Norml News Autumn 2008 by NORML New Zealand Inc

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Autumn 2008 N O R M L N e W S

N O R M L N e W S Autumn 2008

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NORML NeWS Vol 12 Issue 2

47,000 COPIES PRINTED MARCH 2008 P UB LI SHE D BY NORM L NZ INC .

PO Box 3307, Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand Phone: 09 302-5255 Fax: 09 303-1309 Email: info@norml.org.nz Website: www.norml.org.nz editor & design: Chris Fowlie contributors: Harry Cording, Will de Cleene, Chris Fowlie, Nandor Tanczos, Pauly Paul, Abe Gray, Rob Weir, Mamio Marais, Bush Doc, James D and assorted rogues, rascals and recidivist recruits. Want to contribute? Please send us your ideas, letters, photos, cartoons, comments, grow tips, recipes or tasty buds for us to sample... include a SAE if you would like your contribution (or roaches) returned. a big thanks to all our advertisers, contributors, distributors, cannabis-med.org and drugpolicycentral. org for hosting our website. printer: APN on 57 gsm glossart advertising: 09 302 5255 or news@norml.org.nz distribution:

Mailed free to NORML members (join on p37) and available while stocks last at selected outlets including: WHANGAREI Pied Piper, Switched On Gardener SILVERDALE The Grow & Brew Shop DARGAVILLE B_Arch Wear AUCKLAND Alex’s Fashions, Cosmic Corner, Easy Grow, Erox, Hempstore, Now & Then, Pipe Dreams, Real Groovy, Switched On Gardener HAMILTON Frankton Pipe Shop, Greens Office, Needle Exchange, Rota, Switched On Gardener OTOROHANGA Neveraes THAMES Boot’s N All, Crystal Ball Clinic, This Time Around TAURANGA Curiosity, NZPC, Switched On Gardener MT MAUNGANUI Antipodes, Nemms ROTORUA Skingraft, Wild Thingz GISBORNE Cultural Experience NAPIER Earthsong, Movement HASTINGS Switched On Gardener TAUPO CannaBus artwork by Switched On Gardener TE AWAMUTU Groovee Thingz NEW PLYMOUTH Mamio Marais. This Guru Gardener, Mindfuel, Net, Stardust page: Jack Flash by Mr Creations, Trick or Treat WANGANUI Green. Discount Smoke Shop, Drugs & Health Development Project, Stardust Creations PALMERSTON NORTH IV Union, Lotz of Pots WELLINGTON Comrades, Cosmic Corner, Real Groovy, San Jewellery, Switched On Gardener LOWER HUTT Devine, House of Hydro, Lo Cost Records, Stardust Creations PORIRUA Stardust Creations NELSON Gizmo’s, Switched On Gardener MOTUEKA Community Action, Kowhai Imports, Flurmo TAKAKA Invisible BLENHEIM Boots ‘n’ All RANGIORA Rock Shop CHRISTCHURCH Alice in Videoland, Avon Backpackers, Central Surf, Cosmic Corner, Embassy, Globe Cafe, Hydrostore, Java Coffee House, Radar Records GREYMOUTH Planet Funk QUEENSTOWN Play It Again WANAKA Play It Again TIMARU Dizzy Spell DUNEDIN Community Law Centre, Cosmic Corner, DIVO, Funk That!, Governors, Hemphatic, Modaks, Tangente, Radio One, Records Records INVERCARGILL Large As Life, Play It Again.

on the cover:

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GET YOUR 2008 Cale ndar! See p. 37 or ask at your loca l Norm News outle l t

Autumn 2008

Contents FEATURES Drug laws beyond 2008 by Brandon Hutchison 4 NORML’s 2008 National Bus Tour by Dakta Green 8 Introducing Maryjane by Harry Cording 10 Dunedin Cannabis Awareness Week by Abe Grey 14

JSaturday Day 3 May Ak/Ham/Wgtn Mot/Chch/Dun

spread

INTERVIEWS Heavyweight of hemp: Rob Van Dam by Chris Fowlie Amsterdam Chronic-cles Pt.2 by Pauly Paul

24 26

Medicinal Cannabis research Countering objections to med-pot by Chris Fowlie Medicinal Cannabis news and research Smoke sense - do cancer claims stack up?

16 17 18

REGULARS How you can help end cannabis prohibition Dread In The House with Green MP Nandor Tanczos World News with Harry Cording Legal briefs Property Seizure Pt.3, by Rob Weir Safer cannabis use - NORML’s harm reduction advice NORML membership form Join our campaign! Show your grow: High Seas Pot Party!

12 15 21 34 36 37 38

The National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML NZ Inc) is a non-profit organisation that campaigns to end marijuana prohibition. We support the right of all adults to possess, use and grow their own marijuana. We recognise that a market for thanks to: marijuana will always exist, and we promote ways to best regulate and control that market. Our aims are to: reform New Zealand’s marijuana laws; provide information about cannabis; engage in political action appropriate to our aims; inform people of their rights; and give advice and support to victims of prohibition. Join on page 37. Autumn 2008 N O R M L N e W S

heads up Now is the hour.

f you are ever to be involved in cannabis law reform, even if only for a short time, this year is the year. NORML has lodged a petition in parliament calling for medicinal cannabis. The health select committee have asked NORML to appear before them in June to present our case. And Green MP Metiria Turei has a bill in the works that would allow patients to grow their own or nominate a caregiver to do it for them. But we need more than just the Greens and ACT voting in support. MPs of all parties need to hear from you if we are to successfully change our drug laws. There is hope. In February there was a historic conference in Wellington where various NZ NGOs discussed UN drug conventions, and the Law Commission is about to carry out a large, first-ever review of the Misuse of Drugs Act. This is election year and drugs are sure to feature in the debate. Don’t let the shrill cries of prohibitionists drown out the voices of reason. Make sure you have your say. And make sure you vote on election day.

Drug Laws I

n 1998, The UN General Assembly held a Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs, which set the goal of a “drug free world” by mid-2008. Unless illegal drugs are going to mysteriously vanish very soon, this monumentally foolish aim has been a total failure. So to review its progress, the UN is to hold another UNGASS next year. One of the UN’s many tentacles called the Vienna NGO Committee has created the “Beyond 2008” project to consult the non-government sector (NGO’s) and assist or inform the session. Nine meetings have been held in different regions of the world. Mid-February saw a historic two-day meeting at Te Papa in Wellington of about 50 people involved with drug policy issues. Hosted by the NZ Drug Foundation, with funding from the Ministry of Health, representatives from treatment, Community Youth and Drug groups (CAYADS), Ministry of Health, Law Commission, health promotion, needle exchanges, academia, Customs, ESR, policy and law reform groups, including NORML met to discuss three broad questions: What have NGOs achieved in the field of “drug control” since the 1998 UNGASS? How can they better collaborate with each other and with Set and Setting. Government & UN in The responsible cannabis the area of drug control? user will carefully What should be the consider his/her mind-set “high order principles” and physical setting, and to guide future action? regulate use accordingly. One sub-question dominated the thoughts Resist Abuse. Use of many if not most of of cannabis, to the extent those attending: “Do you that it impairs health, believe that adherence to personal development or the Conventions has achievement, is abuse, to resulted in unintended be resisted by responsible consequences for cannabis users. your country, whether positive or negative”? Respect the Regrettably there Rights of Others. were no members of The responsible cannabis the Police present. They user does not violate the would have benefited rights of others, observes considerably from hearing the views of accepted standards of those participating on courtesy, and respects the the consequences of their preferences of those who prohibitionist work. wish to avoid cannabis.

NORML’s Principles of Responsible Marijuana Use Adults Only. Cannabis consumption is for adults only. It is irresponsible to provide cannabis to children. Many things and activities are suitable for young people, but others - including drugs absolutely are not.

Safe Driving.

The responsible cannabis consumer does not operate a motor vehicle or other heavy machinery while impaired by cannabis, nor (like other responsible citizens) impaired by any other substance or condition, including prescription medicines or fatigue.

N O R M L N e W S Autumn 2008

Will de Cleene addresses the meeting

In attendance was Michel Perron, member of the Vienna NGO committee, anthropologist, Gabor Somogyi of the Beckley Drug Policy programme of the UK, and reps from the Australian Drug Foundation. The meeting heard presentations from Perron, and from the Law Commission on their plans to review the Misuse of Drugs Act, and from a panel including MP Nandor Tanczos, on their perspectives on drug issues. A highlight was mention of Professor David Nutt’s Lancet paper which fundamentally challenged the rationality of drug scheduling in the UK and by implication in NZ. Several small-group sessions were held to generate answers to the Beyond 2008 questions. There was some appreciation that the “industry” had matured, with treatment being managed more professionally, with community groups better resourced and there being some prohibitionist successes such as the banning of NOS. However the general feeling from these sessions was that the UN Conventions, as manifest in our drug laws, were maximising harm, creating black-market crime, disease, lack of respect for police and authority, wasting money, generating social costs etc... Not new ideas but perhaps new for a group of this calibre. In July 2008, delegations from the 9 Global meetings, including from Australasia will meet in Vienna for a Summit to pool findings from around the world. Postscript: The day following this meeting at Te Papa, many of those attending, including Perron and Nutt, met with officials and some politicians at Parliament, however Jim Anderton, Minister for Drugs didn’t bother to show even though scheduled. He protested he had more important meeting to attend, and said he had met privately with a few instead and claimed Prof Nutt “expressed admiration for our evidence-based policies”. More info: www.vngoc.org or check out Law Enforcement Against Prohibition www.leap.cc www.normL.org.nz

Jack Flash by Mr Green, AUCKLAND. PHOTO: CHRIS

Beyond 2008 UN treaties limit options for NZ drug law reform

hile most of us believe in national sovereignty and democracy with each country making its own laws to suit local conditions, culture and values, it will come as a surprise to many to find that this is not so in the case of drug laws. This is because NZ is a signatory to several UN treaties whereby it agrees to impose a harsh prohibitionist regime on its own people. To withdraw from these treaties could have political consequences far worse than those resulting from the nuclear ships ban. How did we get into this sorry state of affairs? Prior to WWI, moralists and temperance advocates from the USA used the diplomatic power of that country to organise international conferences and promote agreements

intended to control drugs, with opium being the main target. The first resulting legislation containing blanket drug bans was the Harrison Act (1914) in the USA. NZ passed the Dangerous Drugs Act in 1927 (banning cannabis and other drugs) with no public discussion and little debate in Parliament. This was a copy of the British version, enacted to fulfil the treaty obligations. Fast-forward to the post WWII period when a combination of the same moral zealotry, a mega-powerful USA dominating the UN and the tenacious work of the notorious US Narcotics commissioner, Harry Anslinger, resulted in three UN treaties on drugs, the first being the 1961 Single Convention which resulted in

most countries of the world enacting harsh prohibitionist legislation. With the US-dominated UN antidrug machinery now set up to self-perpetrate, debate and reflection is stifled somewhat, so reformers face a challenge in bringing about rational change while prohibition continues to grow. However there is some room to manoeuvre. Despite the conventions appearing to have all bases covered, there is a degree of flexibility and it is up to individual governments / nations to decide where they lie. Personal possession and use of all drugs does not need to be criminalised and medicinal use is expressly permitted. Reforms in the EU and parts of Australia (even the US) clearly show there are plenty of options.

