PRESS RELEASE - 10th SEPTEMBER, 2003

Edition 8.

Cannabis News Items From Around the World

THE DUTCH GO TO POT

Pubdate: Mon, 15 Sep 2003
Source: Newsweek (US)
Copyright: 2003 Newsweek, Inc.
Contact: letters@newsweek.com
Website: http://www.msnbc.com/news/NW-front_Front.asp
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/309
Author: Eric Pape, and Adam Piore, (With Friso Endt in the Netherlands, Liat
Radcliffe in London, Stefan Theil in Berlin and Marie Valla in Paris)
Note: Source listed as International Edition

THE DUTCH GO TO POT

America Takes A Hit In The Drug War As Legalized Grass Takes Root Across The European Continent

Sept. 15 issue — Paul van Hoorn, 71, suffers from chronic glaucoma. His wife, Jo, 70, has painful arthritis. So every few days, the two septuagenarians shuffle to their local "coffee shop," ever watchful for robbers, to buy a little marijuana. Last week Dutch authorities decided that the van Hoorns, among many others, should change their ways—by going to their local pharmacy. Effective immediately, the government will begin dealing in Nederwiet, or Netherweed—cannabis, by another name, grown in state-sanctioned greenhouses and sold by prescription with official
government approval.

THAT MAY NOT be such a stretch in a country famous for its cutting-edge life-style, where cafes legally sell pot along with cappuccino. Still, not so long ago the Netherlands might have faced condemnation, not only from Washington but across Europe. This time, though, while American anti-drug crusaders shake their heads in angry consternation, many Europeans are
thinking of following suit. Britain, Belgium and Luxembourg are preparing to emulate the Netherlands in decriminalizing marijuana possession for personal consumption—and they will be watching the prescription experiment closely. Nor is this the most controversial of Europe's new approaches to drugs.

In Spain last week, 60 heroin junkies began a pilot program in which for the next nine months, they will receive twice-daily injections of heroin, supervised by a state hospital. Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland have already launched similar programs.

It's a far cry from the era when President Ronald Reagan found willing partners for his "get tough"
policies. When it comes to the problems of drugs and addiction, says Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance in New York, the United States these days is an "outlier," increasingly far from the European mainstream.

Actually, the Netherlands' new policy isn't as out-there as it might seem at first —glance. Official pot will be sold only for the alleviation of acute pain in the treatment of such diseases as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis, as well as a handful of unusual ailments like Tourette's syndrome. No more than 15,000 patients are expected to receive the drug in the first year. Nonetheless, it's significant that nations that used to tailor their drug policies to U.S. concerns are today far less inclined to do so.

Europeans are increasingly put off by what they see to be America's extremism—the stridency of the Bush administration's "zero tolerance" crime and anti-drug campaigns, its growing conservatism on social and cultural issues, its unilateralism in Iraq and go-it-alone unwillingness to abide by
treaties and international norms held dear by Europeans, from environmental accords to agreements on international criminal justice.

"People are saying, you can't hold us to some treaties and choose the ones you do and don't want to adhere to," says Eugene Oscapella, a lawyer in Ottawa who specializes in international drug issues. "There's a lot of skepticism about America," he adds, and it's spilling into other realms, including drug policies.

The zealous U.S. attorney general, John Ashcroft, embodies this ambivalence. Many Europeans see him as nothing short of a right-wing Jesus freak, a caricature of Europe's worst fears of the Ugly American. His Justice Department has overseen vigorous (some would say absurd)
prosecutions of cases that mystify people on the other side of the Atlantic. Dozens of vendors of water pipes, sometimes used to smoke marijuana, have been indicted by the Justice Department, for example, even when no actual drugs are involved.

The comedian and actor Tommy Chong—of Cheech & Chong fame—faces up to three years in prison for allowing his name to be used to sell "Chong's Bongs" online. Authorities have raided hospices for the sick and the dying in several California cities, even though California is one of 10 states, representing 20 percent of the nation's population, to have passed medical-marijuana initiatives—only to have them overturned by conservative judges.

Says Oscapella: "It really is a crusade, pointing at drugs as the devil."

