News Blunts from May 20

Obama Moves to Imprison Unimpaired Drivers

If you smoked marijuana last week or even last month and you drive a car, you may be sent to prison under new guidelines drafted by the federal government.

The Obama administration released its National Drug Control Strategy guidelines last week. The federal government wants all of the states to adopt its authoritarian and draconian diktat and expand the drug war. From the guidelines:

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Martinez Works on Dispensary Regulations
MARTINEZ — Martinez has had an ordinance on the books for 10 years that allows medical marijuana dispensaries, but has never approved one. In response to Police Chief Tom Simonetti's call for a ban, the Public Safety Subcommittee has been crafting a less restrictive ordinance, with significant input from groups hoping to open a dispensary.

Residents who use medical marijuana have complained about having to travel to Oakland or Berkeley to get their medicine.

The draft medical marijuana ordinance would change the permit for a dispensary from a conditional use permit, tied to the property, to a nontransferable license. The license would be valid for one year and would be eligible for annual renewal.

Other key provisions of the proposal include criminal background checks for licensees, requirement for on-site security personnel and cameras and set hours of operation. The draft ordinance also would ban on-site consumption; and prohibit dispensaries from opening within 1,000 feet of schools, churches with schools or day care centers, facilities serving young people or another dispensary. Dispensaries would have to be located in commercial zoning districts no closer than 300 feet to residential parcels.

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Marijuana May Extend Life of Lou Gehrig’s Disease Patients

By Paul Armentano

Cannabis therapy may reduce symptoms and prolong survival in patients diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS aka Lou Gehrig’s disease), according to a scientific review published online last week by the American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine.

Investigators at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle and Temple University in Pennsylvania reviewed preclinical and anecdotal data indicating that marijuana appears to treat symptoms of ALS as well as moderate the course of the disease.

Authors wrote: “Preclinical data indicate that cannabis has powerful antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. … Cannabis also has properties applicable to symptom management of ALS, including analgesia, muscle relaxation, bronchodilation, saliva reduction, appetite stimulation, and sleep induction. … From a pharmacological perspective, cannabis is remarkably safe with realistically no possibility of overdose or frank physical addiction. There is a valid, logical, scientifically grounded rationale to support the use of cannabis in the pharmacological management of ALS.”

They added, “Based on the currently available scientific data, it is reasonable to think that cannabis might significantly slow the progression of ALS, potentially extending life expectancy and substantially reducing the overall burden of the disease.”

Investigators concluded, “There is an overwhelming amount of preclinical and clinical evidence to warrant initiating a multicenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of cannabis as a disease-modifying compound in ALS.”

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