What the UN anti-drug Conventions say: 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (amended 1972) Aims to restrict the use of narcotic drugs to medical and scientific purposes using regulation of licit supply and suppression of illicit supply and possession using criminal law. Focuses on plant-based drugs. Suppression is largely focused on controlling supply rather than demand. Obliges Parties to criminalise the unauthorised production, distribution and possession of narcotic drugs. Recommends imprisonment for ‘serious offences’. Obliges Parties to make prevention, www.normL.org.nz

treatment and aftercare services available, and to use these as either an alternative (in ‘less serious cases’) or a supplement to penal measures. 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances Focuses on manufactured drugs such as amphetamines, barbiturates, hallucinogens and minor tranquilisers. Obliges Parties to criminalise unauthorised production and distribution, subject to their own constitutional principles. Is stronger than the Single Convention on seeking to balance controls and

sanctions against the harm and dependence-producing effects of substances, taking into account drugs’ therapeutic uses. 1988 UN Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Aims to harmonise the drug laws of member states and enforcement actions globally, & to restrict illicit drug trafficking by criminalisation, punishment & international cooperation. Parties obliged to enact specific laws including provisions on money laundering, asset seizure, extradition, intelligence-sharing, law enforcement training and

cooperation. Obliges Parties to criminalise all supply-related activities, and make trafficking a serious offence. Article 3.2 obliges Parties to criminalise possession, purchase, cultivation of illicit drugs for personal consumption—contrary to the 1961 & 1971 Conventions. Article 3.2 is subject to Parties’ constitutional principles. Parties are obliged to respect fundamental human rights when taking measures against illicit cultivation & eradication of narcotic plants. This is the sole mention of human rights in any of the three treaties. Autumn Autumn 2008 2008 N NO OR RM M LL N Ne eW WS S

5 5

Drug Laws Beyond 2008

ate last year, Associate Minister for Health Jim Anderton announced that the Law Commission would be tasked with a complete review of the thirty year old Misuse of Drugs Act (MODA). As an independent crown entity charged with the reform and review of New Zealand’s legal system, the Law Commission considers the MODA as the second-largest project on this year’s work schedule. On the 19th February the Law Commission outlined its strategy to a range of non-government organisations, including drug rehabilitation services and Maori health providers. The Commission is taking a two-stage approach, starting with a problem

identification phase which will be completed in late 2008. This issues paper will then be opened to public submissions, before a final report is prepared sometime in 2009. The initial work programme of problem identification will take a “first principles” viewpoint. It will take into consideration New Zealand’s international obligations under United Nations conventions, as well as the policy history that led to the original MODA in 1975. The linkages between the MODA and other related statutes, such as the Medicines Act, will be investigated. The Commission has lots of questions: • Should the legislative regime

CHRISTCHURCH AFGHAN MMMMM

Law Commission outlines review into the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 By Will de Cleene

Cannabis: Better legal or underground?

reflect the principle of harm minimisation underpinning the National Drug Policy? • What is the most suitable model or models for the control of drugs? • Which substances should the statutory regime cover? • How should new psychoactive substances be treated? • Should drugs continue to be classified, and if so, what process and mechanism should be used for classifying and reclassifying them? • If a classification system for categorising drugs is retained, is the current placement of substances appropriate? • The appropriate offence and Stop arresting cannabis penalty structure? users: the Government should immediately • Which agency or agencies declare a moratorium on arresting those who choose to use should be responsible for cannabis. Allow medicinal use - let doctors decide, not police and the administration of the politicians. legislative regime? Decriminalisation: remove all penalties for the use, The Law Commission possession and growing of cannabis by adults and the non-profit transfer of small amounts. The draconian search provisions of the will also be grappling with Misuse of Drugs Act should be removed and criminal records for the policy of prohibition. cannabis offences wiped. “When are we justified in Regulation: a commercial market for marijuana will always criminalising?” asked the exist. It is better to regulate that market than leave it to organised Law Commissioner in charge crime. We support the introduction of Dutch-style cannabis cafes. of the review, Val Sim. She Overseas experience shows cannabis law changes have not been went on to describe three associated with changes in use. levels of harm that answer Reasonable restrictions: as with alcohol that question at the moment: consumption, cannabis use should be limited to adults. Driving Societal harm, self-harm and or operating heavy machinery while impaired should remain prohibited. morality. NORML News will follow Harm minimisation: all drugs, including cannabis, can be abused. Cannabis policies should discourage irresponsible the review into the Misuse use, including use by adolescents, but prevention efforts can of Drugs Act closely. If you only be effective where marijuana is viewed from a public health want to contribute, please perspective, instead of a criminal justice perspective. contact NORML or the Law

NORML’s policies for Cannabis law reform

N O R M L N e W S Autumn 2008

Prohibition or Regulation? • Prohibiting drugs simply doesn’t work, and causes far more harm than the use of drugs themselves. • New Zealand has the world’s highest cannabis arrest rate, and also one of the highest rates of use in the world. • Prohibition glamourises drugs and removes control over how and to whom it is sold. • Prohibition creates a lucrative black market. It breeds violence and corruption and supports the growth of organised crime. • Prohibition erodes respect for the police and the law, and drug crimes divert police from crimes that matter. • Drug law hypocrisy undermines effective drug education efforts. • Search and seizure laws trample over everyone’s rights and freedoms. • Patients are denied the benefits of medical marijuana. • Drug laws should be based on evidence, not moral judgements. • Ending prohibition would save more than $50 million per year, while additional sales taxes could fund more drug education, research and treatment. • Cannabis law reform overseas has not been associated with increased use. • A strictly-enforced legal age of purchase would most effectively limit juvenile access to cannabis.

Commission (PO Box 2590, Wellington or com@lawcom. govt.nz) with your ideas. This opportunity is not to be wasted.. www.normL.org.nz

Drug Law Enforcement

Police spray Island community

The helicopter sprays blue poison over long grass and a caravan - from only 100 feet in the air.

www.normL.org.nz

uckland drug squad members sprayed toxic poison over the township of Trypheena on Great Barrier Island, as part of the socalled cannabis eradication programme. What’s more, they did it from a dangerously-low height of around 100 feet, at least 900 feet below the Civil Aviation Authority rules. It happened on Sunday 3 February, the last day of the summer holidays. Around 1000 locals and holiday makers were in the township, enjoying the sunshine or waiting for the last ferry back to Auckland. A spotter plane and helicopter hired by the police arrived on the scene

and began dumping sprays of blue poison over people’s back yards, roadsides, near streams, over a caravan and over weeds of the legal variety (see photos). It seems no cannabis was sprayed. Outraged residents convened a town meeting and

unanimously condemned the operation. The Great Barrier Community Board is laying a complaint with the Independent Police Conduct Authority, while a complaint is also being laid with the Civil Aviation Authority.

Growers forced indoors A report by the US Justice Department says the cannabis eradication program has driven producers indoors. The US Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) is similar to the New Zealand police’s expensive, dangerous and largely ineffective annual eradication programme. Both use planes and helicopters to uproot or spray poison on crops, and co-opt gung-ho Army and Air Force personnel

and expensive hardware to help them do it. The report notes that one side effect of shifting indoors is that “groups will produce higher-potency marijuana year-round, allowing for exponential increase in profits derived.” The report also notes that the eradication program had not reduced availability of cannabis, and said the US cannabis market is “saturated”.

www.usdoj.gov

Autumn 2008 N O R M L N e W S

www.

The 2008 National CannaBus Tour O

n March 14, 2008 Maryjane the Cannabus embarks on a historic journey to end cannabis prohibition. After attending the Albert Park 4:20 protest, Maryjane will depart for Dunsterdam (formerly known as Dunedin). She will visit 42 cities and towns during the following 42 days, with a protest at 4:20pm each day in each town, and arrive in

Dunsterdam on Friday 25 April 2008. We are looking for local volunteers to assist our tour. Suggest a suitable high profile location to park Maryjane for our protest. Help with a bed for our crew and a park for Maryjane so we may stay overnight. We want to meet the locals and hold a public cannabis conversation each day. Our intention is to arrive in each town around noon, allowing time for the bus crew to meet the public, answer questions and recruit members for NORML, before the day’s protest at 4:20 pm. Our protests include cannabis smoking. We operate a bring and share

his epic journey will start in Auckland and finish in Dunsterdam on May 3 - J Day. Dunedin has been renamed Dunsterdam (after Amsterdam) to acknowledge its progressive nature as New Zealand’s most cannabisfriendly city. It proudly hosts the longest running 4:20 sessions in the country, and local police have said they have better things to do than arrest cannabis smokers. The itinerary is on the opposite page. So that’s it folks. That’s the plan. Now is the time to step up and offer a hand. Donations toward the setup and running costs of the tour are needed. policy. We may film these events. For a suitable donation Norml The Cannabus is being fitted out as a members will be able to join the tour mobile lounge and information centre with for a day, riding between towns. the comforts of a home away from home. Self funding volunteer crew We are taking a large barbeque on tour. members are sought. Do you think Following our 4:20 protest in each town we you have something to offer? will host from 6pm-9pm a ‘pot luck’ dinner Applications are sought. Preference so we may socialize with locals. This will given to those wanting to travel the be an informal affair in a local park or such whole tour, but those who can join like. The day’s protesters will be informed the tour for part of the way could where we will be setting up. also enquire about available seats. Any questions, comments or offers of help - write to ost successful m e cannabus@windowslive. th be to ur lp. For this to a need some he nn go com re e’ w , be some it can

HELP NEEDED

e’s u come in! Her That’s where yo rrow or bo g, be e need to of the things w steal... sh... in cold hard ca > MONEY as ll into your ro e w nk when > Filling our ta town... any overnight, in m > A place to stay places. ed nsible, motivat > Crew! Respo volunteers... PA system or an external > Loudhailers D player, to V D d an onitor > Flatscreen m ial of the ucational potent maximise the ed bus. tion CannaBus dona > Money,... the 7-00 66 94 05 705 -3 12 account is ASB

N O R M L N e W S Autumn 2008

Dakta Green NORML Bus Tour Coordinator

Dakphone: 027 337 1910 Website: cannabus.org.nz

www.normL.org.nz

TOUR DATES

2008 National CannaBus Tour

CANNABIS IMAGE BY Mamio Marais; MAP BY JAMES D.

The “4.20 to Dunsterdam” Tour departs at 4:20pm on Friday 14th March from Albert Park in Auckland, and after campaigning in 42 towns in 42 days, will arrive in Dunedin on the 25th of April. The First Annual Cannabis Awareness Week then leads up to J Day on May 3rd. After that, the CannaBus will make it’s way back to Parliament, then on to a longoverdue Northland Tour. Join us when we’re in a town near you, and show your support.

42 towns in 42 days! tour updates: www.cannabus.org.nz MARCH 2008

APRIL 2008 >

4 20

Friday 14 Albert Park, Auckland Saturday 15 Te Awamutu Sunday 16 Taumarunui SUNDAY Monday 17 New Plymouth 2 0 A P R IL Tuesday 18 Stratford EVERYWHERE Wednesday 19 Hawera ANYWHERE Thursday 20 Wanganui Friday 21 Palmerston North Saturday 22 Levin Sunday 23 Dannevirke Monday 24 Hastings Tuesday 25 Napier Wednesday 26 Wairoa Thursday 27 Gisborne Friday 28 Whakatane Saturday 29 Tauranga Sunday 30 Paeroa Monday 31 Coromandel

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

Day

activities on the Union Lawn, an evening lecture in the St. David Lecture Theatre, and a late night stoner movie at Mojo’s (more information at www. otagonorml.com or see page 14). Dunedin will be renamed Dunsterdam and declared

WELLINGTON 13 – 15 May 2008, on the return > north, the CannaBus crew will visit our Members of Parliament in Wellington. Be there!

www.normL.org.nz

> > > > > > >

> > > > >

3 May

spread

a Prohibition-Free Zone until the end of J day. The CannaBus will be at a variety of public places, and day trips are planned to Gore and Invercargill. Friday 2 May, 4:20PM: In a celebration of our flourishing cannabis culture, meet at the CannaBus for a

> > >

JS a tDu radya y

DUNEDIN Cannabis Awareness Week 25 April to Saturday 3 May. Come to Dunedin for Otago NORML’s first annual Cannabis Awareness Week, a full week leading up to J Day of cannabis related activities and information sessions. Each day during cannabis awareness week will feature lunchtime

Tuesday 1 Thames Wednesday 2 Manukau City Thursday 3 Hamilton Friday 4 Rotorua Saturday 5 Taupo Sunday 6 Turangi Monday 7 Waiouru Tuesday 8 Fielding Wednesday 9 Masterton Thursday 10 Naenae (Hutt Valley) Friday 11 Wellington City Saturday 12 Picton Sunday 13 Blenheim Monday 14 Nelson Tuesday 15 Motueka Wednesday 16 Westport Thursday 17 Greymouth Friday 18 Arthur’s Pass Saturday 19 Christchurch Sunday 20 Sumner Beach Monday 21 Ashburton n gt W Tuesday 22 Timaru Ak / Ha m / M ot / Ch ch / Du n Wednesday 23 Oamaru Thursday 24 Balclutha Friday 25 Dunsterdam!