Not long ago, countries such as France could be counted on to follow the conservative U.S. line on drugs. No more.

Though widely regarded in Europe as a hard-liner, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy recently helped find a site for a music festival attended by some 40,000 ravers. (He even promised funds for cleanup and damages, if needed.) By contrast, U.S. Justice Department attorneys have been using the newly enacted Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act—popularly known as "the Rave Act"—to crack down on institutions where drugs are consumed. Critics say that nightclubs, dance halls, sports arenas and possibly even hotels can be targeted under the legislation, which Europeans consider to be draconian and a potential threat to individual civil rights.

Nor is it just Europe that's scorning U.S. policies.

Even neighboring Canada, traditionally far more in tune with America than Europe, is considering new laws that would decriminalize possession of as much as 15 grams of cannabis. Everyone from the U.S. drug czar, John Walters, to President George W. Bush himself has weighed in, threatening Canada with tighter border restrictions and possible trade penalties if its Parliament
approves the measures. Yet that might only be the beginning of Canada's perfidy, at least as Washington sees it. Like the Netherlands, Ottawa has also begun a medical-marijuana program; like Spain and Germany, it's starting up a government-funded project to supervise injections for
hard-drug addicts in Vancouver.

Should all this come to pass, whether in Canada or Europe, it will be a clear sign that key elements of America's once globally influential "drug war" are going up in smoke. Growing numbers of Europeans would say it's about time. Regardless of the merits, they will chalk it up as yet another
defeat for Arrogant America.

New Zealand: Further Hemp Trials Approved

FURTHER HEMP TRIALS APPROVED

Industrial hemp trials in Motueka have been approved for a third season, but initial enthusiasm over the crop's commercial viability has waned.

Motueka Community Group hemp project spokesman Steve Burnett will be the sole trial grower this season, once his application for a licence to cultivate the low-THC variety of cannabis sativa is approved by the Ministry of Health.

Mr Burnett said approval had been given for another 12 months of trials. A new crop would be planted in November.

He said much had been learned from last season's crops, which were harvested in March.

"I'm looking at importing seed to produce plants with a higher seed yield and greater fibre, but last year's trials proved successful in showing we can grow hardy, drought-tolerant crops with good volume.

"But the processing infrastructure in Tasman-Nelson could be improved if it is to be a large-scale commercial success."

Fellow trial grower Jenny Greer agreed that previous trials had gone well but said she would not be taking part this season.

"We've proved it can be grown well, but larger blocks and a stronger processing infrastructure would ensure a greater success commercially."

Ms Greer said trials in other parts of the country, such as Hawke's Bay and Canterbury, had gone well due to greater manufacturing and research support.

"I don't see it as the huge money-spinner for the region it was once thought of as, unless greater backing is provided in terms of defining its uses and localising its processing."

However, her faith in hemp as a multi-purpose crop with huge biodiversity benefits was still strong.

She said the hemp she grew last year proved to be a high-yielding, low-maintenance organic crop, with good weed-suppressing qualities, and attracted beneficial insect life.

"The future of hemp seed oil for nutritional value is worth exploring also, as it contains Omega 3 and 6 oils, and hemp fibre use in the building industry for insulation and mudbrick construction would also provide a viable commercial future."

New Zealand Hemp Industry Association chairman Mac MacIntosh said Motueka's hemp future could be bolstered by its involvement in the EciHemp project, which provides cottage industry launching pads for market garden-type hemp blocks.

"There's a lack of a driving force in Tasman for large-scale hemp production at the moment, but being part of the EciHemp project would ensure a starting point for a sound hemp future in the region," Mr MacIntosh said.

Bad News

Tasmanian CWA Bid for Medical Pot

http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,7150188%255E3462,00.html

The association's state conference voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion on the issue yesterday.

It wants state and federal governments to legislate so the drug can be a prescription pain relief treatment for people with non-curable conditions such as cancer, HIV, and multiple sclerosis.

The motion was raised by Launceston's Riverside branch.

Branch delegate Ailsa Bond, a retired pharmacist, told the conference the active ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, had demonstrated benefits for terminally ill people including pain relief and appetite stimulation.

