Marijuana poised to become legal in Canada July 11, 2011

Pot laws ruled unconstitutional - thestar.com

Excerpt:
An Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled that the federal medical
marijuana program is unconstitutional, giving the government three
months to fix the problem before pot is effectively legalized.


In an April 11 ruling, Justice Donald
Taliano found that doctors across the country have “massively
boycotted” the medical marijuana program and largely refuse to sign off
on forms giving sick people access to necessary medication.


As a result, legitimately sick people
cannot access medical marijuana through appropriate means and must
resort to illegal actions.


Doctors’ “overwhelming refusal to
participate in the medicinal marijuana program completely undermines the
effectiveness of the program,” the judge wrote in his ruling.


Read Full Article At: http://drivingtheporcelainbus.blogspot.com/2011/04/marijuana-poised-to-become-legal-in.html

Daily Drinking, Marijuana use rise in Ontario, study shows

People in Canada's most populous province are drinking alcohol more often and smoking dope in larger proportions - and psychological distress is more widespread there, according to the latest data from a long-running study of Ontario residents.

These are findings from surveys conducted in 2009, the latest in a series of studies that have been performed since 1977 by the Toronto based Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Robert Mann, the centre's senior scientist and lead investigator on the study, said it's unclear whether there is a relationship between trends seen in the use of alcohol and cannabis, and feelings of mental well-being. However, he said there could be some connections.


Read Full Article At: http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Daily+drinking+marijuana+rise+Ontario+study+shows/4941023/story.html#ixzz1PImGYTzX

Ontario Court: Marijuana Prohibition is Unconstitutional

The legalized marijuana possession ruling is suspended for three months for the federal government to either fix the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations or appeal his ruling, so don't go stocking up on Doritos and Red Vines just yet.

While the Ontario Superior Court declared, in no uncertain terms, that the prohibition on marijuana prohibition and possession was "constitutionally invalid and of no force and effect", that is only one step towards legalization.


Read Full Article At: Ontario Court Kills Canada Marijuana Law: Is Pot Legal in Canada? | NowPublic News Coverage http://www.nowpublic.com/health/ontario-court-kills-canada-marijuana-law-pot-legal-canada-2776930.html#ixzz1PDh2GP3B

Marijuana Growth in Canada - Legalize It and Tax the Revenue, says Fraser Institute

The cultivation and production of marijuana in British Columbia highlights the problems inherent in the enforcement of laws that are generally ignored by broad sectors of the populace. Some 7.5 percent of all Canadians report they use marijuana currently, and over their lifetimes, 23 percent report themselves as having used marijuana at least once.

Read Full Article At: http://www.marijuanaparty.ca/article.php3?id_article=105

Why Canada’s Drug Policy Won’t Check Addiction

"Canada’s anti-drug strategy a failure, study suggests," read the headline of a brief cbc story that circulated through a handful of news outlets before dying out early this year. The British Columbia Centre for Excellence in hiv/aids had just published a paper revealing that almost three-quarters of the $368 million allocated to Canada’s Drug Strategy in 2004 2005 was spent on enforcement initiatives aimed at staunching the supply of drugs. The authors pointed out that despite this war on drugs, the rate of consumption was higher than ever: in 2002, 45 percent of Canadians reported having used illicit drugs in their lives, up from 28.5 percent in 1994.

The study advocated that money be directed toward cost-effective, evidence-based prevention, treatment, and harm-reduction programs -- the other three pillars of Canada’s drug policy. But to Bruce Alexander, a psychologist who recently retired after thirty-five years at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, the policy debate is just a distraction. "There’s no drug policy that will have much effect on addiction," he says from his home in Vancouver. "I think that’s one of our diversions: ’If we could just get the drug policy right, we’d solve our addiction problem.’ I don’t think that would touch it. The only way we’ll ever touch the problem of addiction is by developing and fostering viable culture."

Alexander has been delivering this message since the late 1970s, when he ran a series of elegant experiments he calls Rat Park, which led him to conclude that drugs -- even such hard drugs as heroin and cocaine -- do not cause addiction; the user’s environment does. It was a stunning result, one that should have had a seismic effect on drug policy. But, like the report on Canada’s failed drug strategy, Alexander’s research was largely ignored.

Read Full Article At: http://www.marijuanaparty.ca/article.php3?id_article=440

Chronic Marijuana Smoking Affects Brain Chemistry, Molecular Imaging Shows

Definitive proof of an adverse effect of chronic marijuana use revealed at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting could lead to potential drug treatments and aid other research involved in cannabinoid receptors, a neurotransmission system receiving a lot of attention. Scientists used molecular imaging to visualize changes in the brains of heavy marijuana smokers versus non-smokers and found that abuse of the drug led to a decreased number of cannabinoid CB1 receptors, which are involved in not just pleasure, appetite and pain tolerance but a host of other psychological and physiological functions of the body.
"Addictions are a major medical and socioeconomic problem," says Jussi Hirvonen, MD, PhD, lead author of the collaborative study between the National Institute of Mental Health and National Institute on Drug Abuse, Bethesda, Md. "Unfortunately, we do not fully understand the neurobiological mechanisms involved in addiction. With this study, we were able to show for the first time that people who abuse cannabis have abnormalities of the cannabinoid receptors in the brain. This information may prove critical for the development of novel treatments for cannabis abuse. Furthermore, this research shows that the decreased receptors in people who abuse cannabis return to normal when they stop smoking the drug."

Cannabis Should Be Decriminalized

I think that Cannabis should be decriminalized because the affects are less harmful then drinking alcohol or taking prescription medication. More people die from alcohol and prescription medication abuse every year rather then from Cannabis, there are no reported deaths from Cannabis alone in over 5000 years of the plant's cultivation.

Cannabis Use May Worsen Sexual Dysfunction, Rat Study Suggests

Rany Shamloul's recent review of the medical literature on cannabis use and sexual health has revealed that cannabis use may negatively impact male sexual performance.

"Cannabis is the most widely-used illicit drug globally," says Dr. Shamloul, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. "It is also often used by young, sexually active people who are unaware of the hazardous effects it may be having on their sexual health and performance."

Recent animal and in vitro studies have identified new negative connections between cannabis use and sexual dysfunction that may put an end to previous controversy.

While it was previously known that cannabis could affect certain receptors in the brain, it's now believed that these receptors also exist in the penis. Cannabis use may have an antagonizing effect on these receptors in the penis, making it more difficult for a man to achieve and maintain an erection.

Read Full Article At: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110222122212.htm