> > >

serious attempt to create a Hot Box world record, the day before J day. Yee ha! 4:20AM: “420 Extreme”, top of Baldwin St. Saturday 3 May - J DAY! Maryjane will join in the fun at the Octagon. Come along and join us!

> >

NORTHLAND tour Departing Auckland on > 13 June, a two-week northern tour of duty. See cannabus.org.nz for dates and places.

Autumn Autumn 2008 2008 N NO OR RM M LL N Ne eW WS S

9 9

Introducing “Maryjane”

coming soon to a town near

www.cannabus.org.nz

N O R M L N e W S Autumn 2008

HARRY CORDING uncovers the history of NORML’s CannaBus

he Cannabus, also known as Maryjane to her crew and passengers, has lately become a familiar sight in central Auckland. She is nearly always at the 4:20 Sessions in Albert Park on Fridays and Wednesdays, and on many Friday and Saturday nights she is parked in a prominent CBD location, serving as a cannabis information centre and rolling club house.

Maryjane has had a long journey en route to becoming the freedom bus. She started out as a Railways Road Services bus, based in Tokoroa, and in one of those delightful coincidences, her original fleet number was 4204 - make of that what you will! For many years she drove around the North Island delivering mail and newspapers through the night. Buses on these midnight runs were known as the Redeye Special, a name which is still appropriate in Maryjane’s new role. After Maryjane was retired from the

redeye runs, she was used to transport railway maintenance gangs to their jobs. She was then bought by a private owner and turned into a housebus. Some readers may recall the original NORML bus which toured the country in the early 1990s. It had long since retired and was beyond repair, so the decision was made to replace it. Maryjane was owned by a NORML member who kindly allowed NORML to pay it off rather than having to come up with the full amount at once. However, that still meant a marathon fund raising effort to cover both the purchase price and the huge amount of work needed to get the bus presentable and roadworthy. Now, three years later, Maryjane is to fulfill her destiny on our road to freedom. While Maryjane is still a work in progress, she would not have got this far without the labour and donations of everyone who made it possible. Thanks, everyone - you know who you are!

www.normL.org.nz

CANNABIS IMAGE BY Mamio Marais

2008 National CannaBus Tour

Pot Protests On Nationwide Tour

2008 National CannaBus Tour

Cannabis activists, who protest prohibition by publicly smoking marijuana at Auckland’s Albert Park, will tour 42 towns in 42 days for daily law reform rallies.

he aroma of marijuana lingers at the Victoria St East entrance to Auckland’s Albert Park as cannabis is openly smoked in 4:20pm protests on Wednesdays and Fridays. Placards with slogans such as “End the Drug War” are displayed, as is a New Zealand flag and Maryjane the CannaBus is emblazoned with drug law reform messages. The public pot consumption has attracted scant police attention. The protests have been going for just over two years but protesters have been searched and questioned only on rare occasions and only a few arrests have been made. For the most part, police tolerate the regular protests. The liberal law enforcement approach extends to CannaBus sessions in Queen St on Friday and Saturday nights. Activists say visitors over the age of 18 openly consume cannabis and passing police patrols don’t seem too fussed. “We’re showing the workers and residents of the city that cannabis smoking is not something evil to be ashamed of,” says self-proclaimed “daktavist” Ken Morgan (aka Dakta Green), who has previously been arrested for possession at the 4:20 site. “We’re showing pubic support for law change by smoking in public.” He has complained to police minister Annette King, alleging harassment of political protesters after a police operation at the site on Friday February 8, and after he was twice arrested wrongfully for supposed breach of bail. Ken Morgan has served prison www.normL.org.nz

sentences in New Zealand and the United States for cannabis cultivation. He told parole board members at his final hearing - prior to being released from prison after serving two years and eight months of a three year sentence for cultivation - that he would not grow cannabis again, but would continue smoking it and work full time to change cannabis laws. He has since devoted a year of his life - starting last November and working towards this year’s elections - to fighting prohibition. He and fellow daktavists plan to drive the CannaBus south, leaving Auckland in mid March as they head to their ultimate destination of Dunedin before J Day on May 3rd. Along the way they’re stopping in 42 towns and cities to discuss law reform with local media, politicians and residents before staging daily 4:20pm protests. In May, the cannabus will head to Wellington, with activists planning to lobby Parliament. “What this tour is all about is protesting in the strongest possible way that New Zealand citizens who are in Parliament lock up their friends and neighbours. Do New Zealanders want to keep locking up people who are part of the cannabis culture?” Ken says it’s time for New Zealanders to stand up to the United States over marijuana in the same way we did over

nuclear ships: “It’s time to say the same to the evil anticannabis policy they impose on the rest of the world.” New Zealand Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell has called for a national discussion on cannabis: “And we have risen to the challenge, we’re going to have a conversation with the public about cannabis,” Ken says. Activists drove the CannaBus north and held public smoking

sessions during the recent Waitangi Day celebrations. In an anarchic response to occasional police searches and arrests at the 4:20 site at Albert Park, activists have posted video of raids - including one where Constable Owen Arapai “busts” Ken for what turns out to be a bag of nettle tea - on sites such as cannabis.com, youtube.com and sealion.co.nz. For updates:

www. cannabus. org.nz

Autumn 2008 N O R M L N e W S

2008 activist Timeline:

> Mar 14-June: CannaBus national tour > Apr 25-may 3: cannabis awareness week > May 3: J day > June: med-pot hearing at parliament > July: , possible vote on green mp metiria turei s med-pot bill > Later: Law Commission drug law review > By November: general election

you can help end cannabis prohibition! This is a big year for drug law reform, and remember: when injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty!

Make a donation. We need funds in order to effectively campaign. Post your contribution, or make a one-off or regular A/P donation into our account: 12-3057-0594667-00.

Support the Canna-Bus Tour! Maryjane and crew are touring the country, heading to “Dunsterdam” for Cannabis Awareness Week and J Day, then Parliament and on to the Far North. Join in when we come to a town near you! You can support the tour by giving them a donation, buy a NORML t shirt, or fill the gas tank to get them to the next town. See www.cannabus.org.nz for updates.

Take part in the review of the Misuse of Drugs Act being undertaken by the Law Commission. See page 6 or lawcom.govt.nz for more.

Use your vote! Make sure you enrol and vote in the election this year. Write to or visit your MP. Visiting MPs has the most effect on them. Letters are freepost if addressed to your MP c/- Parliament Buildings, Wellington. The email format is firstname.lastname@ parliament.govt.nz or go to norml.org.nz/emailMP

discuss your ideas

N O R M L N e W S Autumn 2008

Medical users - raise your voice. Contact us, your local media, the health select committee your doctor and your MP. Everyone can download and sign our Medical Marijuana Petition from www.norml. org.nz.

Write to newspapers & call talkback radio - a free way of promoting law reform to a diverse audience. Keep it short and simple. Linking cannabis law reform to hot local issues helps broaden opposition to cannabis prohibition.

Resist Prohibition. Refuse to be searched. Plead Not Guilty in court. Resist every step of the way!

Distribute information: Contact us for leaflets or magazines to distribute round your town or local networks. Ask your local store to take our magazines.

Check out www. NORML.org.nz for cannabis law reform information and inspiration. Share ideas and meet new friends in the forums. With more than 5000 online members, we get more hits than the Labour or National party websites.

Join NORML and get involved. We need more committed ‘daktivists’ all over the country. Fill out and post us the membership application on page 37 now!

w w w. n o r m l . o r g . n z / f o r u m s www.normL.org.nz

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Local

Get down to

Dunsterdam! BY ABE GRAY, OTAGO NORML

he optimistic goal of transforming the humble southern city of Dunedin into Dunsterdam, the cannabis capital of the South Pacific is steadily becoming a reality, as more and more Dunedin residents come out of the cupboard, stand up for their rights and refuse to be intimidated. With the return of the students to Dunedin for the academic year, the Otago University NORML Wednesday and Friday 4:20 protests have become wildly popular, regularly attracting over 100 participants on both days, even in poor weather. The popularity of 4:20’s has even led some participants to suggest that the event be made thrice weekly, or even daily and that 4:20 protests should be initiated in the satellite suburbs away from the University Campus. The second plank of our militant strategy to fast track cannabis law reform in New Zealand revolves around our radio show, ‘Overgrown’, which airs live every Friday night from 911pm on Radio One (91FM Dunedin). All of the music we play on the show can be related back to cannabis either by lyrical content or the personality of the artist, and we punctuate the two hours of ganja tunes with topical interviews, news stories, historical references and general ranting. We have done over twenty shows so far, attracting a large group of regular listeners from Dunedin, and many more from around the globe streaming us live from the Radio One website, www.r1.co.nz. Almost all of our previous shows can also be downloaded in Mp3 format from our own website, www. otagonorml.com, which is set to become

N O R M L N e W S Autumn 2008

the definitive online source for information about Friday 25 April to Saturday 3 May cannabis, Dunedin, and the Dunsterdam Come on down to Dunedin for the first annual Cannabis transformation. Awareness Week, presented by Otago NORML. There is a ton We also had a of stuff happening including themed information days at the large presence university, open lectures every evening discussing cannabis during the aptly history, botany, and physiology, and cannabis movies playing named University 9pm every night at Mojo’s. Other highlights of the week ‘O-week’. Within include: Friday 25 April - ANZAC Day 4:20; Sat 26 the tent city that was April: gig at Arc Cafe Thurs 1 May 7pm: all-star roundtable erected by the Otago discussion - “is prohibition rational?” Friday 2 May, University Student’s 4:20pm: CannaBus Hot Box world record attempt 7pm: Association to allow Magical Mystery Tour Sat 3 May 4:20am: “420 Extreme”, large corporations top of Baldwin St Saturday 3 May - J Day! The Octagon, and banks to hawk high noon to 4:20pm. Afterparty at Circadian Rhythm Cafe. their wares all For the full programme see www.otagonorml.com week, we managed to deploy a guerrilla Cannabis Law Reform stall and provide come along to Wednesday or Friday 4:20’s information, cones and spots to interested on the Union Lawn or come to one of our passers by. The sweet aroma of mary jane committee meetings Thursdays at 7pm in the filled the air as students were accosted with Clubs and Societies centre. Feel free to e-mail offers for computers, ski passes, and bank us or check out our website if you would like deals. We signed up over 100 new members, any further information. and did a considerable amount of fundraising Otago University NORML: to support the CannaBus tour and our Cannabis dunedin@norml.org.nz Awareness Week (see above). We still need www.otagonorml.com funds though, and anyone is welcome at any www.youtube.com/otagonorml www.myspace.com/otagonorml time to make a donation to our newly opened Facebook Group: Otago’s NORML People kiwibank account: Otago University NORML, ‘Overgrown’ radio show, Fridays 9-11pm, www. account number: 38-9007-0445265-00 r1.co.nz (91FM Dunedin) The ball is rolling down here in the south, Meetings: Thursdays 7pm, OUSA Clubs and Societies Centre, Albany Street and it’s time for all of us to take this existing 420 sessions: Wednesdays and Fridays 4:20pm, momentum and push Cannabis Law Reform University of Otago Union Lawn forward. If you are interested to join our group,

