
Legislature thinks," Satterberg said.

The Alaska Supreme Court in September let stand a lower court ruling
last year that adult Alaskans have the right to possess up to four
ounces of marijuana in their homes for personal use. The lower court
based its opinion on a 1975 decision, known as Ravin v. State, which
declared the strong right to privacy from government interference
that is guaranteed under the Alaska Constitution outweighed any
social harm that might be caused by the small at-home use of
marijuana by adults.

Ravin remained the law in Alaska until 1990, when voters passed an
initiative outlawing all amounts of marijuana. But last year's court
ruling said a constitutionally protected right -- in this case at-
home pot -- cannot be taken away by an initiative.

Murkowski argues that marijuana is a lot stronger and more harmful
nowadays than in 1975 when the courts said the right to privacy
outweighed the social harm. The governor said the bill he introduced
Friday will help the state make it clear to the courts that this is
the case.

"The bill would provide a forum for the Legislature to hear expert
testimony on the effects of marijuana and to make findings that the
courts can rely on," the governor said in a letter to lawmakers.

Rep. Norm Rokeberg, R-Anchorage and a member of the House
leadership, said the court overruled the will of the Legislature and
Alaska voters when it declared some at-home use of marijuana to be
legal. He said he expects the Legislature will be interested in
taking a good look at Murkowski's bill.

The bill would also make possession of more than four ounces of pot
a felony. The felony cutoff under current law is a pound. The bill
would also make it a felony to give or sell any marijuana to anyone
under the age of 21.

The Alaska public defender's agency said it would need another
$160,000 a year in state funds to meet its increased workload under
the bill.

"We handle 500 misdemeanor drug cases, primarily involving
marijuana," the agency said in a written statement. "At least half
of these would become felonies. Felonies take more work than
misdemeanors."

Pubdate: Sat, 22 Jan 2005
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Copyright: 2005 The Anchorage Daily News
Contact: letters@...
Website: http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Author: Sean Cockerham, Anchorage Daily News
Note: The text of the bill is at
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/PDF/24/Bills/HB0096A.PDF
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Ravin

Australia: WA Government, Opposition Argue Over Drug Policy

---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------

(Source:Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
02 Feb 2005

The Western Australia Government and the Opposition have spent the
day sniping at one another over who is softer on drugs.

Opposition Leader Colin Barnett says the Government has failed the
community by easing laws on the possession of cannabis.

"Not only is the possession of cannabis no longer a criminal
offence, Dr Gallop has actually allowed people to grow cannabis in
their backyard," he said.

Mr Barnett says the Government has been too soft on cannabis,
ignoring its links to mental health problems, organised crime, and
the use of harder drugs.

Labor's laws allow people caught with up to 30 grams of cannabis to
escape criminal charges by paying a fine or attending an education
session.

Offenders are given the same choice for growing up to two cannabis
plants.

Mr Barnett says those laws trivialise the drug's impact on the
community.

"There is increasing evidence that cannabis is often associated with
mental health problems," he said.

"There's evidence of cannabis associated with road trauma.

"It is a mind-altering substance and Dr Gallop has put the youth of
Western Australia at risk by his approach of decriminalising
cannabis, allowing the cultivation of cannabis in suburban
backyards."

The Australian Medical Association's West Australian president Paul
Skerritt agrees, saying cannabis users often develop mental
problems, costing the health system tens of millions of dollars a
year.

"You get a little bit of a slap on the hand, an on-the-spot fine and
therefore the Government is endorsing the totally incorrect idea
that these drugs are soft," he said.

Mr Barnett says the only people to escape charges under a coalition
government would be first offenders caught with 10 grams or less of
cannabis.

But the Health Minister, Jim McGinty, says letting anyone off with a
caution is unacceptable.

"That's not good enough. We need to bring home to people the
consequences of their cannabis use," he said.

Mr McGinty says the Government's laws are working.

"If the Liberals are going to go back to the regime they had in
place when they were in government, it is softer," he said.

