Legislation that seeks to legalize the physician-supervised use of medical marijuana has been introduced in the North Carolina legislature.

House Bill 577 amends state law to “authorize an individual to use marijuana for medical purposes as directed by a physician.” HB 577 would allow patients both the ability to cultivate their own cannabis at home or to purchase it at state licensed distribution centers. This proposal has been referred to the House Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations, but has yet to be assigned a hearing.

Fifteen states Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington and the District of Columbia have enacted laws protecting medical marijuana patients from state prosecution. There is no legitimate reason why North Carolina’s patients should not enjoy these same legal protections.

Please urge your member of the House to support this legislation by entering your zip code below.

See the article here:
North Carolina Legislature Considers Medical Marijuana Measure

Valient Thorr and Urb Thrasher

Valient Thorr is an American rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that began playing together in 2000. Their first show was in 2001 and they packed hometown shows all over North Carolina and did their first major tour of the US and Canada shortly afterward, doing 47 shows in 52 days.

After some band lineup changes, they were soon signed to Volcom Entertainment, where their full-length album Total Universe Man was released on June 7, 2005. They performed on the Volcom stage on the Warped Tour 2005, for the entire tour, except for a few shows where they played the main stage. The band continued to rock, never really taking a break touring for the next 3-4 years playing with top bands such as Fu Man Chu, Joan Jett and others.

In early 2011, Valient Thorr was announced as the supporting act for Motörhead and Clutch’s 2011 North American tour in support of their new album, Stranger!

The song “Double Crossed” is a hard – fast rocking, bass thumping and booty shaking tune with some Southern flare! The song is just about as perfect as a song can be except for one thing, they could have added 1 second and instead of it being 4:19 minutes long, it would be 4:20. So kick back, make sure you dont get Double Crossed out there and remember to Rock out to Valient Thorr.

http://www.valientthorr.com - www.myspace.com/valientthorr - www.volcoment.com

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Download audio file (NORML_Daily_AudioStash_2011-01-25.mp3)

Hemp Headlines

1. Nevada reviewing policies allowing parolees to use medical marijuana
2. Montel Williams speaking in Maryland for medical marijuana laws
3. Washington lawmaker proposes legalization with cannabis sold in liquor stores
4. Stupid Stoner Story: North Carolina student busted in Oklahoma admits to police his $250,000 made selling cannabis over the past year

Daily Toker Tunes

Brought to you by Cannabis Cure UK

• Electric Tuesday: Bhang – “Indican”

Government at Work

• Garret Overstreet from Tulsa NORML on Oklahoma medical marijuana bill

Radical Rant

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• Medical Soda Pot is latest media sensationalism about medical marijuana

DARE to turn in your parents and get yourself a stay with Child Protective Services!

Last week, it happened again. The day after a lesson about marijuana was given to 5th graders at an elementary school in Matthews, North Carolina an eleven year-old-student brought his parents marijuana to school to give to a D.A.R.E. officer and report them

See the article here:
Child Turns In Parents After a D.A.R.E. Lesson

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Hemp Headlines

1. Two men shot and killed in similiar story – supposedly aiming a rifle at armed police investigating outdoor grow operations
2. Democrats of North Carolina pass resolution to support medical marijuana in their state
3. Mexican President Filipe Calderon says he will now consider a debate on legalization after 28,000 people have died in Mexico’s war against drugs

Daily Toker Tunes

Brought to you by John Doe Radio.com

• Groovin’ Thursday: Potluck ft. Tech N9ne – “What We Are”

Southern California Scene with Tere Joyce

• Justin Alsman from LA Talk Radio on public support for Prop 19

Radical Rant

• Stop19.com – More “Potheads For Prohibition” against Prop 19 legalization

I am back from vacation and there are a couple of new NORML Chapters that have fulfilled their organizational requirements. I am very proud to announce the formation of North Carolina NORML, our newest statewide chapter in the South. If you’re interested in getting involved, send an email to jnfoster ‘at’ mindspring ‘dot’ com – that’s Jennifer Foster, NORML Legal Committee attorney and President of NC NORML.

We also have a new regional chapter out West. It’s Northern Nevada NORML, based in the Reno/Tahoe/Carson City area. Mike Meacham is leading our efforts there and you can contact him to get involved at mikemeacham17 ‘at’ yahoo ‘dot’ com.

If you’re interested in starting your own chapter of NORML, learn how you can do it. Basically, you need five NORML members to form a non-profit org in your state. You then apply for affiliation and the next thing you know, you’re an official NORML chapter. Email start ‘at’ norml ‘dot’ org to receive more info by email.

If you smoked a joint last week, in eleven states you're as bad as a drunk driver.

From the Obama Administration’s recently released National Drug Control Strategy (hat tip to NORML reader Glen):

Encourage States To Adopt Per Se Drug Impairment Laws [ONDCP]
State laws regarding impaired driving are varied, but most State codes do not contain a separate offense for driving under the influence of drugs (DUID). Therefore, few drivers are identified, prosecuted, or convicted for DUID. Law enforcement personnel usually cite individuals with the easier to prove driving while intoxicated (DWI) alcohol charges. Unclear laws provide vague signals both to drivers and to law enforcement, thereby minimizing the possible preventive benefit of DUID statutes. Fifteen states have passed laws clarifying that the presence of any illegal drug in a driver’s body is per se evidence of impaired driving. ONDCP will work to expand the use of this standard to other states and explore other ways to increase the enforcement of existing DUID laws.

Here are the states President Obama would like to emulate:

1. Arizona: Zero tolerance for cannabis metabolites, mandatory 24 hours jail, up to 6 months upon conviction.
2. Delaware: Zero tolerance for cannabis metabolites.
3. Georgia: Zero tolerance for cannabis metabolites, mandatory 24 hours jail, up to 12 months upon conviction.
4. Illinois: Zero tolerance for cannabis metabolites, up to 12 months upon conviction.
5. Indiana: Zero tolerance for cannabis metabolites, up to 60 days upon conviction.
6. Michigan: Zero tolerance for cannabis metabolites, up to 93 days upon conviction, vehicle immobilization for up to 180 days.
7. Nevada: 15 ng/ml for cannabis metabolites.
8. Ohio: 15 ng/ml for cannabis metabolites, mandatory 72 hours in jail, up to 6 months upon conviction, 6 month to 3 year license suspension.
9. Pennsylvania: DUID for cannabis metabolites, amount unclear.
10. South Dakota: Zero tolerance for cannabis metabolites for persons under the age of 21.
11. Utah: Zero tolerance for cannabis metabolites, mandatory 48 hours jail, up to 6 months upon conviction.

Nine of the fifteen states cited have “zero tolerance for cannabis metabolites”.  What this means is that if the inactive (read: non-impairing) THC metabolite (THC-COOH) is detected in the urine of a driver, that driver is impaired in the eyes of the law.  (There are actually 17 states that have per se DUID laws, but Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Wisconsin exclude metabolites of cannabis.)  Nevada and Ohio have 15 ng/ml levels which are very low; most workplace pre-employment screenings set the initial screening limit at 50 ng/ml.  At the confirmation level of 15 ng/ml, the frequent cannabis user will be positive for perhaps as long as 15 weeks.

Of course, faithful NORML readers and most of the public know that cannabis metabolites can remain detectable in the urine for up to 100 days or longer for a regular cannabis consumer and up to fifteen days for the casual consumer, even after quitting cold turkey.  Metabolites in urine don’t tell you a driver is actually impaired, they tell you someone used cannabis, but not when.  Even the US Department of Transportation admits that a positive test for drug metabolites is “solid proof of drug use within the last few days, it cannot be used by itself to prove behavioral impairment during a focal event.”

Cannabis metabolites are funny things; they don’t eliminate from the body in any predictable fashion. In fact, when you think about it, a metabolite is produced when the body metabolizes, or breaks down, a substance.  The presence of metabolites for THC tells you the body has already broken down the THC!  You could actually call a urine screening for metabolites a non-impairment test!

Now some of these laws do have per se standards for actual THC in the blood and you could argue that is a more realistic determinant of current impairment, but do you think most cash-strapped city, county, and state police are going to use an expensive, invasive blood test when a cheap urine screen is available and more likely to get them a conviction for DUID?

These per se DUID “zero tolerance” laws are nothing but discrimination against cannabis users, plain and simple.  Metabolites for every other drug, legal and illegal, are eliminated from the body much quicker:

• PCP (“angel dust”) = up to 2 days detection.
• Cocaine (and “crack”) = up to 2-3 days detection.
• Opiates (heroin, oxycontin, etc.) = up to 1-2 days detection.
• Amphetamines (meth, speed) = up to 1-3 days detection.
• Barbiturates (Seconol, etc.) = up to 3 days detection.
• Benzodiazepenes (Xanax, Valium, Clonopin, etc.) = up to 2-3 days detection.
• Alcohol (Budweiser, Jim Beam, Reisling, etc.) = you can actually be considered unimpaired with current blood alcohol levels up to 0.08%, so long as you pass the roadside sobriety test!
• Cannabis (marijuana, hash, pot) = up to 7-100 days detection.

So you could smoke some dust, snort some coke, shoot some smack, and pop some pills at the party Friday night, and possibly be considered an unimpaired driver by Monday (you could even have a couple of drinks before you got pulled over), but if you smoked a joint last month, in eleven states you could be going to jail and losing your license for endangering the public on the roadways.

These “zero tolerance” laws are criminalizing an entire population – cannabis users – for molecules in their bodies that have nothing to do with impairment or driving ability.  Can you imagine the uproar if police harassed drivers based on the melanin content of their skin… whoops, never mind.

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Hemp Headlines

1. Four North Carolina football players charged with maintaining a “drug house” over 6 grams of cannabis
2. Medical marijuana hears testimony in Tennessee; would not allow for home grow
3. Sixteen hydroponics stores shut down after nationwide sweep in New Zealand

Daily Toker Tunes

Brought to you by Johnny Reeferseed & the High Rollers

• Irie Wednesday: Wild Life – “Ganja Yard”

Cannabis Science with Dr. Mitch Earleywine

Radical Rant

• New study confirms ineffectiveness of urine testing to promote safety in the workplace or identify drug users

Thank you for contacting me regarding the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana.

While I understand the arguments in favor of legalization, I believe there are broader issues which must be considered. In particular, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has shown that “marijuana use by youth is highly correlated with future use of addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin.” At the very least, I believe legalizing marijuana would send the wrong signal to young people.

That said, in our effort to combat illegal drug use in the United States, we have not have always pursued the best course and have in fact created additional problems. Fighting the war on drugs has led to political and economic tradeoffs with our allies, and contributed to the enactment of mandatory minimum sentencing laws which have not necessarily addressed the broader problem of drug abuse.

It may interest you to know, however, that I have supported the right of states to determine whether to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Rep. Maurice Hinchey offered a related amendment during consideration of the Fiscal Year 2008 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Act on July 25, 2007. The Hinchey amendment, which I supported, would have effectively prevented the Justice Department from prosecuting individuals for the medical use of marijuana in states where the practice is permissible under state law. Unfortunately, the amendment did not prevail by a vote of 165 to 262.

You may be aware that two bills have been introduced in the House by Rep. Barney Frank that would decriminalize marijuana.  The first, H.R. 2835, the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act would move marijuana from schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act to schedule II and recognize marijuana’s medical effectiveness.  In addition, the legislation would strengthen protections for state-authorized medical marijuana programs. The bill has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee for review. Another measure, H.R.2943, the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2009 would eliminate federal penalties for possession of marijuana for personal use.  This bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee. Should the House consider legislation related to marijuana and our federal drug control strategy, I will consider it carefully, keeping your concerns in mind.

Thank you again for contacting me.  Please continue to keep in touch on issues of concern.

Sincerely,
DAVID PRICE
Member of Congress