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  The NORML Network provides 24-hour stream of marijuana news, education, and entertainment

  by Russ Belville, NORML Outreach Coordinator

  If you haven’t taken a moment to check out The NORML Network, you’re missing out on the internet’s only source of 24-hour live streaming news, education, and entertainment for the cannabis community.  Visit our Audio/Video department or click the graphic above to see the complete schedule. Our network is anchored by NORML SHOW LIVE, weekdays at 7pm Eastern, the official podcast of NORML.  You’ll get today’s headlines from Cannabis Karri, a new Daily Toker Tune from a different genre every day, an interview with one of the top names in marijuana, [...]

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  President Obama’s YouTube Forum deems marijuana legalization questions “inappropriate”

  by Russ Belville, NORML Outreach Coordinator

  NOTE: If you feel marijuana legalization was an entirely “appropriate” topic for debate, tweet your dissatisfaction of the White House’s censoring of NORML’s YouTube question by tweeting them using #WHchat and @WhiteHouse. “Pres. Obama, what is inappropriate about saving billions and not arresting nonviolent american citizens for marijuana? #WHChat @WhiteHouse” – E. Altieri, Comm. Coordinator   As of 7pm Pacific, I checked the YouTube.com/WhiteHouse page to see how many votes our question received in President Obama’s latest YouTube Forum.  The good news?  Our question, “With over 850,000 Americans arrested in 2010, [...]

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  Latest Science: Non-Psychotropic Cannabinoid Inhibits Colon Cancer Cell Proliferation

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

  The administration of the non-psychotropic cannabis plant constituent cannabidiol (CBD) is protective in an experimental model of colon cancer, according to preclinical trial data published online in the Journal of Molecular Medicine. Investigators at the University of Naples assessed the effect of CBD on colon carcinogenesis in mice. Researchers reported that CBD administration was associated with cancerous tumor reduction and reduced cell proliferation. Authors wrote: “Although cannabidiol has been shown to kill glioma cells, to inhibit cancer cell invasion and to reduce the growth of breast carcinoma and lung metastases [...]

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  NORML’s Weekly Legislative Round Up

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

  January 2012 marks the beginning of a new legislative session in all 50 states. Already, marijuana law reform legislation is pending (or has been pre-filed) in nearly a dozen states. To keep up to date with what’s pending, and how you can support marijuana-friendly reform measures in your state, please visit NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ here. You can also stay abreast of 2012 statewide ballot initiative efforts, such as those ongoing in Colorado and elsewhere, via NORML’s Legalize 2012 Facebook page here. Below is this week’s edition of NORML’s Weekly [...]

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  Arizona: Governor Finally Agrees To Fully Implement State’s 2010 Voter-Approved Medical Cannabis Law

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

  Nearly 14 months after Arizona voters approved Proposition 203, the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA), Republican Gov. Jan Brewer is finally directing the Arizona Department of Health Services to move forward to fully implementation the law. A brief history: In November 2010 Arizona voters narrowly decided in favor of ballot measure 203, which removes state-level criminal penalties for the use and possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana by patients who have written certification from their physician indicating that cannabis may alleviate their condition. The measure also mandated the [...]

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  Justice Department Formally Threatens State-Licensed Colorado Cannabis Providers

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

  In December I blogged about rumors that the Obama Justice Department was finalizing plans to expand its recent crackdown on medical cannabis producers and providers to include state-licensed facilities in Colorado. Today, the federal government made good on its threats. According to numerous media reports, federal authorities today issued warning letters to 23 state-licensed dispensaries in Colorado stating that “action will be taken to seize and forfeit their property” if they continue operating within 1,000 feet of a school. The letters, sent by U.S. Attorney John Walsh, say that the [...]

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  JAMA: Long-Term Exposure To Cannabis Smoke Is Not Associated With Adverse Effects On Pulmonary Function

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

  Exposure to cannabis smoke, even over the long-term, is not associated with adverse effects on pulmonary function. That’s the conclusion of a major clinical trial published today in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Investigators at the University of California, San Francisco analyzed the association between marijuana exposure and pulmonary function over a 20 year period in a cohort of 5,115 men and women in four US cities. Predictably, researchers “confirmed the expected reductions in FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in the first second of expiration) and FVC [...]

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  The Republican Candidates on Marijuana

  by Erik Altieri, NORML Communications Coordinator

  As we approach the middle of January, Election 2012 is in full swing. Fresh off of the Iowa Caucuses, the six remaining Republican candidates move on to New Hampshire for their January 10th primary. As a non-profit organization, we are not permitted to endorse candidates for public office, but we hope this guide helps inform you of the marijuana policy positions of the various candidates. (Note: NORML is not endorsing any of the candidates listed below and this is intended only as an educational overview of the candidates positions on marijuana policy.) Republican [...]

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  NORML Remembers Gatewood Galbraith

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

  Gatewood Galbraith – a prominent Kentucky attorney, longtime cannabis activist, and perennial candidate for various state and federal offices – died in his sleep Tuesday evening as a result of complications from asthma and chronic emphysema. He was 64 years old. [Listen to NORML SHOW LIVE's interview with Gatewood Galbraith - December 3, 2010] Galbraith was widely known as an outspoken advocate for legalizing cannabis, particularly the non-psychoactive variety of the plant. While campaigning for public office, Galbraith typically wore suits made from hemp fiber and sometimes traveled in a [...]

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  Wider Use Of Cannabis Therapy Could Reduce Prescription Pain Drug Deaths

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

  [Editor's note: This post is excerpted from this week's forthcoming NORML weekly media advisory. To have NORML's news alerts and legislative advisories delivered straight to your in-box, sign up here.] Physicians who prescribe opioid drugs to patients with neuropathy (nerve pain) ought to consider recommending cannabis as an alternative therapy, according to a peer-reviewed paper published online this week in the Harm Reduction Journal. “There is sufficient evidence of safety and efficacy for the use of (cannabis/cannabinoids) in the treatment of nerve pain relative to opioids,” the commentary states. “In [...]