UN Calls For Research On
Medical Marijuana;
And We Learn Nothing About Marijuana, But A Little More About DEAland Media – 3
Articles
(Marijuananews note: First, to deal with the
substance of the story, the UN’s call for research is very nice, but they are --
typically -- way behind the curve. This is hardly surprising. While this statement may
have some marginal political significance, even the DEAland Drug Czar is in favor of
"research." They all know that research can be delayed for years, and the
results of the research can be delayed even longer. Then they can delay acting on the
research. They have gotten away with this for decades, so this report is more of a
tactical maneuver than a strategic retreat.
However, if the UN is behind the curve on the issue, it is way ahead of the prohibitionist
media in DEAland. For example, I am told that today the NORML office had numerous calls
from media from around the world, but virtually no calls from inside DEAland.
The first article is good journalism from the AP, which appears to give a fairly
straightforward account, although anyone familiar with the subject will know how much is
left out. In large part that is simply the nature of journalism, not just this subject.
The second article is from the very prohibitionist Washington Post, which -- typically --
avoids the subject of medical marijuana until the very end and runs under the headline,
"U.N. Report Says Drug Preferences Differ in Americas, Europe." Boring,
boring… Remember that there was a medical marijuana initiative on the D.C. ballot and
the results are still a secret, so the medical marijuana issue is of great relevance to
the Post readers.
Meanwhile, The Dallas Morning News, which makes the Post look like High Times, started
with the Post article and edited it so as to say nothing about medical marijuana at all!
This sort of comparison of prohibitionist propaganda disguised as journalism is one
more example of something that is possible only on the Internet.
The UN has not made any real contribution to our knowledge about medical marijuana, but
they have at least given us one more example of how marijuana prohibition is perpetuated
by the DEAland media.
The full text of the UN report is on line at
http://www.incb.org/e/ar/index.htm )
See
UN Prohibitionists
Demand Censorship Of Anti-Prohibitionists,
Even Medical Marijuana and Hemp Info
February 23, 1999
From The Associated Press
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Writer
U.N. SEEKS MEDICAL MARIJUANA STUDY
UNITED NATIONS - A U.N. report recommends ending the politicized
debate over using marijuana for medical needs by conducting in-depth and impartial
scientific research into its possible benefits for some patients.
The report, released today by the International Drug Control Board, doesn’t call
for the legalization of marijuana or advocate loosening controls over its use, said board
member Herbert S. Okun of the United States.
It calls instead for serious research in the public and private sector to determine
whether there are medicinal benefits for marijuana.
Only scientific evidence can end the current debate which is
"characterized by ignorance, by emotion, by propaganda on all sides or at least
certainly on the extremes of both sides," Okun told a news conference Monday to
launch the report.
See
The Lancet Reports On
Israeli Plans For Medical Marijuana;
"We don’t want people to have to break the law
to get treatment when no other drug is effective".
and
Finnish
Medical Association Supports Medical Marijuana
And Says Its Negative Effects Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.
and
Chairman of the House
of Lords Science and Technology Committee
Criticizes UK Government’s Rejection Of Report On Medical Marijuana
– 2 Articles With 2 of the Worst Prohibitionist Arguments
and
The Lancet reports on the Terry Parker
case."Canadian Judge Allows Marijuana as Therapy"
and
Canadian
Medical Association Passes Resolution Urging Possession Of Marijuana
Not Be Punishable By A Jail Term
and
Medical Community
United In Support Of Medical Marijuana Reform
-- NORML Foundation NEWS ALERT
and
Nahas versus
Kassirer
The recommendation is highlighted in the annual report of the
Vienna-based board, which is a 13-member, quasi-judicial organization overseeing U.N. drug
treaties.
Among the other findings, the report said Europeans are the world’s top users of
stress-reducing drugs, while Americans hold the record for consuming the most
performance-enhancing substances.
While the reasons for such a disparity weren’t known, Okun said it may lie in
cultural, lifestyle and other forces.
The aging European population has access to more extensive health care systems, which
may be more willing to prescribe drugs to reduce aches and pains, he noted.
The high use of performance-enhancing drugs in the Americas may be at least partly
explained by the prevalent sense of competition there, the report indicated.
In particular, Okun said the board was concerned about
over-prescription in the United States of methylphenidate, sold as the drug Ritalin, to
treat children with attention deficit disorder.
American patients are consuming 330 million daily doses of the substance compared to 65
million for patients in the rest of the world, the report found.
See
"Ritalin
Puts Some Kids Into Zombie-Like State" Says Study -- Making It Easier To "Just
Say No to Drugs"?
The agency also warned that more and more North Americans are smoking heroin and said
Europe has emerged as a producer of cannabis and synthetic drugs. Cannabis continues to be
the most commonly abused drug in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The report expressed concern about the prevalence of do-it-yourself guides on the
Internet, which teach users how to prepare certain illegal substances.
And it repeated its concern that painkillers such as morphine are
increasingly hard to come by in the developing world, though they are widely available in
the industrialized world about 100 times more available in the world’s top 20
industrialized countries than in the bottom 20.