CANNABIS AWARENESS WEEK highlights

www.normL.org.nz

Rambo politicians know pill ban won’t work by NANDOR TANCZOS GREEN MP

y the time you read this, BZP will probably be illegal. As I write, the Government is rushing the last stages of legislation banning party pills, with the support of everyone except the Greens, the Maori Party and ACT. I have always seen drug policy issues as a litmus test for political parties. It’s not that drug policy is necessarily the most important thing in the world, but it’s a powerful way of testing their integrity. Like law and order, drug issues are tailor made for electioneering. It’s easy to ramp up hysteria, fear, panic and deceit around drugs. Despite the obvious failure of current policies, rambo rhetoric and excessive and draconian laws are pretty much a magic formula for winning conservative votes. Rambo politicians know, at some level, that the real answers lie in a different approach. They have some, perhaps vague, ideas about what sane drug policy would look like. But they find the temptation too hard to resist. BZP is a good example. It is hard to conclude that BZP is anything other than a low risk of harm, on the evidence available. Of course some people overdo it and the consequences can be unpleasant, even alarming, but as far as we can tell they have never been fatal. In 2005 Parliament introduced a new class ‘D’ into the Misuse of Drugs Act, after prompting by the Greens, to allow drugs like BZP to be restricted eg R18. This was new way of dealing with recreational drugs within the Act, aimed at reducing drug related harm by keeping it above ground. Yet the Government is now banning BZP. They say it is because that’s what the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs recommended, based on an assessment that it is a moderate risk of harm. Why would a ‘moderate risk’ mean people should be criminalised for using it? Playing rugby carries a higher risk of harm than BZP, but we are not banning that. Why specifically recommend a ‘C1” classification, which carries draconian search without warrant powers? Why is it even being assessed as a ‘moderate’ risk rather than ‘low’? The fact that the Government is passing a law to schedule BZP, rather than using the fast track ‘affirmative resolution’ procedure they introduced specifically for this kind of thing gives us a clue. The fast track procedure requires that classification be based on clear criteria, and is able to be challenged in open www.normL.org.nz

The Greens’ Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Bill will legalise the medicinal use of cannabis for patients who have the approval of their doctor. The bill covers any condition “where the use of cannabis may alleviate the pain and suffering associated with that condition or the treatment of that condition”. Registered patients would be able to grow their own. If they are unable to, they could nominate a friend or caregiver to do it for them. For more info see www. greens.org.nz/campaigns/cannabis court. Legislation is not open to judicial review. The EACD was obviously pressured to change its initial ‘low risk’ assessment. Minister of Drugs Jim Anderton sees class ‘D’ as a holding pen for new drugs, while enough evidence is fabricated to ‘justify’ a ban. That he didn’t pass the regulations for BZP that the law allows him to just reaffirms that he never intended to use that classification to properly regulate BZP. Its a bloody shame really. This was a chance to cut through decades of failed prohibition and explore a different approach. A chance to show how a regulated market could work, and to test whether harm minimisation would result. But mediocre and unimaginative politicians didn’t want to find out. They are happy to keep chewing up people’s lives in order to get conservative votes. Some people just don’t want change. I think it may be time to get out. Autumn 2008 N O R M L N e W S

MEDiCiNAL CANNABiS Should patients have pharmaceutical extracts like Sativex, or be allowed to grow their own? Whatever you think, make sure you have your say. > Get involved in the debate. > Write to or visit your MP and ask them to support the Greens’ Medicinal Cannabis Bill. Email your MP at www. norml.org.nz/emailMP > Write to the Health Select Committee and tell them you support NORML’s medical marijuana petition. > Medical users: contact us for advice or to help with our campaign. Talk to your MP!

Summary of known medical uses: Modern research suggests that cannabis and its derivatives are valuable aids in the treatment of a wide range of clinical applications including: > pain relief -- particularly neuropathic pain and arthritis; > appetite stimulant, especially for patients suffering from cancer, HIV, AIDS wasting syndrome, anorexia or dementia; > anti-nausea - helping patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy or other debilitating treatments; > easing muscle spasms in neurological disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis or spinal cord injury; > neuroprotection and protection against some types of malignant tumours; > plus a host of other conditions including Glaucoma, Alzheimer’s, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Diabetes, Fibromyalgia, Gliomas, Gastro Intestinal Disorders, Hepatitis C, hypertension, Osteoporosis, Pruritis and Tourette’s syndrome.

for the latest medical marijuana research go to

Answering objections to natural medicinal cannabis

PPONENTS of patients being able to medicate with natural herbal cannabis, including our own Ministry of Health, can no longer ignore its medical effectiveness. Instead, they deny relief to seriously ill people by hiding behind smokescreens and circular arguments. CHRIS FOWLIE explains.

The Ministry of Health supports allowing the cannabis-extract Sativex. This in itself is not a bad thing. Sativex is, after all, a natural extract made from whole cannabis. Its genetics are based on quality Sensi Seed Bank stock. But it’s not yet available in New Zealand - and it’s not for everyone. Sativex has a fixed ratio of just two cannabinoids, whereas the variety of cannabis strains allow patients to pick and choose to match strains to symptoms. And Sativex is expensive - an estimated cost of $150-$300 per week, with no sign Pharmac will offer any funding. Smoking Objectors to herbal cannabis say smoking anything must be bad. That assumes all smoke is smoke, but cannabis smoke is different: for a start, it contains THC, a powerful antioxidant with tumour-fighting abilities. THC kick-starts the lung’s immune response, and clears the lungs. Several large-scale studies have thus found cannabis-only smokers to be more healthy than even non-smokers! Next they talk about cannabis smokers taking deep breaths and holding it in longer. But it is the vastly-inflated value caused by its illegal status that forces tokers to maximise the bang for their buck. If cannabis cost the same as tobacco ($20 per ounce including taxes), we’d see a more relaxed smoking style. Even if we accept anti-smoking arguments, herbal cannabis does not have to be smoked. Patients can avoid smoke entirely by growing cannabis and turning it into foods, drinks or tinctures, or even skin creams or massage oils. They can use a vaporiser to get the instant effect and dose control of inhalation without any smoke at all. Standard dosages

The next objection that is usually raised is that there can be no standardisation or dosage control with herbal cannabis. But smoking actually provides patients with very precise dosage control, due to the instant onset of effects. Furthermore, baked foods, drinks, candies, chocolates, elixirs and tinctures can all be easily made to a standard recipe that delivers a product of known strength. Anyone who can follow a recipe can do it. For largerwww.cannabis-med.org scale production, places overseas have met patient need by licensing community

Summer 2008 2008 N O R M L N e W S Autumn

Finland: Health Ministry approves cannabis prescriptions

inland’s Ministry of Social Affairs is to publish guidelines on the medicinal use of cannabis, and legislation will be amended to allow cannabis prescriptions. A year ago the National Agency for Medicines granted its first exemption for medical cannabis to a man suffering from chronic pain stemming from a back injury. The Agency had initially rejected the application for cannabis prescribed by a Dutch doctor, but the patient appealed the case to his regional Administrative Court, which overturned the decision. The court ruling forced the Ministry for Social Affairs and Health to announce that changes would soon be enacted to allow the prescription of cannabis. Each prescription would still require the permission of the National Agency for Medicines. Source: http://yle.fi/news/id77759.html

groups, pharmacies or local companies to produce natural extracts or tinctures of known strength. The Dutch licensed several companies to provide standardised natural cannabis to pharmacies there. The varieties all have fixed and known quantities of active ingredients and are sterilised to be free of mould or fungus. It is that not hard to do, and could easily be done here. Home invasions Finally, those who object to herbal medicinal cannabis eventually say that allowing patients to grow their own would expose them to risk of robbery or home invasion, acknowledging that the current drug law creates crime and violence. Regardless, many patients are already growing their own, but are denied any protection. If their medicine is stolen they can’t go to the police. Patients are forced to engage with the illicit market and the risks that go with that. Places overseas that allow patients to grow their own or nominate someone else to do it for them have not noted increased violence of thefts from patients. To the contrary, allowing patients to grow their own is the best way to safely meet their needs. www.normL.org.nz

Latest research

BB, WEST AUCKS.

Sativex

New Mexico State Dept of Health to regulate med-pot distribution and manufacture

n contrast to the lack of action here, New Mexico’s Department of Health has proposed regulations to licence growers to supply medicinal cannabis. New Mexico was the 12th US state to legalise cannabis for medical uses, but it is the only one where the law calls for state-licensed production and distribution of the drug. The law that took effect last July lets patients be certified to use cannabis for pain or other symptoms of debilitating illnesses such as cancer, glaucoma,

epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, HIV-AIDS and spinal cord injury. The law does not leave patients to find their own supply of medicine - either growing it themselves or getting it from friends or drug dealers. Under the proposed rules, the department would license several kinds of producers, including qualified patients, caregivers, state-owned or operated facilities or private entities or clubs. Source: AP 4 December 2007, www.cannabisnews. com/news/list/medical.shtml

American doctor’s association calls for reclassification of cannabis

he second largest association of physicians, the American College of Physicians (ACP) has endorsed using medicinal cannabis, and demanded protection for patients who use the drug according to state laws - and the doctors who recommend it to them. The group of 124,000 doctors called on the government to move cannabis from Schedule I, which it shares with drugs such as heroin and LSD. Schedule I drugs supposedly have no medicinal value and a high potential of abuse. The group cited research that cannabis is effective in treating AIDS-related weight loss, and nausea associated with chemotherapy. In a 13-page position paper the ACP said it supports “rigorous scientific evaluation of the potential therapeutic benefits of medical www.normL.org.nz

Survey of New Zealand Doctors A survey of 500 New Zealand doctors by the Green Party in 2003 revealed that the more knowledge a doctor holds, the more likely they are to support the use of medicinal cannabis. > One in five doctors had patients already using cannabis medicinally; > 47 per cent had patients who had discussed the option of using cannabis; > 32 per cent would consider prescribing legal medicinal cannabis products. marijuana”, “encourages the use of non-smoked forms of THC that have proven therapeutic value”, and “urges review of marijuana’s status as a schedule I controlled substance and its reclassification into a more appropriate schedule, given the scientific evidence regarding marijuana’s safety and efficacy in some clinical conditions” The ACP said it “strongly supports exemption from federal criminal prosecution; civil liability; or professional

sanctioning, such as loss of license or credentials, for physicians who prescribe or dispense medical marijuana in accordance with state law. Similarly, ACP strongly urges protection from criminal or civil penalties for patients who use medical marijuana as permitted under state laws.” Their statement demolishes the myth that the medical community does not support allowing medical marijuana. For more info see: www. acponline.org/acp_news/ medmarinews.htm

Britain’s GW Pharmaceuticals continues to research medical applications for its cannabis extract spray Sativex, and is working on other products derived from the cannabis plants it grows under government licence. In a recent clinical trial, researchers in Liverpool showed Sativex significantly reduced neuropathic pain. The initial pain relief was maintained for a year without needing to increase the dose. GW Pharmaceuticals said it also had highly promising results in both pre-clinical pharmacology studies and a Phase I trial of a new potential cannabinoid treatment for type 2 diabetes and related metabolic disorders. The natural cannabinoid delta9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) had positive effects on hormones such as insulin in animal models of diabetes and was well tolerated by healthy humans. With an eye on the US market, GW will soon began a phase III study of Sativex as a pain-relief medicine for cancer patients who do not respond to opiates. GW Pharmaceuticals plans to report first findings from the study next year and expects to receive US regulatory approval in 2011. The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published a Public Information Report on Sativex, which is approved for medical use in Canada, but not yet in the UK. The MHRA took the unprecedented step due to the “huge public interest” in Sativex and the fact that approximately 1200 patients in the UK have so far received the medicine on prescription on what is called a “named patient” basis. A similar system exists here. A doctor may apply under the Medicines Act to import and prescribe any medication that is approved in another country. Because Sativex is approved in Canada, that means it may be imported back into the UK - or New Zealand (if patients can convince their doctors to apply). The report concludes that the safety profile of Sativex is considered acceptable. The report includes a consensus statement by a panel of independent experts, who said “We conclude that Sativex meets a currently unmet medical need in patients where there is no other conservative treatment option.” Sources: www.gwpharm.com; MHRA Report on Sativex available at www.mhra. gov.uk

for the latest medical marijuana research go to

www.cannabis-med.org

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Latest research Hyperactivity disorder Christchurch researchers investigated the association between adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and cannabis use in a longitudinal study of 1265 children (the so-called Christchurch birth cohort). Cannabis use by the age of 25 was significantly associated with increasing self-reported adult ADHD symptoms at the same age. No causality was shown. Meanwhile Californian researchers observed an association between variants of the gene that codes the cannabinoid-1 receptor with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and post traumatic stress disorder. The finding may support the contention that ADHD and PTSD patients who use cannabis are selfmedicating in some way. Sources: Drug Alcohol Depend. 2008 Jan 31; Lu AT, et al. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2008 Jan 22

