Jason Krasson Arlene Williams

To my new friend Arlene:
It has been a great honor to meet someone like you that has a wonderful zest for life and a ability to stand up for something. Many will argue back and forth about the legalization of Marijuana and use many different approaches both pro and con towards the outcome but I feel that the best means of support or lack thereof can only be brought about through the means of education. Personally, it's my opinion that the battle for and against goes both ways. The people that hate it should study the issue further and so should the people who stand by it. I think that there should be a constructive means for doing anything that we do and this is a tough issue to measure because it has so many sides. I myself don't smoke but I see that there are too many benefits to over look the legalization or discredit the medicinal properties that it retains. I've always believed that the prohibition of marijuana has always been misappropriated and stupid for lack of any better term. It's always been a imposition of wills and a great misuse to time when you see the efforts the government makes to abolish it and install fear in the community to sway people away from keeping a open mind. There is a big difference between a non motivated smoker and someone who is using it for its healing properties. People argue about the residual effects of the drug and in some respects they are right. However, people shouldn't set a double standard and cry about marijuana when they lose track of issues like alcohol abuse, the misappropriation of prescription drugs or even issues of hard core narcotics like cocaine and heroin because if we characterize them and look at the outcome pot will be the less of two evils. On the same accord it shouldn't be discredited by the government because it is a cash crop. It can be taxed, promote much needed revenue and be controlled. Philip Morries has been spending millions in subsidized finding towards research of its medicinal properties and the potential distribution of it. Here are a few pros to ponder over: 1. While you drug addicts and alcoholics are slumped over on the floor in a pool full of vomit awaiting your inevitable trip to your local ER keep in mind that it takes the equal vent of fifty (50) pounds to have a clinical overdose on pot! 2. One joint contains over 464 psycho active chemicals in it. Most of these compounds contain nuro inhibitors that help with pain reduction, the promotion of appetite including lack of nausea and stress relief. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of studies that suggest that it does burn out brain cells and the effect are irreversible but there are also studies that suggest the rejuvenation of these cells after breaks in use. I've seen it go both ways. So with that in mind, if you are sick, use it. If you are a kid or adult without any vision or motivation, you should probably stay away from it. (: There is nothing worse than a waste of life. For those of you that do, good,. For you that don't, good for you too. Just don't be ignorant or one sided about the issue.
Thank you for your frienship and stay in touch. (:

Research > Medical Marijuana

MAPS is currently seeking regulatory approval to conduct a study of smoked and/or vaporized marijuana for symptoms of PTSD in veterans of war.

MAPS is currently the only organization working to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of botanical marijuana as a prescription medicine for specific medical uses to the satisfaction of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

MAPS' efforts to initiate medical marijuana research have been hindered by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) since its inception in 1986. NIDA's monopoly on the supply of marijuana for research and the DEA's refusal to allow researchers to grow their own has effectively paralyzed medical marijuana research, and for over ten years MAPS has been involved in legal struggles against the DEA to end this situation.

See below for frequently updated information about completed, ongoing, or planned MAPS studies, as well as details of our ongoing DEA lawsuit.

For media coverage of MAPS' marijuana research and other projects, see MAPS in the Media.

Justice Department Raids Several Washington State Cannabis Dispensaries

Washington, DC: Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, working in conjunction with local law enforcement officials, executed a series of raids on Tuesday on over a dozen storefront cannabis dispensaries operating in Washington state. The raids targeted operations in six cities in the state: Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Puyallup, Lacey and Rochester.

The statewide sweep comes on the heels of similar Justice Department led efforts cracking down on the proliferation of medical cannabis providers in California and in Montana. The Department of Justice had previously coordinated raids of some 26 dispensaries operating in 13 cities in Montana this past March.

Washington state voters decided in 1998 in favor of allowing for the use and cultivation of cannabis for therapeutic purposes. However, the law did not legalize retail dispensaries.

State law does allow collective medical marijuana gardens of up to 45 plants, or a maximum of 15 plants per patient. Legislation introduced this year that sought to regulate and license the operation of storefront dispensaries was ultimately vetoed by Democrat Gov. Christine Gregoire.

To date, the federal government has not taken similar prohibitive actions against cannabis dispensaries or state-authorized providers in Colorado, Maine, New Mexico -- each of which explicitly license such operations under state law.

A spokesperson for the DEA said that the federal government is not targeting "individuals with serious illness," but rather "those operating commercial storefronts cultivating, selling or distributing marijuana under the guise of state medical marijuana laws. The DEA remains committed to the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in all states."

In March 2009, as a Presidential candidate, Barack Obama pledged to cease utilizing "Justice Department resources to try and circumvent state laws" that allowed for the physician recommended use of cannabis.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500.

Cannabinoid Improves Locomotor Function, Reduces Injury In Animal Model Of Spinal Cord Injury

Sao Paulo, Brazil: The administration of the non-psychotropic cannabis plant constituent cannabidiol (CBD) improves mobility in rats with spinal cord injuries, according to preclinical data published in the journal Neurotoxicity Research.

Investigators at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil assessed the impact of CBD on motor function in rats with cryogenically induced spinal cord injury. The animals received injections of a placebo or CBD immediately before, three hours after and daily for sixdays after surgery.

Researchers reported that cannabidiol-treated rats exhibited higher locomotor skills at the end of one week.

"Cannabidiol improved locomotor functional recovery and reduced injury extent, suggesting that it could be useful in the treatment of spinal cord lesions," investigators concluded.

Previous studies of CBD have documented the cannabinoid to possess a variety of therapeutic abilities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-epileptic, anti-cancer, and bone-stimulating properties.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Full text of the study, "Cannabidiol-treated rats exhibited higher motor score after cryogenic spinal cord injury," appears in Neurotoxicity Research.