From: lvnorml@hotmail.com ("LVNORML")
Subject: NORML E-Zine
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2002 16:31:44 -0800

NORML E-Zine
Volume 5
Issue 44
November 21, 2002

You can join, donate or purchase a NORML-related product online at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3D3454


TOP STORIES

* NORML Reiterates Stance Against Driving While Impaired By Pot;
  Questions Feds' Proposed Crackdown On "Drugged Driving"
* NORML Responds To Pending BMJ Editorial Regarding Marijuana
  And Schizophrenia


NORML Reiterates Stance Against Driving While Impaired By Pot;
Questions Feds' Proposed Crackdown On "Drugged Driving"
"This plan advocated by the Drug Czar would result in the unfair
arrest of tens of thousands of unimpaired motorists each year,"
NORML Head Warns

Washington, DC:  While driving under the influence of pot is never
acceptable, neither is it sound public policy to treat sober drivers as =
if
they are impaired simply because inactive marijuana metabolites may be
detectable in their blood or urine, said Keith Stroup, Executive =
Director
of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).=20
Stroup's remarks were in response to this week's launch of a new federal
campaign to prosecute drivers who test positive for any presence of
marijuana, including inactive metabolites that can remain present in the
body for days or even weeks after past pot use.

"This plan advocated by the Drug Czar would result in the unfair arrest
of tens of thousands of unimpaired motorists each year," Stroup warned.=20
"That's not a safe nor sensible driving initiative; that's an attempt to
misuse the traffic safety laws to identify and prosecute marijuana =
smokers
per se."

He added: "Alcohol is legal in America, yet every state maintains tough
laws punishing those who choose to drive impaired by it.  Most American
voters understand and accept this dynamic.  There is no reason why =
similar
principles should not regulate cannabis consumption."

While Stroup agreed that marijuana impaired drivers should be penalized
just like those who drive while impaired under the influence of alcohol,
he maintained that the government must not use this issue to falsely =
imply
that a significant portion of vehicular accidents are due to drivers
operating under the influence of pot.

Stroup noted that driving culpability studies consistently show that
marijuana, unlike alcohol, is rarely a contributing factor in automobile
accidents.  "Although marijuana intoxication has been shown to mildly
impair psychomotor skills, this impairment does not appear to be severe =
or
long lasting, particularly when compared to alcohol intoxication which
increases aggressive and risk-taking behavior," Stroup said.

In driving simulator tests, subjects under the influence of pot =
typically
manifest their impairment by decreasing their driving speed and =
requiring
greater time to respond to emergency situations.  However, unlike =
subjects
under the influence of alcohol, these drivers are usually aware of their
impairment and compensate for it accordingly, such as by driving more
cautiously or by focusing their attention when they know a response will
be required.

As a result, marijuana impairment does not appear to play a significant
role in on-road traffic accidents, Stroup said.  For example, a recent
review of scientific studies analyzing the culpability of drug-free
drivers versus those testing positive for alcohol and/or marijuana
reported, "[These] studies have failed to demonstrate that drivers with
cannabinoids in the blood are significantly more likely than drug-free
drivers to be culpable in road crashes."  Seven separate studies =
involving
7,934 drivers were analyzed in the review.  (A more detailed summary of
this and other studies is now available on the new "Marijuana & Driving"
section of the NORML website, at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3D5448)

Nevertheless, Stroup reiterated NORML's position that driving under the
influence of any substance, including pot, is unacceptable.  =
"Responsible
cannabis consumers never operate motor vehicles in an impaired =
condition,"
Stroup said, citing NORML's "Principles of Responsible Cannabis Use."=20
"Public safety demands not only that impaired drivers be taken off the
road, but that objective measures of impairment be developed."

Although roadside drug tests modeled after breathalyzer tests exist in
Europe, that technology remains unavailable in the United States.=20
Instead, U.S. law enforcement primarily rely on limited drug testing
technology such as urinalysis, which can detect past drug use, but not
impairment.

For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Executive
Director, at (202) 483-5500.  NORML's white papers on marijuana and
driving, "Cruising on Cannabis: Putting the Breaks on Doped Driving
Misconceptions" and "Marijuana and Driving: A Review of the Scientific
Evidence," are available online at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3D5448


NORML Responds To Pending BMJ Editorial Regarding Marijuana
And Schizophrenia

Washington, DC:  An editorial to be published in this week's issue of =
the
British Medical Journal (BMJ) warns of an association between the heavy
use of marijuana and schizophrenia and depression.  The editorial, which
admits that marijuana's potential role or non-role in precipitating =
either
condition remains yet unresolved, accompanies three separate studies
examining the issue and is expected to renew debates regarding =
marijuana's
potential health risks.

While not commenting on the methodology of the new studies, NORML
Foundation Executive Director Allen St. Pierre noted that pot's =
potential,
though marginal, risk in patient populations already predisposed to
certain psychiatric disorders should in no way justify arresting and
jailing responsible adult marijuana smokers, or deny doctor's from
prescribing it to other types of seriously ill patients.  "Any risk
presented by marijuana smoking falls within the ambit of choice we =
permit
the individual in a free society," he said.  "We do not suggest that
marijuana is totally harmless.  No drugs are, including those that are
legal.  Clearly, however, marijuana's relative risk to the user and
society in no way supports criminal prohibition or the continued arrest =
of
more than 700,000 Americans on marijuana charges every year."

St. Pierre also noted that previous scientific reviews regarding
marijuana's impact on health, including a 1999 study by the National
Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine (IOM), have played down links
between marijuana use and psychiatric disorders, including =
schizophrenia.=20
"Daily cigarette smoking among adolescent boys is more strongly =
associated
with psychiatric disorders than is any use of illicit substances," the =
IOM
concluded.

In addition, some researchers believe that marijuana may actually play a
role in treating schizophrenia.  For example, a 1999 study by scientists
at the University of California at Irvine speculated that the body may
produce higher levels of the THC-like chemical anandamide to combat the
effects of schizophrenia.

"Arguably, this research is in it's infancy," St. Pierre concluded.=20
"However, epidemiological evidence gleaned from thousands of years of
marijuana smoking indicates that if there is a risk associated with the
use of marijuana and these ailments, then that risk is exceptionally
small."

For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul
Armentano of The NORML Foundation at (202) 483-8751.  The BMJ series =
will
appear in the November 23 issue.



Support NORML's efforts to change marijuana policy and educate the =
public
to alternatives to marijuana prohibition.  You can join or donate online
at:
https://banqa.uaqa.com/norml/join/