Anti-Allergy Researchers at the University of Florence investigated the effects on allergic asthma in animals by a synthetic cannabinoid (CP55,940) that acts like THC and binds to both the CB1 and the CB2 receptor. The allergic symptoms of Guinea pigs improved considerably if they were given the cannabinoid before exposure to the allergen. In another study Spanish scientists investigated allergies to cannabis leaves. They found out that subjects with an allergy against tomato also have a high chance of having an allergy to cannabis leaves. Sources: Giannini L, et al. J Cell Mol Med. 2008 Feb 4; de Larramendi CH, et al. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2008;146(3):195-202

Anti-Nausea Anticipatory nausea experienced by chemotherapy patients does not respond well to current anti-nausea treatments. This form of nausea is caused by stimuli associated with previous nausea (e.g. odours of the hospital room) before receiving the actual chemotherapy. In an animal model of anticipated nausea with rats cannabidiol (CBD) together with a chemical that inhibits endocannabinoid degradation (URB597) was effective in reducing nausea. Source: Rock EM, et al. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2007 Nov 9 for the latest medical marijuana research go to

Smokin’ Sense

Do claims cannabis causes lung cancer really stack up? BY CHRIS FOWLIE

All smoke is not the same

anadian researchers investigated the chemical composition of cannabis and tobacco smoke, using smoking machines. The results showed qualitative similarities with some quantitative differences. With a normal tobacco smoke rhythm, the smoke of both tobacco and cannabis cigarettes contained an average of about 40 mg tar. Following a more intense inhalation to simulate usual cannabis smoking the amount of tar by cigarette increased to 80-100 mg. This shows the amount of inhaled noxious substances is more dependent on the smoking pattern than the smoked material. With the same smoking pattern, ammonia was found in cannabis smoke at

www.cannabis-med.org

N O R M L N e W S Summer 2008 Autumn 2008

effect, and suggested it could be due to the anti-tumoral actions of various cannabinoids. One of the latest studies to show such an effect found the natural non-psychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) reduced the aggressiveness of breast cancer cells in mice. Lead researcher Dr. Sean McAllister said: “Treatments such as chemotherapy can be effective but they can also be extremely toxic and difficult for patients. This compound offers the hope of a non-toxic therapy that could achieve the same results without any of the painful side effects.” For those patients who must undergo chemo, many find relief in the proven anti-nausea effects of cannabis. Not only that, researchers at the University of Rostock, Germany, recently found THC and other cannabinoids can suppress the invasion of cancer cells into surrounding tissue. They concluded that “cannabinoids may therefore offer a therapeutic option in the treatment of highly invasive cancers.” In fact, the anti-cancer effect of cannabinoids is so well known that researchers have warned that cannabinoid-blocking drugs may increase the risk of cancer. The cannabis receptor Rimonabrant is on sale in Europe for weight loss. British researchers recently warned the risk for intestinal cancer is already elevated for people with obesity, and levels of about 20-fold greater this risk may be increased than that found in tobacco, by using Rimonabrant. which according to the authors Cannabis has been used may have been due to higher throughout the world for nitrate levels in cannabis due thousands of years, and to fertilisation. Hydrogen yet it is still hard to find cyanide, nitric oxide and anyone with a cancer some aromatic amines were attributable to cannabis. found in cannabis smoke at However although claims concentrations higher than smoking cannabis causes those found in tobacco smoke. lung cancer are probably However concentrations of unfounded, those who mercury, cadmium, lead want to avoid smoking and arsenic as well as lowcannabis can use a molecular weight carbonyl vaporiser, which is a safe compounds (formaldehyde, and effective method of acetaldehyde, etc.) were inhaling cannabinoids. found at considerably lower Sources: Aldington S, et al. Eur concentrations in cannabis Respir J 2008;31(2):280-6; smoke compared to tobacco McAllister SD, et al. Mol Cansmoke. Cannabis smoke also cer Ther 2007;6(11):2921-7; contained lower amounts Ramer & Hinz. J Natl Cancer of polycyclic aromatic Inst 2007 Dec 25; Wright KL, hydrocarbons. et al. Int J Cancer. 2007 Dec

ecause cannabis smoke contains similar ingredients as tobacco smoke, it has long been suggested that it should also cause lung cancer. However the lack of cannabis lung cancer patients has always vexed researchers. Now scientists at Wellington’s Medical Research Institute (MRI) claim to have found heavy cannabis smoking was associated with a six-fold increase of lung cancer. The study of 79 lung cancer patients is one of the smallest studies of its kind, and contradicts earlier studies. A previous study by the MRI found that in every test but one, tobacco had detrimental effects but the effects of cannabis were statistically insignificant. Another MRI study just released found no increase in head and neck cancers among cannabis smokers. The largest study conducted so far, at the University of California, did not find an increased risk for lung cancer in cannabis smokers. Donald Tashkin thought he would find a carcinogenic effect among the 2000 people he studied, but instead found those who smoked even 20,000 joints in their lifetime did not have an increased risk of lung cancer. Tashkin conceded that the results suggest cannabis smoking could have a protective

Source: Moir et al, Chem Res Toxicol. 2007 Dec 7, at: http:// pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/crtoec/asap/pdf/tx700275p.pdf

12; Norml News Summer 08, Autumn 07, Winter/Spring 06.

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Latest research THC reduces chronic pain

PHOTO AND JOINT BY CHRIS

In a study conducted by Harvard Medical School researchers, THC was found to reduce pain in 30 patients taking opioids for chronic pain. Patients who received THC experienced decreased pain intensity compared with the placebo. Importantly, the use of THC was found to result in additional pain relief among patients taking opioids for chronic non-cancer pain, but who were not getting sufficient relief. Source: Narang et al, J Pain 2007 Dec 12.

Inhibits HIV virus

Dutch firm leading race for cannabis pill Dutch company Echo Pharmaceuticals expects to sell the world’s first cannabis pill within five years, targeting a global market they say is worth 4 billion Euros. The THC for Echo’s pill will come from real cannabis produced by Bedrocan, a grower licensed by the Dutch government, which is promoting the development of cannabis-based medicines. In 2003 the Netherlands became the world’s first country to make herbal cannabis available on prescription to treat chronic pain, nausea and loss of appetite in cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis. “The big advantage of administering

LA: med-pot vending machines open 24/7

ending machines that dispense medicinal cannabis have begun operating in Los Angeles, California. The two high-tech machines are at the licensed cannabis clubs Melrose Quality Pain Relief and Herbal Nutrition Center, in secure rooms which are guarded 24/7. Patients need a prescription from their doctor and are fingerprinted and photographed. The machines dispense seven different strains in 3.5 and 7 gram dosages. Patients may only purchase up to one ounce per week. California is one of 11 states in the USA which allows medical use of cannabis, which remains illegal under federal law. Although they are only two machines, and by no means new or exciting in themselves (cannabis vending machines are not uncommon in parts of the Netherlands), this story received breathless worldwide coverage, including the New Zealand Herald. www.normL.org.nz

Many HIV patients use cannabis to relieve nausea and pain, and help them keep their food and medications down. Previous studies have found no detrimental effects on their immune systems. Now a new study has shown a synthetic cannabinoid called WIN55,212-2 actually suppresses the replication of the HIV virus in cultures of certain brain cells. The effect was mediated by the CB2 receptor.

cannabis via a pill is that the drug is adopted easier by the body compared to alternatives,” Echo Pharmaceuticals CEO Geert Woerlee said. Echo plans to start clinical studies and Source: Rock RB, et al. J Neuroimmune trials of its pill, to be marketed as Namisol, Pharmacol 2007;2(2):178-83 in the first half of 2008. Echo has secured 3 million Euros from a private investor to get the Eases Multiple Sclerosis pill to Phase 2 studies. Woerlee said bringing a British researchers have shown in animals drug to market normally takes about five years that cannabinoids are neuroprotective and but he was hoping for a faster track. “In fact immunosuppressive, which could slow we have an easy case as the effects of the drug the progression of MS. However, only have been known for thousands of years.” the neuroprotective effects were achieved Partners in Echo Pharmaceuticals include at doses low enough to be relevant in Bedrocan, as well as Farmalyse and Feyecon. treatment of humans. Immunosuppressive Namisol’s THC with a purity of more effects were only achieved at higher than 99 per cent will be directly extracted doses. from specially-bred cannabis plants. From this, Farmalyse and Feyecon developed a Source: Croxford JL, et al. J procedure to produce a dry powder for the Neuroimmunol. 2007 Nov 23 production of tablets. The pills allow a good absorption of THC via the mucous membranes Mitigates Migraine of the mouth. Italian researchers have shown that the In contrast, Solvay Pharmaceuticals’ body’s cannabinoid system is impaired Marinol, approved as a medicine in the USA in patients with migraine and headaches in 1985, is synthetically-manufactured THC caused from the overuse of pharmaceutical in a sesame oil base. German companies medications. The concentrations of the THC Pharm and Bionorica Ethics make THC endocannabinoids 2-AG and anandamide by the isomerisation of cannabidiol, which were lower in the blood platelets of 20 they extract from hemp fibre. They produce patients with migraine and 20 patients oily solutions (for oral use) and alcoholic with medication-overuse headaches, solutions (for inhalation with a vaporiser) compared to 20 healthy subjects. from it. British company GW Pharmaceuticals Source: Rossi C, et al. Eur J Clin produces Sativex using a whole plant extract. Pharmacol 2007 Nov 15; The precise mix of THC and CBD is partly absorbed by mucous membranes in the mouth and partly by the gastrointestinal tract for the latest after swallowing the liquid. Canada’s www.cannabis-med.org medical marijuana research go to Cannasat Therapeutics is also developing a pill. Summer Autumn 2008 2008 N NO OR RM M LL N Ne eW WS S

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Nobel Prize for the Netherlands N

woRLD

WITH INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITOR HARRY CORDING

NEWS

ORML has initiated a campaign to nominate Holland for a Nobel Prize for its progressive drug policies.

treatment to its affected citizens. The number of lives they have saved, as well as assaults, robberies, rapes, child abuse, and other prohibition-related criminal activities that they’ve prevented, is a For over 30 years the Dutch government major humanitarian and public health has taken an approach to drug issues that accomplishment. Their success in is cost effective, humane, and practical, minimizing the catastrophic effects of the reducing both drug use and imprisonment, War on Drugs cannot be overstated. For despite ongoing pressure from the United example, the US has six times as many States to join its drug war. people in prisons as the Netherlands per Allen St. Pierre, executive director of US No drugs for Dutch police capita, and four times their murder rate. NORML, who is coordinating the campaign, The Dutch prison population is negligible The Dutch interior minister wants police said “The Dutch have shown us the path to and they actually provide education and to stop smoking pot when they are offpeace and now is the time to recognise their rehabilitation for their inmates.” duty as they say it tarnishes the image of achievement.” The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which the force. As Dr Stephen H. Frye puts it in his administers the Nobel Peace Prize, accepts “The minister does not want police forthcoming book Twenty-five Reasons to nominations from members of national officials to use soft drugs, such as Legalize Drugs - We Really Lost This War!: assemblies, governments, and international cannabis, not even during their spare “The Dutch should be recognized for their courts of law; university chancellors, time. It does not fit with the presentation remarkable human rights achievement of professors of social science, history, of the police to the public,” a spokesman regulating and decriminalizing drugs and philosophy, law and theology; leaders of said. equally important, offering comprehensive peace research institutes and institutes of foreign affairs; Nobel by advisers and at the beginning of October Peace Prize Laureates the Nobel Committee chooses the Nobel of previous years; Peace Laureates through a majority vote. board members of The Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony n English cannabis cafe has put up a brave fight against organizations that have takes place on December 10 in Oslo, ongoing police raids and attempts to shut it down dating received the Nobel Norway. In recent years the committee has back to July last year. Peace Prize; present received over 140 nominations for the Nobel Police have raided the and past members of Peace Prize. cafe in the Sussex town of the Norwegian Nobel NORML New Zealand invited sympathetic Lancing five times since Committee; and former members of Parliament to nominate the then. In the first raid they advisors of the Nobel Netherlands for the prize. Unfortunately, we smashed their way in using Institute. can’t say how they responded. The statutes a battering ram on the The deadline for of the Nobel Foundation restrict disclosure door and an angle grinder nominations was of information about the nominations for 50 to cut a hole through the February 1. From March years. The restriction concerns the nominees reinforced brick wall. to May the committee and nominators, as well as investigations During the second raid in October, a tractor was used to pull compiles a short list. and opinions related to the award of a prize. out a window. During June to August This raid resulted in a formal complaint against the police, More at www.Netherlands4Nobel.org the shortlist is reviewed who caused around 20,000 pounds worth of damage. Police claimed the cafe was selling cannabis. The cafe’s fortifications consist of metal poles surrounding the building, on which sit tyres full of concrete, “air lock” hai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej is the same as the old style steel doors, barred windows, razor wire, electrified wire, boss (Thaksin Shinawatra). There are ominous signs the new and a CCTV system. Thai government promises a replay of the 2003 killing spree A Sussex Police spokesman said: “Officers saw a large where thousands of people named on police ‘black lists’ were plume of smoke emanating from the building on demanding shot dead on government orders. The government’s narcotics entry and were delayed by some control board later concluded that more than half the victims had 15 minutes with the occupants failing to open the doors no involvement in drugs. One couple from north-eastern Thailand to Sussex Police. Officers at the scene reported the smell of was shot dead after coming into unexplained wealth. They were, in cannabis burning while they waited for entry and on entering fact, lottery winners. Note to Thai drug users: don’t turn yourselves found a burner situated on the premises having been used in to police - they’ll just come and shoot you, to get their quota prior to entry being gained.” filled. We hope the foreign press will take notice, The downgrading of cannabis to class C has led to a series this time around. of cannabis cafes opening across Sussex.

PHOTOS: CHRIS FOWLIE

UK cannabis cafe fights back

Thailand: meet the new boss

www.normL.org.nz

Autumn 2008 N O R M L N e W S

woRLD

WITH INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITOR HARRY CORDING

More than 1 in every 100 Americans is in jail Report reveals racist drug law enforcement

he US prison population has reached another all time high, with more than one in every 100 adults in jail or prison. Over 2.3 million Americans are behind bars, at a cost of US$55 billion a year, according to a new study.

The United States leads the world in both the number and percentage of citizens it locks up, and left far-more-populous China a distant second, said the non-partisan Pew Center. The growth in prison population is largely because of tougher sentencing imposed since the mid-1980s. Minorities have been particularly affected: one in nine black men ages 20 to 34 is behind bars. For black women ages 35 to 39, the figure is one in 100, compared with one in 355 for

How to halve the prison population: The United States, home of the world’s largest prison population, could save US$20 billion per year and cut that population in half by adopting a handful of reforms, including decriminalising drug possession, said a prestigious group of social scientists. Their report, white women in the same age group. The report compiled and analyzed data from several sources, including the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics and Bureau of Prisons and each state’s department of corrections. It found the high rate of imprisonment had significantly impacts on state budgets without delivering a clear return on public safety.

The Prince of Pot: America’s Most Wanted

arc Emery, Canada’s so-called “Prince of Pot” publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine, remains in legal limbo after his latest court appearance in Vancouver on March 5. The hearing was intended to set a date for his extradition trial, but this has been postponed until April 9 to allow his lawyers, US and Canadian prosecutors to continue negotiating. Emery said he will fight extradition to the USA if a deal is not reached, and finds the whole process odd. “This to me is more like collaboration with the United States. It’s like outsourcing our justice system to the United States.” In July 2005 Marc E m e r y, a C a n a d i a n citizen, was arrested in Canada at the behest of the US Drug Enforcement Administration. Under American laws he

could be sentenced to life imprisonment - or even death - for trafficking marijuana seeds to the US, production of marijuana, and money laundering. He would be the first person arrested under this law who could qualify to be executed. In January Emery tentatively agreed to plead guilty in return for charges being dropped against Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams, who were charged with him, and being allowed to serve the bulk of a 10-year sentence in Canada. However there is a disagreement about the legality of the deal in Canada. Because of this, the US is refusing to approve the deal and continues to seek Emery’s extradition. M a r c E m e r y ’s s e e d business was well-known and tolerated in Canada. He listed his occupation as “Marijuana Seed Vendor” and paid $578,000 in income

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taxes from 1999 to 2005. Marc’s arrest resulted from the US ordering Canadian police to enforce American drug laws - and the Canadians spinelessly complying. DEA administrator Karen Tandy admitted the actions against Emery were taken to stop him funding cannabis legalisation campaigns (some of his many donations have included to the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party). If the DEA is prepared to violate Canadian sovereignty to thwart legitimate political activities by a Canadian citizen, it could be willing to treat any other country in the same way - including New Zealand. Maybe our party pill millionaires will be next? At the rate it’s going, Marc Emery’s legal battle may drag on for years. At least he has not been silenced - and every day that he remains free is a small victory.

with the title “Unlocking America”, said the United States imprisons 737 out of every 100,000, compared to 607 in Russia and 98 in Germany (in the years 2004 or 2005). New Zealand’s rate is about 150.

Source: www.jfa-associates.com

nother recent report, by the Washingtonbased Justice Policy Institute, found African Americans are 10 times more likely to be imprisoned for drug offences than whites, even though both groups use and sell drugs at the same rate. In 2002 there were 1.5 million drug arrests out of an estimated 19.5 million drug users, it said. About 175,000 people were jailed for a drug offence, half of them black, even though blacks account for only 13% of the US population. The study looked at data from 198 US counties with the biggest population. Its findings were similar to others, but it is the first to look at relative imprisonment rates at a local level. One of the reasons for the disparity is mandatory minimum jail terms for drug crimes. For instance, the mandatory federal sentence is the same for possession of 5 grams of crack, more popular with blacks, as 500 grams of cocaine, which is more often used by whites. Local police also tend to devote more resources to policing illegal drugs in inner cities with more blacks than in suburban communities or university campuses. Research also shows that probation officers are sometimes more lenient with white offenders. Reform of drug laws and increases in funding for drug treatment are difficult to achieve because politicians are unwilling to be seen as soft on crime, according to Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “The law enforcement industry is politically very powerful and has a lot of sway over legislators.” Sources: www.pewcenteronthestates.org; www. justicepolicy.org www.normL.org.nz

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Autumn 2008 N O R M L N e W S

iNTERViEW

Rob Van Dam The Heavyweight Champion of cannabis!

Former world wrestling champion Rob Van Dam, known for his high-flying acrobatics and catch cry “RVD 420”, is Chris: Rob, welcome to New Zealand! Can you tell us how “RVD 420” started? Rob: RVD 420 as a moniker started itself. It was actually something I saw in a crowd one time. Some fans had it on a sign, and I loved it because we were in ECW, and WWE, the big company with Stone Cold Steve Austin, had a very popular selling t shirt with Austin 316, or something, which means “I’ve just kicked your ass”, so RVD 420 became “I just smoked your ass”. As a parody it was hilarious. And it was a tribute to being a cannabis consumer. ECW was totally against the grain, it was revolutionary, and [RVD 420] stood for everything the ECW stood for. It was aimed at adults, I mean they had a guy that would drink 5 beers before coming into the ring, we had foul language, we had adult film stars cast as celebrities. It was a really hard core crowd and I needed some sort of edge, and I really appreciated marijuana. So during the promos I would do, I would always drop little hints about it and then the crowd caught onto it. You’re known as a mellow guy outside the ring, is pot a part of that? Actually one thing about me is I’m also known as a martial artist. Throughout the 17, 18 years of my professional wrestling career I’ve always been the one to do the kicks, the one to do the flips, the one that stretches for an hour before my matches, so as far as who I am as a person, I practise zenful life principles and I always try to avoid stress. It’s something I’ve worked towards, and I use the yin-yan symbol to achieve balance. I have it all over my wrestling outfit, my wedding ring is a yinyan symbol. It helps me to remember that there is a balance. Bad is necessary to have good. You need to know exactly where to put it and accept it rather than becoming emotionally wrapped around it. All that does is ripple the steady flow I’m trying

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to achieve. I’ve spent years working at it and getting good at it and it’s a challenge but it’s part of my nature. Mom and dad always said even as a kid I was really hard to upset, that I was really even tempered. Does pot help keep you on an even keel? Is it medical for you, like pain relief? I consider all adult use medicinal, because what’s the use of getting high if it’s not relieving stress, not relieving anxiety or the social pressures we feel. A lot of normal people who think pot is evil are going to the doctor to get xanax, zoloft or prozac or whatever medicines I don’t even know about. But yeah it helps everything equal out. It inspires adequacy. It definitely does help with the pain, no doubt about that, and it helps take you to a place that’s a good place to be. It’s also referred to as a spiritual place. It allows you to ascend to a higher position to where you don’t have to be weighted down by the troubles and negative aspects of life. It’s definitely not a bad thing, there’s certainly no reason for it to be illegal. And I prefer cannabis to other dangerous drugs that’s gonna make me hyper or whatever. With what you’ve seen of the medicinal marijuana law in California, with registered patients going to dispensaries, and the Green’s bill that’s happening here in New Zealand, that is modelled on the Californian approach, do you have any lessons or observations from that? Well, a lot of opposers to medicinal marijuana think it’s a gateway to get it legalised recreationally, and I really can’t argue with that. Personally, it makes absolutely no common sense that it should be outlawed. I put the argument into three different categories of cannabis’ uses. There’s recreational, medicinal and material.

It’s a fact if you do the research you’ll find out that cannabis is more effective and safer in all three areas. Using medicinal it’s easy to open people’s minds up because we do have dying people that are suffering who can absolutely for sure benefit from it’s use, and some people have enough compassion to drop the negative charges that were put on it, that we’re brainwashed into, that they can listen to reason and they’ll say ok, they should at least have it, if that’s what it takes. And if it only goes so far as to them being able to have it, then that’s good. I would however, from a personal perspective, like to see it opened up further and see it used in all three areas. Hemp doesn’t even have any THC in it and there’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to use it. There’s absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t utilise it. And recreational, I compare it to cigarettes which kill approximately one in five Americans every year. Pot’s killed zero. If anybody looks that up they’ll find it to be a fact and I think it will change their opinion on it. Most people don’t know that. They think pot’s a dangerous drug that will kill you because we’re taught that. I was lied to at school. Now that I know the truth, I just want other people to know the truth so they can base their own opinions and feelings on that. Fact is, if a lot of people voted on knowing the truth, we’ll see some changes made, and I expect to see that in the future. So do we. Thanks for your time Rob. www.normL.org.nz

www.normL.org.nz

Autumn 2008 N O R M L N e W S

TRAVEL

aarlem, ten minutes out of Amsterdam, is a lot more chilled out, and is frequented more by locals than the tourist frenzy of the ‘dam. It has many beautiful historic buildings and a more traditional dutch culture. Our destination is one of Willie Wortel’s coffeeshops, owned by cannabis promoter Nol van Schaik. There are three Willie Wortels in Haarlem, called Indica, Sativa, and Sinsemilla, the latter being our target. This was my favorite coffee shop experience and I recommend it to anyone. It is nice and big, with pool tables, a view and a much more laidback feel about it. Your average

amsterdam coffeeshop is quite small, often dark, and of course smokey. That’s all good, but this one had that open, kiwi feel about it. So we set up for a long afternoon of smoking Hashplant Haze, NYC Diesel, and playing some seriously stony pool. These were 2 strains of particular interest to me and they did not disappoint; indeed if i’d opened my eyes I’d have bled to death!

crystals. They can then be pressed into a piece of hash. Most of the separation is done from the small manicuring leaves you can harvest. If you looked under a microscope you will see they are covered with crystals. Depending on the genetics some plants have more crystals than others, but usually its about 5-12% of your dry leaf weight that you can extract from the leaves.

What are the different methods of extraction you have created here at Pollinator?

e headed back to the ‘dam to visit Mila at her Pollinator shop just off the Waterlooplein. As well as inventing the Pollinator, Ice-O-lator, and Bubbleator resin extraction machines, Mila is somewhat of a local celebrity for a movie she appeared in. We sat down for a cup of tea and a joint to chat about her business in amsterdam. Pauly: So for the record Mila, what is the function of the Pollinator shop in Amsterdam?

Mila: The Pollinator Company produces three different methods of separating THC crystals from the rest of the plant matter so what you end up with is pure resin

Above: Mila is back there somewhere. Below: Pauly enjoying the Haarlem hospitaility

N O R M L N e W S Autumn 2008

You have the Pollinator thats a dry sifting method. You put the dry leaves in a drum that is covered with a screen that tumbles very slowly so as not to break up the leaves, and the resin crystal will fall out the bottom through the screen. From there you scrape the crystals up with a phone card or something. This method works far better if its freezing outside and there’s no humidity. Due to the cold the resin glands will freeze hard and separate very easily without sticking. If you do it at a temperature of around 40 degree’s you will have a very hard time collecting pure resin glands because the leaves will break and just stick to one another. You will get lots of little bits of leaf coming through the screen which gives you bad quality hash. The advantage with the Pollinator is you can turn it for 5 minutes and

you will get A1 quality, and it has more aroma than the Ice-o-lator or Bubbleator. Then you can turn it for another 15 - 20 minutes and get very good commercial quality resin. You can keep turning it for hours, the quality will definitely lessen but they say that depends on your customers. Haha! So what are some of your other products? Ya, then you have the Ice-Olator. The idea came from the first extractor I was distributing, but I got the first 50 and they all broke down within the first 6 months. I was getting very angry emails from all over the place so I had to rack my brain for a simpler method that I could just stick in an envelope, and then the Ice-o-lator came up. Its a really nice method, you have 2 or 3 bags, I wouldn’t advise too many because you end up with lots of small piles. I think the 7 - 8 bag system is more for the producers to make more money. The thing with the Ice-O-lator is its quite messy and noisy with the mixer turning in the middle, so when we got hold of some mini washing machines, the Bubbleator became an instant hit. I remember I bought one on a monday and 3 days later I bought 25 more of them! I think maybe also the thing with the Bubbleator is the motion just comes from the water without any physical metal continued over page > www.normL.org.nz

PHOTOS BY PAULY

The second installment of Pauly’s journey around the Netherlands stops by Haarlem on the way to visit Mila Jansen, hash production pioneer and all round cannabis entrepreneur.

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Autumn 2008 N O R M L N e W S

< continued from previous page

LEFT: The Bubbleator is a truly amazing product, giving you your first batch of hash in just 10 minutes. It has a capacity of 350 grams and only requires cold water, a collection bucket, electricity and of course the magical plant material. Due to the method of extraction it produces a higher quality product, and is literally as easy as putting a load of washing on. BELOW: Mila by her pollinator shovel-it, a custom edition. Trim is put in one end, and the slight gradient allows it to slowly work along and fall out the other end, leaving a trail of resin glands underneath. BOTTOM: Part of the psychedelic garden.

thing turning in it, giving you a cleaner product. It must be great to be see the effect these wonderful products have had on cannabis culture Mila. Yes, most of the ice and bubble hash made in most of the coffee shops are made with my machines. In fact most of the hash for the Cannabis Cup is made with the Bubbleator but it never gets mentioned because it is the coffee shop that wins. These methods of separation are also well received by medical patrons because they don’t have to smoke 95% plant matter, they vaporize it or eat it. I went to the Himalayas in India for old times sake because I used to live up there. I went to a temple where all the baba’s were and gave them some hash from Amsterdam and they really liked it in their chillum. They said they had heard about the Pollinator, Ice-O-lator and Bubbleator, but had never tried the hash, so they were very happy. How are you enjoying the Mako Melt (hash made from mako haze, courtesy of the Kiwiseeds boys. Lord have mercy!), Mila? Very nice thank you, I am enjoying it a lot.

PHOTOS: PAULY & CHRIS

You said you used to produce hash but don’t any more? Well it started off when I started growing grass. We used to separate the hash by sitting in a cold room with a flat screen and hand tumbling the leaves carefully over it so as not to break up the leaves. That way you would get some very nice crystals but it would take forever. So one day I was standing by my clothes dryer and I noticed the clothes were tumbling the same way I was tumbling the leaves by hand. So the next day I went to the guys who I was working with and we got an old clothes dryer and put a screen around the drum, removed the heating element and whatever else we needed to do and that was it, it worked. So for 2 years we made our own hash but that ended, our machines were taken, so I decided to make machines instead and its been good.

N O R M L N e W S Autumn 2008

Its not illegal in any way to make the machines? No, but I think with the chamber of commerce we are registered as manufacturing machines for agricultural and medicinal purposes. I notice you have other plants in the back of the shop, would you care to elaborate on those? My son was part of that, in the beginning before he started studying chemistry. His idea was to have a smart shop with peyote, salvia divinorum, psychotria viridis, san pedro, coca plants and more. As well as the plants we have a load of books about all different drugs to give information on them. We have a big shop so we would like to put as many books as possible in, for everyones benefit!

ndeed it is a big shop that Mila has, and full of wonderful things. Any ganja enthusiast should make it one of their stops in the ‘Dam. Check out the great products Mila has invented, see her extensive bookshelf which has titles you will never find here in New Zealand, and see her psychotropic garden, also featuring things you will have a hard time finding over here. Thanks a lot for your time and the delicious tea Mila, we hope to visit you again in the future. Next issue: Pauly interviews Adam from T.H.Seeds/Hempworks, Amsterdams only hemp store and growers extraordinaire.

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Autumn 2008 N O R M L N e W S

Protecting your plants

eeha, it’s the hot and leisurely time of year again. Lots of lying around being baked, wearing as little as possible, and avoiding any unnecessary strenuous activity. Lazy days. The outdoor plants are just booming as long as they’re getting enough water. Might be a fat outdoor season this year... lets pray for no late summer storms. Indoors though, it’s the tricky part of the year. If your grow room or cupboard is cooking your plants, you are not alone. Roof spaces are particularly challenging places to grow in summertime, unless it is supremely insulated. Wherever you have your grow space, even if it’s under the house in a relatively cool spot, insulation is a good idea for regulating temperature as well as for muffling the noise of the fans. Pink batts are good but yuck to work with, so I prefer to use sheets of polystyrene. If you have enough space use 100mm thick polystyrene. It’s the stuff they use in building construction and is available in standard sheet sizes of 1200mm x 2400mm. It’s easy to shape and cut, is a fantastic insulator and effectively contains fan hum. Airflow is the key to keeping

the temperature down, so use as big an extractor fan as you can get away with. There is no such thing as too much airflow. Keeping the air nicely stirred up inside the space with oscillating fans is crucial to prevent hot spots developing, and to provide the plants with a constant supply of fresh air. It is difficult to keep things cool if the air coming in is already over 20 degrees Celsius. Placing the ballasts outside the grow space helps immensely, as they are a huge source of heat. There are also now a couple of different models of vented shades on the market here in NZ. The principle is quite simply to contain and remove the heat straight off the bulb and out of the grow space. Vented shades and cool tubes also allow the grower to get the light a little closer to the plants

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without burning. However, make triply sure to keep the light source clean as there is now three times as much dust and grime collecting on glass surface area between the filament and the plants. Dirty lamps have significantly reduced lumen output. So wipe the bulb and both sides of the cool tube/ shade weekly with a soft cloth, you’ll be amazed how much crap collects in there.

Hydroponics Hydroponic cultivation can get really tricky in the heat. The main problem being that water becomes increasingly de-oxygenated the warmer it gets. At 23 degrees and over, water contains virtually no plant-accessible oxygen. One of the advantages of hydro systems over soil is their ability to

BEST FRIEND: PUT A PRAYING MANTIS ON YOUR PLANTS. THEY’LL EAT ALL THE BUGS THEY CAN FIND.

BUSH DOCTOR

deliver lots of oxygen to the root system enabling plants to grow faster. Warm water negates that. So keep the reservoir outside the grow space, insulate it, dump ice into it, anything to keep it cool. Also pump as much air into your nutrient mix as you can, either through an air pump and stones, a venturi valve or even better, both. Alternatively some hydro growers suffering from heat generated problems may find it easier and more rewarding to do one soil based crop during the hottest months. Good potting mixes contain insulating materials like perlite and peat which help regulate the root zone temperature. Don’t buy any bark based mixes for your indoor garden as they will contain sciarid fly eggs (little black flies that don’t bite or appear to be doing much damage, but subterraneanly their larvae are munching on roots.) Sciarid fly, whitefly, spider mites, thrips, aphid, scale and every other pesky bug loves to establish colonies in cloistered environments like your grow www.normL.org.nz

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Autumn 2008 N O R M L N e W S

BUSH DOCTOR

PURPLE MANTIS GREY LYNN space. In summer they’re busy reproducing exponentially in the wild, so it’s super easy to inadvertently bring them in. So filter your air intake and don’t go straight from your outdoor garden to your indoor garden without washing up and changing your clothes and footwear. If some pest does manage to sneak in, attack it straight away because the problem will be exponentially worse in a matter of days. Remember your cozy grow space is a perfect home for insects to thrive because there is plentiful to eat (your babies) and no natural predators or adverse weather conditions.

TRIM LIKE A PRO On another subject altogether, the bush doctor has just bought a new toy that I can’t praise enough. It’s a pot manicuring machine called the trimpro. I don’t usually endorse specific products, but this is the only product of its kind available

here, and its choice!! It’s quite a simple concept, beautifully executed. The concept is a fan with sharpened blades which spins under a grill. The grill is coarse enough to allow leaves to pass through, be cut off and sucked into an attached catchment bag. Bubble ice hash makers will adore this machine as it prepares the leaf by product perfectly. Just chuck the trimpro catch bag straight into the freezer after you’ve finished trimming. Buds, even small ones are the wrong shape to pass through the grill, and become manicured as you roll and stroke the leafy plant material across the grill. All you’re left with is buds on branches which are easy to hang dry. The height of the cutting blade is adjustable so you can decide how close a manicure you desire. If you want to see a demonstration check out trimpro and trimbox on youtube. The machine just gets better and faster to use the more I use it. I’ve used it a few times now

N O R M L N e W S Autumn 2008

doing my mate’s gardens as well as my own. It’s effective and good fun to use. (Although that’s wearing thin now guys!) I reckon it’s about four times as fast as hand or scissor trimming. The trimpro is potentially really time saving as the work surface area is big enough for two people to manicure simultaneously while a third person is kept busy bringing fresh plants and hanging up manicured buds. It turns harvesting a hobby grow room into an evening’s entertainment rather than a two day chore. Larger or paranoid growers will be able to process their crops without employing a crew. It’s the outdoor crop that can really benefit from a good trimming machine. These days, lots of outdoor growers have upped their game by cultivating weed with known quality genetic content. Strains such as White Rhino, Northern Lights, Jack Herer etc, can perform just as well outside as under lights. The flavours and characteristics of outdoor grown plants are often radically diminished though, due to relatively careless handling of the crop at harvest time.

