Just wanted to pass on the latest norml news!!! I usually just post country specific info, but the Dutch recently passed an official medicinal marijuana law that not only has lawmaker approval, but insurance companies will recognize and re-emburse thier insureds for any expenses just as they they would for any other medication. Now That is progress!!! here's the post. Stay committed to the cause. Also, I love what Maryland is doing, we're seing some change, despite this crazy administrations practices. March 20, 2003 The NORML E-Zine is a free weekly compilation of major news items regarding marijuana policy. Text of archived stories is available on NORML's website at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3442 You can join, donate or purchase a NORML-related product online at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3454 #################### TOP STORIES * Dutch Government Legalizes Prescription Pot * Maryland House Approves Amended Medical Marijuana Defense Measure * Canada's Most Prominent Advocate For Legalizing Marijuana To Speak At NORML Conference __________________________________________________ Dutch Government Legalizes Prescription Pot Pharmacies Allowed To Distribute Medical Cannabis; Government To License Prescription Pot Growers The Hague, the Netherlands: Pharmacies may now legally stock and supply medicinal cannabis for patients who have a doctor's prescription, as a result of new federal regulations that went into effect Monday. THE LAW CHANGE MAKES THE NETHERLANDS THE FIRST NATION TO FORMALLY REGULATE THE USE OF MEDICINAL MARIJUANA IN THE SAME MANNER AS IT DOES OTHER PRESCRIPTION DRUGS. NORML Foundation Executive Director Allen St. Pierre applauded the policy change. "If we are to hold cannabis up to the same standards of safety and efficacy that we hold other drugs, then the Dutch government's decision to regulate it is long overdue," he said. "Unfortunately in the US, our government refuses to acknowledge marijuana's relative safety or medical utility – thus forcing patients to go to the black market and risk arrest to obtain the medicine they need. Clearly, the Dutch model is a safer, efficient and more compassionate alternative." Under the new law, Dutch health officials will license medicinal marijuana cultivators to supply medical-grade cannabis to pharmacies. Licensing will be overseen by the Netherlands' Office of Medicinal Cannabis (BMC) of the Health Ministry and may begin as early as next month. The BMC was established in 2000 to study and regulate the use of medical marijuana. The new regulation also allow the dutch health insurance companies to reimburse patients cost for medical marijuana.THE NEW REGULATION ALSO ALLOWS THE DUTCH HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES TO REIMBURSE PATIENTS COST FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA. Dutch Ministry of Health spokesman Bas Kuik told the Associated Press that the legal change would ensure that patients have consistent access to medicinal quality cannabis. "Doctors are prescribing marijuana to their patients anyway, and there are many medicinal users, so we may as well regulate it," he said. Similar regulations enacted in Canada 2001 allow for the state to distribute medical marijuana to qualified patients, but to date Health Canada has not allowed any of its harvested cannabis to be available to the public. For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of the NORML Foundation at (202) 483-8751. _________________________________________________________________ Maryland House Approves Amended Medical Marijuana Defense Measure Annapolis, MD: Maryland Delegates voted 73-62 Wednesday in favor of amended legislation to allow medicinal marijuana patients to raise an "affirmative defense of medical necessity" at trial. House Bill 702 does not legalize the use or cultivation of medical marijuana by qualified patients. RATHER, THE LAW ONLY REQUIRES THE COURT TO CONSIDER A PATIENT'S USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA TO BE A MITIGATING FACTOR IN MARIJUANA-RELATED STATE PROSECUTIONS. If the patient successfully makes the case at trial that his or her use of marijuana is one of medical necessity, THEN THE MAXIMUM PENALTY ALLOWED UNDER THE LAS WOULD BE $100.00 FINE. Similar legislation passed the Maryland House last year but stalled in the Senate. NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup said that the amended measure falls short of laws enacted in eight other states legalizing the use of medicinal pot by qualified patients, but noted that it still "represents a relaxation of existing Maryland criminal law, which imposes a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1000.00 for marijuana possession, regardless of the circumstances." For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500. For detailed information on additional pending legislation, or to send letters in support of this legislation, please visit: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/ ____________________________________________________________ Canada's Most Prominent Advocate For Legalizing Marijuana To Speak At NORML Conference Washington, DC: Canadian Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, the nation's top advocate for regulating the use and sale of marijuana, will be a featured speaker at this year's national NORML conference in San Francisco. Nolin is Chair of the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, which issued a groundbreaking report last September calling on Parliament to legalize the regulated use, possession, and distribution of marijuana for citizens 16 years of age and older. "The continued prohibition of cannabis jeopardizes the health and well-being of Canadians much more than does the substance itself or the regulated marketing of the substance," Nolin concluded in the Committee's report. Following that report, Canadian Justice Minister Martin Cauchon announced that Parliament would remove criminal penalties on the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use. This year's NORML conference, entitled "Back to Basics: Stop Arresting Marijuana Smokers," will be held from April 17-19, 2003 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Nolin will speak on Friday, April 18, at 11:35. Additional featured speakers at this year's conference include former NFL star and Texas NORML President Mark Stepnoski; actor and director Dan Stern; ACLU President Nadine Strossen; syndicated columnist and best-selling author Dan Savage, travel writer and television host Rick Steves; and documentary filmmaker Ron Mann, among others. This year's conference will also feature a special fourth day on Sunday, April 20, that will feature workshops on campus/activist training techniques. Conference agenda, speakers list, and registration information is available online at http://www.norml.org," or call Kris Krane at (202) 483-5500 for more information. Rooms are going fast for this year's conference, and NORML's initial room-block at the hotel is now sold out. The Hyatt Regency will continue to offer attendees rooms at the special discounted rate until the hotel is full. #################### NORML Media Watch NORML was featured prominently in several media outlets this week, including Austin Chronicle, Tom Paine.com and Mother Jones. To read these articles or about other NORML media appearances, check out "NORML in the Media" at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5481 Donate to NORML's "Marijuana Truth Campaign" If you have not already done so, please consider making a donation to NORML's "Marijuana Truth" Campaign. To learn more about this campaign or to read NORML's new report, "Your Government Is Lying to You (Again) About Marijuana: A Refutation of the Drug Czar's 'Open Letter to America's Prosecutors,'" please visit: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5513 Please support NORML/NORML Foundation's efforts to change marijuana policy and educate the public to alternatives to marijuana prohibition. You can join, donate or purchase a NORML-related product online at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3454 #################### (Edited by phillyboy at 10:53 am on Mar. 21, 2003)
