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NORML

Spring 2009

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NEW ZEALAND MARIJUANA CULTURE . HEMP . MEDICINE . ACTIVISM . LAW REFORM

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL ORGANISATION FOR THE REFORM OF MARIJUANA LAWS, NEW ZEALAND INC. WWW.NORML.ORG.NZ

The truth about cannabis:

Cannabis On Trial

Regular use Reduces cancer risk!

NORML’s New PLAN Mexico & Argentina Reject the drug war

Pot protects against Alcohol toxicity! Dunedin study: Pot smoker’s Lungs same as non-smokers! Inside BERL’s

Drug Harm Index

California to Legalise?

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NORML NeWS vol13.2: SPRING 2009 ISSN 1172-9074

31,000 COPIES PRINTED SEPT. 2009

PO Box 3307, Auckland, NZ. Phone: 09 302-5255 Fax: 09 303-1309 Email: news@norml.org.nz Website: www.norml.org.nz ABOUT NORML NEW ZEALAND INC. The National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) was formed in New Zealand in 1979. NORML is a nonprofit organisation that campaigns to end marijuana prohibition. Our aims are: • To reform New Zealand’s marijuana laws • To provide neutral, unbiased information about cannabis • To engage in political action appropriate to our aims • To inform people of their rights • To give advice and support to victims of prohibition Editor & design: Chris Fowlie

Photo: Chris

P UBLISHED BY N OR M L NZ INC.

AURORA INDICA Auckland

Contents New Zealand NEWS Cannabis law on trial By Harry Cording The New Plan By Phil Saxby NORML’s annual conference Nov 14-15 MedPot Bill rejected By Jonathan Rennie

Contributors: Harry Cording, Jonathan Rennie, Phil

Thanks to our contributors, advertisers, distributors, IACM, NORML USA, and drugpolicycentral.org for hosting our website. Advertising: 09 302 5255 or news@norml.org.nz Distributor: G&G 09 979 3000

Mailed free to NORML members (join on p49) 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 Cosmic Corner, Easy Grow, Erox, The Hempstore, Now & Then, Pipe Dreams, Real Groovy, Switched On Gardener HAMILTON Frankton Pipe Shop, Green Thumb Hydro, Greens Office, Needle Exchange, Rota, Switched On Gardener THAMES Boot’s N All, Crystal Ball Clinic TAURANGA Curiosity, Switched On Gardener MT MAUNGANUI Antipodes, Green Day, Nemms TE PUKE Wild Thingz ROTORUA Skingraft, Wild Thingz GISBORNE Cultural Experience NAPIER Earthsong HASTINGS Switched On Gardener TAUPO Switched On Gardener TE AWAMUTU Groovee Thingz NEW PLYMOUTH Guru Gardener, Mindfuel, Net, Stardust Creations, Trick or Treat WANGANUI Drugs & Health Development Project, Stardust Creations PALMERSTON NORTH IV Union, Lotz of Pots OTAKI Hipsta! 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 Flurmo TAKAKA Invisible BLENHEIM Boots ‘n’ All RANGIORA Rock Shop CHRISTCHURCH Avon Backpackers, Cosmic Corner, Embassy, Radar Records, Switched On Gardener GREYMOUTH Planet Funk QUEENSTOWN Play It Again WANAKA Play It Again TIMARU Dizzy Spell DUNEDIN Community Law Centre, Cosmic Corner, DIVO, Funk That!, Hemphatic, Modaks, Tangente, Radio One, Switched On Gardener INVERCARGILL Large As Life, Play It Again.

Disclaimer & LEGAL NOTICE: The views expressed in Norml News may or may not be the opinion of Norml News, NORML New Zealand Inc, our advertisers distributors or printers. Norml News is provided with no warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The publisher assumes no responsibility for and disclaims all liability for any inaccuracies, errors or omissions. Some content within Norml News is included for “fair use” research, review, education and information purposes. Norml News and the publisher are not responsible for the content of advertising contained within. Publication of an advertisement does not imply our endorsement of any particular product or claims made by any advertiser. Makes sense, really. www.NORML.org.nz

6 8 9 14

FEATURES

Saxby, Brandon Hutchison, Eric Crampton, Paul Armentano, Mister Fantastico, Indoor Herb and assorted recruits. Want to contribute? Send articles, ideas, letters, photos, cartoons, comments, grow tips etc. Enclosed a stamped envelope if you would like it returned.

Printer: APN

on the cover: MAKO HAZE

Marijuana is Safer 20 Extract from the new book by Paul Armentano, Steve Fox and Mason Tvert Yippie for drug treatment! 24 Nonsense on Stilts By Dr Eric Crampton 28 T.H.Seeds/ Hempworks interview By Chris Fowlie 38

Home & Garden All about seeds By Mister Fantastico The Green Ratio By Indoor Herb

34 42

REGULARS World News with Harry Cording Medicinal Cannabis research with Chris Fowlie & the IACM Bush Doc Outgrow the recession! Safer cannabis use - NORML’s harm reduction advice Know your rights and lawyers list Activist Corner How you can help change the law NORML membership/subscription form & shop Show your grow Pics of the crop Spr ing 2009 N O R M L

10 16 34 46 47 48 49 50 NeWS 3

Editorial

Thanks for the support! To everyone who has purchased this magazine - we thank you. Your contribution will make a difference to our campaigns.