DRYING TIME Outdoor growers often haven’t got much time in which to pull down a garden. The bigger plots out there generate huge amounts of work in a short space of time. Consequently outdoor weed is

often poorly or not manicured, badly dried and stored, resulting in inferior product which returns much less than indoor buds. It doesn’t have to be this way. Well-grown and cared-for outdoor weed can be supremely tasty and beautiful to look at. Setting up a purpose built drying room for the outdoor crop will pay for itself. Use a dark room with string lines at head height to hang trimmed branches on. Place a single oscillating fan on low at floor height under the plants, just enough to keep air moving. Use an extractor fan and carbon filter to keep fresh air moving through the drying room, keeping smell to a minimum. After having spent all summer caring for your plants, you deserve to reap the full rewards of a tasty, bountiful crop. Happy harvesting everyone!

The Bush Doctor

www.normL.org.nz

Gro potting mix makes growing healthy plants easy. Gro potting mix is a peat based organic mix and is fundamentally different to other bark based potting mixes.

Gro potting mix contains perlite and vermiculite to help maintain soil structure even after prolonged periods of heavy watering.

Peat is produced by nature and is plentiful in NZ. Peat has an even consistency and great air and water retention characteristics that promote vigorous root growth.

Gro potting mix can also be used as a soilless medium in hydroponic gardens. The organic nutrients and bacteria already present in Gro will not compound with your favourite fertilizers to burn your precious plants.

Gro potting mix contains neem cake which is also an organic fertilizer as well as a natural pesticide. Neem is a natural wonder!!! Gro potting mix contains lime and a wetting agent to ensure consistent pH and moisture levels throughout the medium, even over extended periods.

Organic gardeners now have a medium, which can be used as a base for other organic additives. Hydro-organic cultivation has the potential to grow vigorous, big crops while retaining delicious, full organic flavours and aromas. In reticulation systems the pump filters will need to be cleaned more frequently.

Now available in 50 litre bulk packs and 30 litre carry bags.

Only at the best Gro shops.

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Autumn 2008 N O R M L N e W S

LEGAL Briefs

Property Seizure 3.0 T

here have been two recent Court of Appeal decisions involving forfeiture of property after drug supply convictions which are worth noting. They are Bromby v The Solicitor General [2007] NZCA 440 and Stanton v The Solicitor General [2007] NZCA 434. In both cases the appellant had property forfeited following conviction. In both cases the Court of Appeal overturned the forfeiture of the property by the lower Court. In the Stanton case Mr Stanton was convicted of one count of cultivation of cannabis and two counts of possession of cannabis for sale following the police finding 8 cannabis plants growing in a vegetable garden (on his land), 1.62 kg of drying cannabis head, 3 boxes of snaplock bags and some ammunition. This followed the police executing a search warrant at Mr Stanton’s rural lifestyle block at Whatawhata. He had previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of cannabis. Mr Stanton was sentenced to two years and three months imprisonment on the cultivation of cannabis and possession of cannabis for the purpose of supply after he was found guilty following trial. Mr Stanton had purchased the property in 2003 for $223,000. The only money he put in was $20,000, the rest funded by the bank and secured by mortgage. The District Court forfeited the property. The District Court Judge did not take into account any consideration of the appellant’s personal circumstances stating that the appellant’s personal circumstances did not create insurmountable obstacles for his reestablishing himself as a law-abiding, property owning member of the community. In short, the District Court Judge held that there was no undue hardship in having the property forfeited. Undue hardship is the test to be satisfied before a Judge makes his or her discretion to forfeit a property that is tainted in terms of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1991. The Court of Appeal disagreed. What is refreshing about the Court of Appeal decision is that the Court of Appeal held that for Mr Stanton to lose his property would be “clearly disproportionate.” In coming to that view the Court of Appeal took into account the following factors: The offending was rustic, unsophisticated, Mr Stanton had only a share in the crop said to be worth $20,00 - $40,000, the property was acquired by legitimate means,

N O R M L N e W S Autumn 2008

the property was used a residence by Mr Stanton, the property was not acquired for the purpose of drug offending; the property had a special utility for Mr Stanton and his ability to work was seriously curtailed which made it almost impossible for him to re-establish himself upon release. In this particular case Mr Stanton’s property had increased remarkably in value because of what the District Court Judge called “the spectacular inflationary movement in New Zealand property prices over the relevant period.” The equity in Mr Stanton’s property

was held to be $190,000, the increase in value being some $170,000. The District Court Judge held that while the state rather than Mr Stanton would gain from this increase, when compared with the seriousness of the offending and the value of the cannabis grown there was in the District Court Judge’s opinion no undue hardship given the actual cash input into the property by Mr Stanton. The Court of Appeal held that the District Court Judge’s decision was governed by the inflationary increase in Mr Stanton’s equity. The Court of Appeal stated very clearly that this was the wrong way to look at the case. The Court of Appeal stated that the correct question was ‘is the forfeiture of the equity in the property out of proportion to the offending?’ They said that it was. The decision is a victory for common sense. The Stanton decision should protect against over zealous application by judges who lose sight of the purpose of the Proceeds of Crime Act.

he Bromby decision is equally as important for different reasons. Mr Bromby’s car was searched by the police on the Waitaki River Bridge. The police found cannabis, cash and a quantity of BZP in his car. Some cash

was found on his person. He was convicted of possession of cannabis for the purpose of sale, offering to sell cannabis, selling cannabis (High Court), cultivation of cannabis, receiving, possession of cannabis, possession of a Class A drug, possession of a Class B drug and cultivation of cannabis (District Court). The convictions were over a wide range of charges and different Courts (High and District) following the search of the car because after Mr Bromby came to the attention of the police other matters came home to roost. The central factual issue is that it appears that Mr Bromby was involved in a variety of drug dealing and in fact the amount of cannabis found in the car was 1212 grams and the amount of cash found both on Mr Bromby and in the car was $2590.00. At the High Court the cash found was forfeited, a High Court Judge being satisfied that the money found was the proceeds of drug sales. Mr Bromby appealed. The main point on appeal was that the decision to forfeit the cash was not supported by the evidence and there could be no forfeiture under the Proceeds of Crimes Act because there was no link between the cash found and a specific serious offence which Mr Bromby had been convicted on. It is this issue that is important. Mr Bromby’s counsel argued that in order for the property to be tainted under the Proceeds of Crime Act it must relate to a specific serious offence for which the offender has been convicted. The Court of Appeal accepted that the evidence in the Bromby case did not establish that the money was all from the proceeds of drug sales. Mr Bromby had 212 grams of BZP in his possession when he was arrested. BZP is the primary ingredient in party pills. He gave evidence that there was probably BZP money on him or in the car. He was not cross examined on this. BZP is of course not a controlled substance despite its controversy, popularity and value. Given that the Crown didn’t prove that the particular money was from particular sales of drugs there was no link to a particular offence and therefore no right to forfeit. This is a pleasing approach. It is a welcome, balanced decision in an area where the Courts are judging applications made under a statute that has powerful provisions to deprive an individual of property

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CARTOON: TIM MALLOY. PHOTO: CHRIS FOWLIE

Two Important New Decisions By The Courts

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’S GUIDE TO

safer CANNABIS USE

The vast majority of people who use cannabis suffer no harm, but some do experience problems. Ensure that your cannabis use does not impair your health, family, employment and education, and try to have periods of reducing use or not consuming cannabis. Harm reduction: > Remember that “Less is More” - the less you use, the less you will need, and the more high you will get. > NORML recommends consuming organic cannabis if possible. > Heavy long term cannabis use may lead to some respiratory damage. Deep tokes and long breath duration are more harmful to the lungs. Take it easy! > Water pipes and bongs help cool the smoke, filter solids, and absorb the most harmful tars in the water. Bongs can make the smoke very smooth, so avoid inhaling too deeply. Replace bong water each time and regularly sterilise your pipe or bong (eg using meths, alcohol or denture cleaning tablets) > If you’re into spotting, try using a lower temperature. Red hot is too hot! Cooler knives will give you a much better taste and smoother hit with no coughing. > Try other ways of ingesting

cannabis, such as eating or drinking it, or using a vaporiser to heat the herb and release THC without combustion. > When eating cannabis preparations, start with a small piece and wait an hour before increasing the amount, if desired. The effects of edible cannabis products may be stronger than smoked cannabis. Health warnings: > Cannabis is best avoided by pregnant and breast-feeding women. > Meningitis and other diseases can be transmitted through saliva, so don’t share spit on joints or pipes. Try using your hands like a chillum to hold the joint. > People with a history of severe mental illness should reduce any cannabis use to a level agreed with their clinician, or avoid cannabis altogether. > Those receiving digitalis or other heart medications should

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N O R M L N e W S Autumn 2008

consult their doctors before using cannabis > Never consume cannabis that appears artificially coloured, as it may have been sprayed with a blue toxic poison by the Police. If cannabis has a chemical taste or smell it may contain residue of fertilisers or pesticides. Do not use any cannabis that has mould or fungus on it as these can be very harmful if inhaled. > Be cautious about mixing drugs, as the effect of combining substances is more unpredictable and can increase health risks. Especially use caution when mixing cannabis with depressants such as alcohol as it can make you more out of it than you intended. > Mixing cannabis with tobacco will cause more smoke damage to your lungs, and may make you become

nicotine dependent. > Smoking cannabis as a way of dealing with unpleasant feelings or emotions can sometimes intensify these feelings, or stop you sorting out the problem. If you experience anxiety or paranoia prior to using cannabis it may be made worse. Avoid using cannabis to deal with bad trips, as this can often intensify the experience. > While no-one has ever died from using cannabis, people have been killed over it - as a result of the prohibition law we are trying to change. People will use cannabis regardless of the law says. This guide is about helping people make informed choices. The law should provide them with a safe environment in which to do so.

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SHOW YOUR GROW

High Seas Pot Party!

Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour was again the scene for a serious smoke-a-thon last November. The High Seas Pot Party was an “open” contest, with no rules about what could be entered or what criteria judges were to use. Entries arrived from as far afield as Wellington and Raglan. A few consisted of a single bud, while other entrants made sure there was plenty to go around. Bribery was not out of the question! In the end, it came down to the strains that looked good, smelt great and tasted even better. The winner, by a clear margin, was an old classic with tight crystal structure and a delicious piney lemon flavour - Northern Lights x Silver Pearl, from Big T. In second place was another strain with a, shall we say unusual taste and smell, Catpiss! Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all the entrants. And keep on growing!

The Entries: B White Rhino by Southside Smilers - 2ND PLACE C ? by BB D Shipwreck E BB x Afghani, by Big T. F Catpiss by M - 3RD PLACE G Northern Lights x Silver Pearl, by Big T. - WINNER!

H Citrine by SHHH... L ? from S.T. in Wellie O Airy Cherry by M P Northern Lights #1 by PP (cover star of our Summer ‘08 issue) P2 Northern Lights #2 by PP

RIS PHOTOS BY CH NL#2 NLxSP

CATPISS

WELLIE WEED

How does your garden compare? email high resolution digi pix to news@norml.org.nz or post film, photos or CDs to NORML News, PO Box 3307 Auckland NZ. And coming up in May, the 5th annual Auckland Cannabis Cup! 38

N O R M L N e W S SUMMER Autumn 2007 2008

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Autumn 2008 N O R M L N e W S

N O R M L N e W S Autumn 2008