Pubdate: Wed, 02 Feb 2005
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australia Web)
Copyright: 2005 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Contact: comments@...
Website: http://www.abc.net.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/34
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Australia
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

Philippines: P60M Worth Of Marijuana Plants Destroyed

---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------

P60M WORTH OF MARIJUANA PLANTS DESTROYED IN BENGUET
(Source:Manila Standard)
04 Feb 2005

Philippines
-------
Some P60 million worth of marijuana plants were destroyed during a
three-day uprooting operation in Benguet, reports reaching the
national office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency ( PDEA )
said.

Undersecretary Anselmo Avenido Jr., PDEA director general, said
300,000 fully grown marijuana plants were uprooted and destroyed in
Kibungan, Benguet by joint elements of the Special Enforcement
Service ( PDEA-SES ), PDEA-CAR, Philippine Army, Philippine Air
Force, and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines ( Isafp ).

He said the destroyed marijuana plants have an estimated value of
P60 million. They were planted in a 10-hectare land in the cliff
boundaries of Kibungan and Bakun, Benguet. Nobody was arrested
during the three-day operation.

Meanwhile, 60 kilos of dried marijuana leaves worth P1.5 million
were confiscated inside a Victory Liner Bus with plate no. NYB-795
at the Victory Liner terminal in Barangay Calao East, Santiago City,
Isabela last weekend.

Avenido said the dried marijuana leaves were packed in two big
cigarette boxes and loaded by three men on board an owner-type jeep
who flagged down the bus in Tabuk, Kalinga Apayao. The boxes with
marijuana leaves inside were entrusted to the driver and conductor
of the bus by certain Marcelo Callejo Sr.

Pubdate: Fri, 04 Feb 2005
Source: Manila Standard (Philippines)
Copyright: 2005 Manila Standard
Contact: infoms@...
Website: http://www.manilastandardonline.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3450
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

GW receives Qualifying Notice for approval in Canada for Sativex®

21/12/2004

GW Pharmaceuticals announces that Health Canada, the Canadian
regulatory authority, has issued a Qualifying Notice for the
approval of Sativex®, a cannabis-based medicinal extract product.
Sativex will initially be indicated in Canada for the relief of
neuropathic pain in Multiple Sclerosis ("MS").

GW filed its Sativex application with Health Canada under the Notice
of Compliance with conditions (NOC/c) policy. The Qualifying Notice
confirms that Sativex qualifies to be considered for approval and
sets out the conditions and post-approval undertakings upon which
the marketing authorization for Sativex can be granted. The
conditions for Sativex's approval are in accordance with standard
guidance provided by the regulator for NOC/c approvals and include a
commitment to ongoing clinical research.

The regulatory submission for Sativex was filed with Health Canada
in May 2004. Health Canada has completed its regulatory review in
line with its 200 day review target.

GW is required to respond and accept the conditions within 30 days.
Following this, Health Canada review this response, subject to a 30
day review target. Should the response be acceptable, Health Canada
can then be expected to proceed to finalise the marketing
authorisation.

Sativex has been developed by GW and will be exclusively marketed in
Canada by the Pharmaceuticals Division of Bayer HealthCare.

Sativex is a whole plant medicinal cannabis extract containing
TetranabinexTM (tetrahydrocannabinol or THC) and NabidiolexTM
(cannabidiol or CBD) as its principal components. The medicine is
administered by means of a spray into the mouth.

Approximately 50,000 people in Canada are diagnosed with MS.

Following the initial approval for Sativex in the relief of
neuropathic pain in MS, GW expects to make further applications in
Canada for the use of Sativex in additional indications, including
pain in other conditions.

Dr Geoffrey Guy, Executive Chairman of GW, said, "We are delighted
to receive this Qualifying Notice from Health Canada and look
forward to receiving regulatory approval for Sativex in Canada in
the early part of 2005. This approval will be a major milestone for
GW and for people with Multiple Sclerosis who have long awaited a
prescription cannabis-based medicine for the treatment of
neuropathic pain. We view Canada as an important target market for
Sativex and look forward to working towards product launch with our
partner Bayer.