She said countries such as Canada and the Netherlands were already allowing terminally ill people to use the drug, and the association should support the NSW Government's four-year cannabis trial because it had an obligation to explore all avenues to relieve pain and suffering.

Several women attending the Launceston conference gave emotional accounts of caring for terminally ill husbands and how legitimate cannabis use might have eased their partner's suffering.

One woman told of how her husband had wasted away to just 48kg before he died, after extended treatment with morphine.

"I asked our doctor, but he could not prescribe it. You don't care if he smokes it, just as long as it takes away the pain," she said.

Association president Jill Hayes also supported the move and recounted her own experience.

"If it had been (legally available) when my husband was sick, then I'm sure he would have been smoking it," she said.

Central Coast branch delegate Vera Norris said people were using cannabis for much-needed pain relief and should not be considered law-breakers.

Mrs Bond said she was aware of cases in Launceston where police had allowed terminally ill people to use the drug.

She did not believe the motion was controversial.

"When I started as a pharmacist in 1940, I can remember it being prescribable then. But that stopped when the US started having problems with the drug," she said.

The State Government said yesterday it had no plans to legalise medicinal cannabis use, and would not do so outside a national reform.

Dutch Cannabis Initiative Stirs Interest in Europe

The decision by the Dutch government to legalize cannabis prescriptions for patients suffering from serious illnesses has aroused the interest of countries in Europe and beyond.

In a move that raised few eyebrows in the Netherlands and caused other countries around the world to turn their curiosity and interest towards the liberal European nation, the Dutch government legalized the medical use of cannabis on Monday, paving the way for doctors to prescribe the narcotic as a painkiller for those who are seriously ill.

The decision to permit cannabis for the relief of symptoms related to the treatment of terminal cancer, AIDS and HIV, and for patients with multiple sclerosis or Tourette's syndrome, is the latest in a list of pioneering social reforms in the Netherlands.

However, whereas the Dutch decisions to legalize euthanasia and sell cannabis for recreational use in licensed coffee shops caused controversy in the international arena, the move to permit cannabis for medical purposes has attracted the attention of other countries that have been considering similar initiatives -- especially in Europe.

All Eyes on Holland

The Dutch Health Ministry says it has already fielded calls for progress reports from officials in Germany, Britain, Belgium and Luxembourg. Britain announced plans to begin testing cannabis for medical purposes earlier this year with the possibility of the government making it legal for doctors to prescribe their patients starting in 2004 if tests prove conclusive.

Germany already legally provides patients with oral pills and liquids, such as the pharmaceutically manufactured products Marinol and Nabilone, which contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the active compounds found in cannabis.

According to Dr. Franjo Grotenherman from the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine (IACM), the German government agreed in 1999 to work on creating a formula for a cannabis extract that could be used as a medical treatment. The government passed the responsibility for developing the formula to the German Pharmaceutical Association, which announced two months ago that their work was complete.

"But now the winds have changed", Dr. Grotenherman told Deutsche Welle. "At the time of the agreement on the formula, we had a Green Party minister in Health, now the minister is from the SPD and is a little more sceptical." Dr. Grotenherman added that the process had now slowed down even after the Bundestag voted in support of developing cannabis for medical use in 2001. The Dutch move may now grease the wheels, he hoped.

A report in 2002 by the Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) suggested that decisions by Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain to decriminalize the drug could also open up possibilities for developing cannabis for medical use.

US, Canada and Australia Monitoring

Elsewhere in the world, the Duitch experience will be carefully monitored. Parts of the United States, Australia and Canada that began to sell and distribute marijuana for medical use in July were all considering following suit and prescribing the drug through medical sources. Federal law has made it difficult for American states to implement medical marijuana laws. In California, where the drug could be legally used for medical purposes, federal prosecutors used national laws to convict professionals involved in prescribing or supplying cannabis.

The Dutch decision came after extensive tests on the medical benefits of the drug that began in 1996. There has yet to be any concrete evidence of physiological change from using the drug in its medical form, but research shows certain alleviating effects in patients. "There is no scientific proof that it works," said a health ministry spokesman, "but repeated use indicates that an effect does exist."