(Marijuananews note: This is why only the full legalization
of marijuana will make it possible for people in poor countries, and even poor people in
some rich countries like DEAland to be able to get adequate pain relief. These people
cannot afford even the most basic pharmaceuticals.)
The board, whose mission is to ensure the legal availability of drugs for medical
purposes, is launching a campaign called "Freedom From Pain" to make such drugs
more available in the developing world.
See
Three Articles On Pain -- From
Washington, The UK, And Arkansas –
And Two Are Even About Medical Marijuana -- Analysis By Richard Cowan
and links
Copyright: 1999 Associated Press
How The Washington Post Reported On The UN Report
U.N. Report Says Drug Preferences Differ in Americas, Europe
By John M. Goshko
From The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 23, 1999; Page A08
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 22—A U.N.-related anti-narcotics agency reported today that
people in North and South America consume large amounts of performance-enhancing drugs and
stimulants, commonly called "uppers," while Europeans are the world’s top
users of so-called "downers," or stress-reducing drugs.
These were among the trends discussed in the annual report of the International
Narcotics Control Board, an independent panel that oversees implementation of United
Nations drug control treaties. The board is responsible for monitoring and promoting
compliance by signatory countries in controlling 116 narcotic drugs and 111 psychotropic
substances, a category that includes hallucinogens, stimulants and depressants.
The report notes that there is no clear-cut explanation for the differences in usage
between Europe and the Americas. But it speculates that they could be linked to such
factors as culture, the effects of advertising and differences in doctor-patient
relationships.
Noting the tendency of Americans, particularly in the United States, to make heavy use
of a wide range of performance-enhancing drugs—from muscle-building steroids to
Ritalin, used to treat attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity in children, to
Viagra, the anti-impotence drug—the report says: "Such high use . . . could be
at least partly explained by a prevalent sense of competition. Use of these drugs seems
linked to culture and lifestyle."
"In the Americas, particularly in the United States, performance-enhancing drugs
are given to children to boost school performance or help them conform with the demands of
school life," the report says. "They are also taken by adults to achieve the
desired body image, boost athletic prowess and social skills or enhance sexual
performance."
Use by Americans of stimulants, particularly amphetamine-type substances for dieting
and methylphenidate substances, such as Ritalin, amounts to an annual total of 330 million
defined daily doses, compared with a total of about 65 million daily doses in all other
parts of the world, the report says.
The report finds no evidence that life in Europe is more stressful than in the
Americas. Nevertheless, it says, stress-reducing drugs, called benzodiazepines
by scientists, are used by as much as 10 percent of the populations in some European countries,
with people older than 65 the heaviest users.
See
UK
Victims of Tranquilizers Urge That "Far Safer" Medical Cannabis Be Made
Available -- IoS
"More people died from benzodiazepine usage than from such
drugs as heroin and cocaine."
It says, "Many Europeans in this age group have retired and no longer suffer
professional stress, but may use the drugs to cope with isolation or threatening changes
in life routine." And it warns, "But treating these symptoms with
benzodiazepines can be dangerous, since these substances have a high abuse and dependency
potential."
The report also notes the board’s opinion that the debate
about medicinal use of cannabis, or marijuana, has been characterized "by ignorance,
emotion and propaganda on all sides," and it recommends increased scientific research
to better determine whether cannabis is beneficial in alleviating the unpleasant effects
of various illnesses.
See
How The Washington
Post Tells Its Readers
About The House of Lords Report On Medical Marijuana -- With Great Subtlety!
In the United States, some states have adopted laws for freer use of
cannabis, only to encounter fierce opposition from the White House and other
federal narcotics control agencies.
(Marijuananews note: No, you did not overlook anything. There is no
mention of the Washington, D.C.'s own medical marijuana intitiative! Just "some
states"... Whew!)
© Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
How The Dallas Morning News Reports The Washington Post Story
From www.dallasnews.com
Uppers popular in Americas, downers in Europe, report says
February 23, 1999
From The Washington Post News Service
UNITED NATIONS - An anti-narcotics agency reported Monday
that people in the Americas use a lot of performance-enhancing drugs, commonly called
"uppers," while Europeans are the world’s top users of "downers,"
or stress-reducing drugs.
Those were among the trends discussed in the annual report of the International
Narcotics Control Board, an independent panel that oversees implementation of U.N.
drug-control treaties.
The report said there is no clear-cut explanation for the differences in use between
Europe and the Americas. But it speculates they could be linked to culture and the effects
of advertising.
The study noted the tendency of Americans to use performance-enhancing drugs - from
muscle-building steroids to Ritalin, used to treat attention deficit disorder and
hyperactivity in children, to Viagra, the anti-impotence drug.
"Such high use . . . could be at least partly explained by a prevalent sense of
competition," the report said.
"In the Americas, particularly in the United States, performance-enhancing drugs
are given to children to boost school performance. . . . They are also taken by adults to
achieve the desired body image, boost athletic prowess and social skills or enhance sexual
performance," the report said.
The report found no evidence that life in Europe is more stressful than in the
Americas. Nevertheless, it says, stress-reducing drugs, called benzodiazepines, are used
by as much as 10 percent of the population in some European countries.
(Marijuananews note: No, you did not overlook anything. There is
no mention of medical marijuana!)
Supported