News in brief

Great Britain:

A bid to allow cannabis to be prescribed as a medicine was blocked by the Government in the Commons on 23 July without debate or a vote. 182 MPs have backed this Bill from Labour MP Paul Flynn. On 21 July the Prime Minister already dismissed Flynn’s plea for a law change. He asked Mr Blair at question time if he felt patients who suffered from multiple sclerosis, the side-effects of chemotherapy or from other chronic pain should be prosecuted and jailed for using medicinal cannabis. Mr Blair replied: "The same regime applies to those people as to any others. Of course, penalties are a matter for the courts. They will take into account, no doubt, all the circumstances surrounding that."
(Marijuananews note: Yes, and Her Majesty’s law also forbids both the rich and the poor to sleep under bridges. There was once a time when a Labor government would have seen the absurd injustice in this "equal application" of the law.)

See
Member of Parliament Claims UK Government Moving Toward Medical Marijuana:
"It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when."

(Sources: PA News of 21 and 23 July 1999)

***Germany:

The annual meeting of the Association for Cannabis as Medicine will be held in Reutlingen near Stuttgart on 9 October. The evening will be open to non-members with talks on cannabis and the cannabinoids by Dr Peter Hess, Dr Martin Schnelle, Dr Franjo Grotenhermen and patients who use cannabis to treat symptoms of their disease.

The CannaBusiness 1999 will be held in Hennef near Cologne from 17 to 19 September. On 18 September there will be talks on cannabis as recreational drug and as medicine by Chris Conrad, Sebastian Glathe, Franjo Grotenhermen and others. The annual Hemp Parade in Berlin will take place on 28 August. Start at 2 pm at Alexanderplatz, manifestation at 4 pm in front of the Brandenburger Tor.

The Hemp Festival of Hamburg will take place on 31 July. Start at 2 pm at Fischmarkt, manifestation at 4 pm at Schanzenpark.

THE COMMENT

... on the acquittal of Colin Davis by a British court:

"This means freedom. (...) The politicians should please, please listen to what has been said. They should help us to help ourselves."
See
Acquittal Of UK Medical Marijuana Co-Operative Operator Gets Massive Media Coverage
– There, Not Here, Of Course –
"Cannabis Law In Chaos As Dealer Is Cleared" -- 5 Articles

Andrew Caldwell, 51, wheelchair-bound multiple sclerosis sufferer, who received cannabis from Mr Davies (PA News of 22 July 1999)

Association for Cannabis as Medicine (ACM)
Maybachstrasse 14
D-50670 Cologne
Germany
Phone: +49-221-912 30 33
Fax: +49-221-130 05 91
Email: info@acmed.org
Internet: http://www.acmed.org