Claims of Effectiveness

Cannabis is claimed to be effective in reducing nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, of reducing tension in glaucoma patients and in improving the appetite of those suffering from HIV and AIDS. It is also said to be effective in treating multiple sclerosis and certain nervous disorders. Experts at the Dutch Health Ministry have recommended that the drug only be taken via an inhaler or mixed with tea and not smoked.

Based on these findings, the Dutch government has given permission for two cultivators -- the Stichting Institute of Medical Marijuana (SIMM) and the firm Bedrocan -- to supply pharmacists with strictly regulated dosages of cannabis. The cannabis provided by the two companies is rigorously tested for impurities by the Bureau for Medicinal Cannabis, which also organizes its distribution.

Available Now

The government-contracted suppliers began transporting the drug to several hundred pharmacies across the country on Monday, where it will be available to patients, in five gram (0.18 oz) pots or packets. The drug will be sold
for between Euro 40 and Eruo 50 ($43.80-$54.80) per bag, and patients will be expected to pay for their cannabis themselves. There are no plans as yet to provide the drug as a subsidized health benefit. The Dutch Health Ministry expects the drug to be initially available to between 4,000 and
7,000 patients, rising to 15,000 within a year. Government estimates put the number of people who are already regularly taking cannabis for medical reasons at around 7,000, with many either buying it in coffee shops or receiving it illegally from doctors and chemists, according to Health
Ministry estimates.

"It was ridiculous that people were using this drug while no doctor was permitted to prescribe it, despite the fact that scientific studies showed benefits," a Dutch Health Ministry official said.

Less Expensive Relief on the Street

Cannabis is available in licensed coffee shops in the Netherlands at almost half the price of the government regulated drug, although the strength and quality of the product from illegal channels cannot be guaranteed. Time will tell if the government scheme replaces the street option for patients searching for relief -- something other countries will be watching with interest.

Dutch Politician slates Stoned Cops

Pubdate: Sat, 06 Sep 2003
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2003 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Contact: letters@guardian.co.uk
Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Andrew Osborn, The Guardian
Note: To read the news from The Netherlands in the Dutch language see MAP
in The Netherlands http://www.mapinc.org/mapnl/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/area/Netherlands (The Netherlands)

AMSTERDAM'S KEY STONED COPS FACE DRUG CAFE BAN

Being drunk on duty is one thing, but the Dutch government is concerned that too many of its police officers are getting stoned on and off duty and is to ban them from "coffee shops", or drug cafes.

The interior minister, Johan Remkes, fears that the spectacle of spliff-wielding police - in or out of uniform - is chipping away at the force's respectable public image.

He also believes that the Netherlands' finest risk being accused of hypocrisy when they carry out spot checks for drugs if they are dabbling in the weed themselves.

"A police officer has an exemplary role to fulfil and has to show some authority," he told De Telegraaf newspaper. "They could be in a difficult position if they have to stop and search people for drugs."

Although the country's 1,500 "coffee shops" are tolerated by the authorities, the amount that pot lovers can buy is limited to five grams (a sixth of an ounce) at a time, and hard drugs are not allowed.

Mr Remkes says he wants to ban police officers from frequenting coffee shops both on and off duty.

And his VVD liberal party is pushing for a ban on other officials, such as mayors and government ministers.

The government is under pressure to act after a television documentary revealed that senior officers in Amsterdam regularly used hard drugs and even dealt ecstasy and cocaine to colleagues.

The documentary, the work of investigative crime journalist Peter de Vries, led to the sacking of 12 officers.

Based on a leaked report from the police's internal affairs department, two of the 12 claimed that a quarter of the Beursstraat station's personnel (in central Amsterdam) used hard drugs.

The investigation was launched after a detective saw a police brigadier popping ecstasy while on a stakeout.

Witnesses described occasions when officers were so high on ecstasy that they could not even find Amsterdam's main shopping street,
Kalverstraat, just two minutes away from the station.

They also alleged that officers went on drug-fuelled holidays, where they would smash up holiday homes in a narcotic frenzy.

The Dutch police union, the NPB, believes Mr Remkes is going too far.

"Visits to coffee shops are not forbidden, so it is strange that police officers would be barred from going in their free time," said a spokesman.

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS!