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. . . a weekly service for the media on news items related to Marijuana Prohibition.

September 1, 1994

- ANTI-DRUG GROUPS ATTACK SURGEON GENERAL ELDERS' STAND

September 1, The Washington Times reported that U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders has sparked controversy once again with her testimony in the trial of her son, who was recently found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison for the sale of 3.5 grams of cocaine to a police informant. Asked by the defense if she thought it was likely that her son would commit more crimes, Dr. Elders replied, "I don't feel that was a crime."

Anti-drug and pro-family organizations are outraged that Dr. Elders says drug trafficking is not criminal behavior.

In the Washington Times article, Thomas Hedrick, Jr., president of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, said, "We're very concerned, and the most important concern we have is that the highest-ranking physician in the United States is sending a message to our children by suggesting that drugs are not as harmful as crime."

Kristi Hamrick, spokesperson for the Family Research Council, said that "[members of the Clinton Administration] just do not understand that there are serious problems that need to be addressed by reliable standards of right and wrong. We seriously question her ability to make health decisions for all Americans."

Dr. Elders refused to elaborate on that comment after the hearing, and yesterday her office did not return repeated phone calls seeking a clarification, according to The Washington Times.

- HALF AN ACRE OF "LEGAL" HEMP PLOWED UNDER BY CALIFORNIA LAW ENFORCEMENT -

August 28, the Los Angeles Times reported that "for a brief few months this year, Chris Boucher was the first American entrepreneur in nearly half a century to grow hemp legally in the United States. By the end of July, he was the last."

Thirty-two-year-old Chris Boucher is the proprietor of the Costa Mesa-based Hempstead Co., which imports hemp fabric from China and Hungary and fashions it into backpacks, clothing, caps, and accessories sold at more than 1,000 stores nationwide.

The Los Angeles Times reports that "after winning permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Imperial County Agriculture Commission, Boucher planted one-half acre of genetically engineered hemp seeds last March."

On July 25, the Imperial County narcotics officers plowed under Boucher's hemp crop on orders from the state attorney general's office. Boucher told the Times he believed that state law-enforcement officials were worried about setting a precedent. Boucher's 16,000-plant hemp crop was nearing maturity on federally owned land near Brawley when local law-enforcement officials eradicated his "sanctioned" crop.

Imperial County narcotics officers told the Times that the federal Agriculture Department violated state laws. They also said that "local children were sneaking into the unguarded field and stealing plants."

State drug enforcement officials told the Times that they believe the federal government clearly overstepped its bounds by allowing Boucher to sow his hemp seeds. And they say an investigation is under way to determine whether Boucher should be prosecuted.

- FREEDOM OF RELIGION? OUR CHURCH FOUNDER ARRESTED ON FEDERAL WARRANT -

August 12, as reported in the Northwest Arkansas Morning News, Tom Brown, co-founder of Our Church outside of Fayetteville, was arrested on a federal warrant and charged with manufacture of a controlled substance-marijuana.

Some 434 marijuana plants, some as high as 8 to 10 feet tall, were confiscated on the property owned by Our Church. A multi-jurisdictional narcotics task squad, headed up by the DEA, claims to have confiscated 3 pounds of dried marijuana and peyote.

Our Church was formed earlier this year by Brown and eight other people.

Brown deeded to the church the one acre of land on which the plants were seized. The U.S. government filed notice August 5 that it intended to seek forfeiture of the land where the church sits plus an additional 39 acres of surrounding property owned by Brown.

Brown will be represented by A. Wayne Davis of Little Rock, a member of NORML's Board of Directors and the NORML Legal Committee.

[Inquiries regarding this case should be directed to A. Wayne Davis, Esq., at 501-371-0701 or Little Rock NORML, at 501-562-3868.]

- MARIJUANA GROWN BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FINALLY ARRIVES FOR MAPS/CALIFORNIA NORML WATER PIPE STUDY -

Scientists conducting a study for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and California NORML received a shipment of 250 grams of marijuana, grown by the National Institute on Drug Abuse at its Mississippi marijuana farm, for a landmark water pipe filtration and vaporizer study. The protocol of the study is designed to examine the amount of particulate matter that is captured by three different types of waterpipes: a hookah, a battery-operated paddle blade that creates turbulence in the water, and a conventional "bong." In addition, a device that vaporizes the THC and other cannabinoids out of marijuana will be tested. The results of this study (in 6 months) are expected to add a wealth of knowledge to the scant scientific literature available on "harm reduction" methods for

marijuana consumption.

Along with the water pipes and vaporizer, conventional marijuana cigarettes and filtered marijuana cigarettes will be studied for their particulate matter output. This study is part of a larger series of studies designed to secure FDA approval for the medicinal use of marijuana for the AIDS Wasting Syndrome.

[For more information on this research, contact Rick Doblin (MAPS) at 704-358-9830 or Dale Gieringer, Ph.D. (California NORML) at 415-563-5858.]

- REMINDER: ANNUAL NORML NATIONAL CONFERENCE -

NORML will be holding its annual conference in Washington, D.C., Saturday, September 3, from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., at the Marriott at Metro Center, 775 - 12th St. NW.

Speakers will include:

- U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), who will deliver the keynote address;

- Dr. Lester Grinspoon, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who will discuss his book, Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine (Yale Press);

- Richard Brookhiser, senior editor of National Review, who will discuss his illegal use of medicinal marijuana while undergoing cancer chemotherapy;

- Richard Cowan, National Director of NORML, who will discuss the politics of medicinal marijuana; and

- a media panel consisting of journalists, reporters, columnists, and authors.

[For further information about the conference, contact Allen St. Pierre at NORML, 202-483-5500.]-- end --