"Health Canada has processed its regulatory review in just seven
months and we are grateful to them for this rapid turnaround time.
Sativex will be the first prescription cannabis-based medicine and
we believe that the pragmatism shown by Health Canada in their
review reflects a welcome recognition of the clinical need in MS
patients for Sativex."

GW Announces Positive Preliminary Results with its Cannabis-based
Medicine (Sativex®) in Phase III Cancer Pain Trial

19/01/2005

GW Pharmaceuticals announces positive preliminary results in a Phase
III clinical trial with Sativex® in 177 patients with severe cancer
pain.
The trial was a multi centre double-blind, randomised, placebo-
controlled parallel group study. Patients in the study had advanced
cancer and were experiencing pain that was not responding adequately
to strong opioid medication (e.g. morphine). In addition to study
medication, all patients remained on their existing opioid and other
analgesic medication during the trial.

The study included two different study medications - Sativex (a
cannabis medicine containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and
cannabidiol (CBD)) and a THC-rich extract. Patients entering this
three arm study were randomised equally to one of Sativex, THC
extract or placebo. Each of these study medications were
administered by means of a spray into the mouth.

In this Phase III trial, Sativex achieved a statistically
significant improvement in comparison to placebo in pain as measured
on a numerical rating scale (p=0.014), a primary endpoint of the
study. A responder analysis showed that approximately 40% of
patients on Sativex showed a greater than 30% improvement in their
pain (p=0.024).

Analysis of escape medication, a second primary endpoint, showed
that there were no significant changes in the use of escape
medication. The improvements seen in pain were therefore
attributable to the positive effects of Sativex.

The other active arm of this study, GW's THC extract did not show a
significant effect in pain (p=0.24). This trial therefore suggests
that Sativex is the more effective product for use in cancer pain.

In the trial, the adverse event data showed the medicines to be
generally well tolerated.

Approximately 40 per cent of cancer sufferers at present have unmet
needs in pain suppression.

Dr Stephen Wright, GW's R&D Director, said, "Patients in this trial
were suffering intense pain as a result of their cancer despite
using currently available strong opioid treatments and therefore
have a very high clinical need. The data from this important trial
further demonstrates the broad potential of Sativex, not only in its
initial Multiple Sclerosis and neuropathic pain markets, but also in
cancer and potentially other types of chronic pain. These positive
results suggest that Sativex may represent a valuable new treatment
option for this group of patients.

"We will now be actively reviewing the next steps, including a
possible further Phase III confirmatory clinical trial, towards
securing regulatory approvals for the use of Sativex in cancer pain."

Sativex is currently the subject of regulatory applications in both
the UK and Canada. A Qualifying Notice for approval in Canada was
received in December 2004 for the use of Sativex in the treatment of
neuropathic pain in Multiple Sclerosis. In both countries, upon
approval, Sativex will be exclusively marketed by Bayer HealthCare.

Hacking is not good. I'll get wary of satan. I don't talk to him anyways.
usually just throw a comment or two in there I very rarely get answered.

Crackwalker


>From: erissa blue
>Reply-To: erissaspotpage@yahoogroups.com
>To: erissaspotpage@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: RE: [erissaspotpage] Re: howdy
>Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2005 07:27:22 -0800 (PST)
>
>
>well, I hope it has all blown over. But if SATAN decides to be a dick, he
>could start it all up again. He's the only one there I know of with the
>know-how that someone used to hack into my aol account stuff.
>
>And Lats was a real weenie to stir things up again just because I dropped
>his ass.
>But so far, all is quiet... We'll just wait and see
>TheCrackwalker Peace wrote:
>
>Yeah I caught some that shit at adp but I was hermitting then and I
>couldn't
>keep it all straight because I was never on line and I missed a lot of
>posts. So is it all settled and put to bed?
>
>I'm glad you are still around, I like you.
>
>
>
>
>---------------------------------
>Do you Yahoo!?
> Meet the all-new My Yahoo! – Try it today!


Peace
TheCrackwalker




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