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Daily Press, 15 May 2012 - DISPENSARY, LANDLORD FACE $1,500 DAILY IN FINES HESPERIA With a new medical marijuana dispensary in town, Hesperia officials are touting a tough policy that could hit both the dispensary and its landlord with fines that can reach $1,500 a day after a 24-day warning period.

Washington Post, 15 May 2012 - MARIJUANA MAY HELP RELIEVE MUSCLE TIGHTNESS LINKED TO MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS THE QUESTION Marijuana has been investigated as a medicinal aid for people with cancer, AIDS, glaucoma and other conditions. Might smoking marijuana help relieve the muscle spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis?

Daily Press, 15 May 2012 - DISPENSARY, LANDLORD FACE $1,500 DAILY IN FINES HESPERIA With a new medical marijuana dispensary in town, Hesperia officials are touting a tough policy that could hit both the dispensary and its landlord with fines that can reach $1,500 a day after a 24-day warning period.

Washington Post, 15 May 2012 - MARIJUANA MAY HELP RELIEVE MUSCLE TIGHTNESS LINKED TO MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS THE QUESTION Marijuana has been investigated as a medicinal aid for people with cancer, AIDS, glaucoma and other conditions. Might smoking marijuana help relieve the muscle spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis?

Is it any wonder that the US government fights tooth-and-nail to hinder researchers’ attempts to conduct clinical trials assessing the therapeutic utility of cannabis as a medicine? After all, each and every time the federal government begrudgingly allows for such studies they’re faced with credibility-shattering results like this:

Marijuana relieves muscles tightness, pain of multiple sclerosis: Study
via the Toronto Star

Smoking marijuana can relieve muscle tightness, spasticity (contractions) and pain often experienced by those with multiple sclerosis, says research out of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

The findings, just published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, included a controlled trial with 30 participants to understand whether inhaled cannabis would help complicated cases where existing pharmaceuticals are ineffective or trigger adverse side effects.

MS is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain and spinal cord.

The disease attacks the myelin, the protective covering wrapped around the nerves of the central nervous system, and — among other symptoms — can cause loss of balance, impaired speech, extreme fatigue, double vision and paralysis.

The average age of the research participants was 50 years with 63 per cent of the study population female.

More than half the participants needed walking aids and 20 per cent used wheelchairs.

Rather than rely on self-reporting by patients regarding their muscle spasticity — a subjective measure — health professionals rated each patient’s joints on the modified Ashworth scale, a common objective tool to evaluate intensity of muscle tone.

The researchers found that the individuals in the group that smoked cannabis experienced an almost one-third decrease on the Ashworth scale — 2.74 points from a baseline score of 9.3 — meaning spasticity improved, compared to the placebo group.

As well, pain scores decreased by about 50 per cent.

“We saw a beneficial effect of smoked cannabis on treatment-resistant spasticity and pain associated with multiple sclerosis among our participants,” says Dr. Jody Corey-Bloom of the university’s department of neuroscience.

To those familiar with medicinal cannabis research, the results are hardly surprising. After all, Sativex — an oral spray containing plant cannabis extracts — is already legal by prescription to treat MS-related symptoms in over a dozen countries, including Canada, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Spain. Further, long-term assessments of the drug indicate that in addition to symptom management, cannabinoids may also play a role in halting the course of the disease.

Nevertheless, the National MS Society — like the US government — shares little enthusiasm for cannabis medicine, stating, “Studies completed thus far have not provided convincing evidence that marijuana or its derivatives provide substantiated benefits for symptoms of MS.”

Patient advocacy organizations, like the MS Society, have a responsibility to represent the interests of their constituents and to advise practitioners regarding best treatment practices. Why then does this responsibility not extend to patients who use cannabis as an alternative treatment therapy or to those that might one day potentially benefit from its use?

Martinsville Bulletin, 14 May 2012 - Still, Two-Thirds Don't Smoke Pot, Say Results of Survey in County The percentage of Henry County Schools high school students who say they smoke marijuana every day has increased dramatically in the last few years, and some other measures of marijuana use also have increased significantly, all mirroring national trends.

Amherst Daily News, 14 May 2012 - Cannabis Crusader Has Been in Europe Since 2009 AMHERST - A series of drug charges against an Athol man who says he's exiled in Europe have been withdrawn. Rickey Logan Simpson, 62, was charged with the production of cannabis marijuana, possession of cannabis marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and possession of cannabis marijuana and possession of cannabis resin following a raid of his Athol Road home in November 2009. Simpson was in Amsterdam, Holland accepting the Freedom Fighter of the Year Award at the annual Cannabis Cup when the raid occurred and it's believe he has been in Europe since then.

Charlottesville Daily Progress, 14 May 2012 - The Charlottesville City Council has shown its willingness to push the envelope on marijuana policy, but Central Virginia's representatives in Richmond seem uneager to follow suit. The City Council broke new ground last week by calling on state lawmakers to rethink penalties for pot possession and give "due consideration" to legislation that would decriminalize, legalize or regulate marijuana like alcohol.

