News

Heroin use and overdose deaths are increasing rapidly in the United States, according to a recent report by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) summarizing data from a number of public health-related datasets.

According to the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 4.9 million Americans have used heroin, with 656,188 reporting use in the last year and 184,310 reporting use in the last month. Nearly three-fourths (73 percent) of past-year heroin users are between the ages of 18 and 34 and 70 percent of past-month users are in this age group.

The CDC’s review of NSDUH data indicates that heroin use among those 18 to 25 has increased 109 percent in a comparison of the years 2002 to 2004 and the years 2011 to 2013. Use among those 26 and older has also increased by 58 percent.

A National Health Center (NHC) Brief reviewed by the CDC reported that the rate of heroin-related deaths have quadrupled from 0.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2000 to 2.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2013, with most of the increase coming after 2010. 

Read More:http://www.hightimes.com/read/marijuana-might-help-alleviate-latest-drug-epidemic

I received the following message from Congressman Sam Farr:

Today, Democratic Congressmen Sam Farr (CA-20, and Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), and Republican Congressmen H. Morgan Griffith (VA-09), and Andy Harris, M.D., (MD-01), introduced the “Credible Research on Medical Efficacy of Marijuana Amendment” to the 21st Century Cures Act. The 21st Century Cures Act, or H.R. 6, is currently scheduled to be considered on the House floor this week.

The amendment focuses on removing barriers that inhibit research on marijuana. This amendment encourages the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to work with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to initiate and collaborate on research about the medical risks and benefits of marijuana. This does not change marijuana from a Schedule 1 drug, but does create a new subclassification within Schedule 1 – “Schedule 1R” for marijuana that would make research easier to conduct.

“As more and more states pass medical marijuana laws, it is clear the federal government needs to rethink our federal policy. Both sides of this issue agree that debate needs to be centered on science and not rhetoric. Allowing research to occur will give policymakers the information necessary to determine the proper role of medical marijuana in our country,” said Congressman Farr.

“There has been little research into potential therapeutic benefits and risks of medical marijuana use. In many cases, research into specific relief it provides, how it can best be used, etc. has been obstructed by federal obstacles. This amendment is a responsible approach to increasing research and pursuing the answers to questions being asked by so many patients, doctors, researchers, and policy makers about medicinal marijuana,” said Congressman Griffith.

Read More:http://www.theweedblog.com/members-of-congress-want-to-remove-barriers-to-marijuana-research/

A pot-smoking church sued the city of Indianapolis and state of Indiana on Wednesday, claiming laws against possession and use of marijuana infringe on its religious beliefs.

The First Church of Cannabis, formed as a test of Indiana's new religious objections law, filed its lawsuit in Marion Circuit Court in Indianapolis, naming multiple defendants including Gov. Mike Pence and state and local law enforcement officers.

The lawsuit claims church members believe marijuana is a sacrament that "brings us closer to ourselves and others. It is our fountain of health, our love, curing us from illness and depression. We embrace it with our whole heart and spirit, individually and as a group."

The lawsuit says Indiana laws that make possession of marijuana or visiting a place where it is used a punishable offense place a burden on the church's exercise of religion, violating the state and U.S. constitutions.

"We are taking legal action today to ensure love has no barriers in our land," church founder Bill Levin, 59, said at a news conference in front of the Statehouse. "Today we invite the state of Indiana and all its leaders to joyfully meet us in a court of law for clarifications on our core religious values. We look forward to engaging them on the high plane of dignity and discipline, with love and compassion in our hearts, to find a swift and sensible answer for our questions of religious equality."

Read More:http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/pot-smoking-indianapolis-church-sues-marijuana-laws-32311459

In the past, when tens of thousands of stoners flocked to a major American city to catch a performance by a band unapologetically associated with the use of mind-altering substances, there has typically been a militant response on the part of law enforcement. It was not uncommon, during these types of events, to witness a rabid surge of wild-eyed coppers patrolling the streets and conducting roadside shakedowns on any vehicle branded with a Peace sign—not to mention, those standing guard along the front line of the stage, itching for some action.

Fortunately, times are changing, at least to some degree, and many police agencies have been forced to pull back the reins on hardcore enforcement tactics as they pertain to rock concerts and marijuana.

Over the weekend, a record-breaking crowd of more than 70,000 Deadheads gathered at Soldier Field in Chicago to catch the final performances of the Grateful Dead’s “Fare Thee Well” tour. However, unlike in years past, very few of those in attendance were busted for pot-related offenses. This despite the fact that the Chicago Sun Times reported “a pungent fog of marijuana smoke wafted throughout the arena…over three straight nights of concerts.”

According to the Chicago Police Department, officers only made one arrest and issued two citations throughout the course of the entire weekend for illegal possession of marijuana. Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the police agency, said officers had more important issues than marijuana to contend with, like the increasing murder rate that continues to plague the city. 

Read More:http://www.hightimes.com/read/chicago-police-didn%E2%80%99t-mess-deadheads-over-weekend-money-may-have-played-part

Medical cannabis patients and activists express hope that legislation may yet move through the PA House despite numerous roadblocks.

Recently the Pennsylvania Senate passed Senate Bill 3 40 – 7 which would have created a medical cannabis licensing and dispensing program, a regulatory Board, and which would have permitted qualifying patients access to medicinal cannabis products such as oils and extracts. While not a perfect bill from a patient perspective it at the very least provided a framework modeled after successful programs in other states.

But, despite public support at 87% according to a recent Franklin & Marshall poll, SB 3 has stalled in the PA House. Specifically, the legislation was assigned to the Health Committee chaired by Matt Baker who has made no secret of his open hostility to cannabis reform. Chairman Baker has said repeatedly he will not permit the bill to come up for a vote in his Committee (most likely because he knows it will pass.)

Chairman Baker’s intransience on the issue led another House Representative, Rep. Miccarelli attempted a rarely used procedural maneuver called a “Discharge Motion” that could have resulted in an up and down vote on the House floor. But Rep. Miccarelli himself was outmaneuvered and his Motion was never actually addressed.

Read More:http://www.theweedblog.com/pennsylvania-medical-marijuana-hopeful-for-a-house-vote-this-session/