The Dartmouth, 14 May 2012 - Policymakers, doctors and professors from across New England debated the merits and pitfalls of legalizing medical marijuana at the eighth annual Dartmouth Symposium on Substance Abuse, held on Friday in Collis Common Ground. The conference - "Medical Marijuana: Compassionate Care or Oxymoron?" - examined the controversial issue of medical marijuana in the context of a current bill facing the New Hampshire legislature. The symposium aimed to provide an informed, scientific discussion of the topic and sought to eliminate politicized arguments, according to Seddon Savage, director of the Dartmouth Center on Addiction, Recovery and Education and the event organizer.

Charlottesville Daily Progress, 14 May 2012 - The Charlottesville City Council has shown its willingness to push the envelope on marijuana policy, but Central Virginia's representatives in Richmond seem uneager to follow suit. The City Council broke new ground last week by calling on state lawmakers to rethink penalties for pot possession and give "due consideration" to legislation that would decriminalize, legalize or regulate marijuana like alcohol.

The Dartmouth, 14 May 2012 - Policymakers, doctors and professors from across New England debated the merits and pitfalls of legalizing medical marijuana at the eighth annual Dartmouth Symposium on Substance Abuse, held on Friday in Collis Common Ground. The conference - "Medical Marijuana: Compassionate Care or Oxymoron?" - examined the controversial issue of medical marijuana in the context of a current bill facing the New Hampshire legislature. The symposium aimed to provide an informed, scientific discussion of the topic and sought to eliminate politicized arguments, according to Seddon Savage, director of the Dartmouth Center on Addiction, Recovery and Education and the event organizer.

Winnipeg Sun, 12 May 2012 - A Manitoba judge has blasted the actions of two Winnipeg cops, saying they illegally walked into and searched a reputed Hells Angels associate's business and flagrantly breached his rights by handcuffing and searching him without cause. The drug-trafficking case against Alejandro Chung, 45, collapsed Friday after Court of Queen's Bench Justice Doug Abra refused to allow into evidence the cocaine and marijuana cops found during their search of La Mota on Portage Avenue on Oct. 27, 2009.

Helena Independent Record, 12 May 2012 - A Helena lawyer is asking a federal court judge to throw out the charges against his client, saying that the U.S. Attorney's office has no right to "veto" Montana voters' approval of medical marijuana. Michael Donahoe, a federal defense attorney, said that the federal government "selectively targeted" medical marijuana cultivators and dispensers like his client, Chris Williams, who is a founding member of Montana Cannabis. Donahoe is asking that the case against Williams be dropped.

Helena Independent Record, 12 May 2012 - A Helena lawyer is asking a federal court judge to throw out the charges against his client, saying that the U.S. Attorney's office has no right to "veto" Montana voters' approval of medical marijuana. Michael Donahoe, a federal defense attorney, said that the federal government "selectively targeted" medical marijuana cultivators and dispensers like his client, Chris Williams, who is a founding member of Montana Cannabis. Donahoe is asking that the case against Williams be dropped.

Toronto Star, 11 May 2012 - DRUG DEALER ATTACKED AND 'THE FIGHT WAS ON,' WITNESS TESTIFIES A former Toronto drug squad officer has told a cop corruption trial he never viciously beat a prisoner, as alleged, but simply defended himself in a "brawl."

The Mail Tribune, 11 May 2012 - Medical Marijuana Laws Will Invite Exploitation As Long As the Drug Is Illegal Medical marijuana laws in Oregon and California, enacted by voters with the best of intentions, are running into trouble. The details differ because the laws do, but the root causes are the same: The impulse to make money is stronger than the desire to help suffering patients, and "back door legalization" tempts recreational users to take advantage of a system designed to relieve pain and suffering.

The Mail Tribune, 11 May 2012 - Medical Marijuana Laws Will Invite Exploitation As Long As the Drug Is Illegal Medical marijuana laws in Oregon and California, enacted by voters with the best of intentions, are running into trouble. The details differ because the laws do, but the root causes are the same: The impulse to make money is stronger than the desire to help suffering patients, and "back door legalization" tempts recreational users to take advantage of a system designed to relieve pain and suffering.

Cowichan News Leader, 11 May 2012 - Start the conversation: Experts say it's a good thing if you are talking about substance abuse with your teens RCMP Corporal Scott Hilderley's drug prevention tip for parents may surprise you in its simplicity.

Lake Country Calendar, 11 May 2012 - The call for legalization-or at least decriminalization-of marijuana in B.C. is getting louder. Recently eight B.C. mayors-including James Baker of Lake Country, Robert Sawatzky of Vernon, Chris Pieper of Armstrong, Howie Cyr of Enderby, John Ranns of Metchosin on Vancouver Island, Darrell Mussamotto of the City of North Vancouver, Burnaby's Derek Corrigan and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson-released a letter they had all signed calling on Victoria to tax and regulate the drug as a way to stop gang violence in this province and help make communities safer.