Phil’s Presidential Tour of Duty

Back in the day, under Ras Nandor’s watch, NORML News sold for a $3 cover price. Then when we relaunched in 1999 we made it free. But over the years this has had a bad effect on NORML’s membership, as it seems there NORML President Phil Saxby toured North Island is less incentive to join. Plus, printing tens of provincial centres in July to meet members and thousands of free magazines has meant we’ve supporters, and promote public awareness of the review run at a substantial loss. by the Law Commission of the Misuse of Drugs Act. So for the past year NORML News has discussion paper is promised some old branches are reviving, been on sale at many mainstream book and from the Law Commission says Phil. magazine stores, with a cover price of $5. in November 2009, opening up Phil called in on the shops that We’re grateful to all the readers who have a public debate on current distribute NORML News wherever joined, given policies and their alternatives. possible. “They have done a great donations Just a week after promoting job over the years, and I wanted to or paid for the medicinal cannabis bill thank them,” he says. their copy of to the public in Wellington, Visiting Trade Union Centres NORML News handing out prescriptions in in several cities was important - especially the the role of “Dr Phil”, NORML’s in getting NORML’s message to customers of president went on tour to a wider audience and finding Switched On Masterton, Hawkes Bay, community support, he says. Gardener who presenting the Taupo, Rotorua, Tauranga, Another group helping the tour Lou from Switched On have bought thanks guys! Hamilton, New was the Greens more magazines big cheque “Its important Party, which hosted Plymouth and Levin. than anywhere. His message was Phil’s New Plymouth for NORML We’ve almost covered our costs - but not the same to members, meeting - a meeting enough to be sustainable. to be part of supporters and the news that became a To be honest we also want to encourage a cross-party media: “This is a once in 30 comprehensive more people to join NORML (and take years opportunity to have a campaign on discussion on this advantage of the free magazine subscription proper debate on what our reform of our country’s drug laws. - see page 49). So we’re now invoicing all policy on illegal drugs is New contacts with dysfunctional retail stores for their supplies of magazines, supposed to achieve, and the Greens were also meaning readers are likely to be asked to pay drug laws” whether we can do better, made in Hamilton, the $5 cover price - although stores will not led by an independent investigator Rotorua and Tauranga. be charged for magazines once they are 60 - the Law Commission.” Phil sees the tour as a success days old, so you’ll still be able to get free back New Zealand has one of the in renewing contacts with longissues. There are several advantages to this highest cannabis use rates in time NORML loyalists but also in new system: the world – but NORML believes reaching out beyond the traditional • Sales will cover the cost of producing the the issue is not just cannabis NORML support base of students magazine, and raise funds for NORML’s drug any more. We need to look at the and young people. law reform campaigns; wider picture of drug law reform in “Its important for NORML to be • Retail prices will be consistent, reducing general. This is the Commission’s part of a cross-party campaign on confusion for the reader; approach as well, says Phil. reform of our dysfunctional drug • Readers can save money by joining NORML. As well as a number of news laws,” he says. “The campaign More members will lead to more activism stories in local news media, Phil should involve New Zealanders and greater success in our campaigns. enjoyed meeting many long-time from all the political parties, • Sales might also allow us to pay contributors supporters of NORML in places independents, trade unions, Maori for the work they do, leading to more writing like Hastings, where the Paki Paki groups and everyone who cares and pictures of even better quality. marae has often hosted NORML about our future society.” So from all of us at NORML, we hope you conferences, Levin, and Hamilton understand why we need to do this. It is not More tours are planned, including where an enthusiastic group is an easy decision. Thank you for your support the South Island and places missed building on the in the past, and we hope you will stay with us by the July tour. highly successful in this new era of growth and sustainability for If you can help, J-Days organised New Zealand’s favourite marijuana magazine! contact Phil at get NORML News delivered! by Max Coyle. phil@norml.org. & support drug law reform efforts Chris Fowlie New branches are nz. For more see Turn to page 49 now! p8-9. being formed and editor@norml.org.nz

N O R M L N e W S Spr ing 2009

www.NORML.org.nz

Photo: Wairarapa Times-Age

join NORML

Photo: Kyle

SIS denies NORML’s file

Photo: Hawkes Bay Today

ew Zealand’s chief spook has refused to release any files it may hold on NORML, the ALCP, or the Norml News editor.

The New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) is subject to the Official Information Act 1982 and the Privacy Act 1993, which allow members of the public to gain access to government records. The SIS claim to have adopted an archives policy “to aid the proactive declassification of historical records” and say they have made “every endeavour to be forthcoming and as open as possible,” although requests may be declined where there are “security or privacy concerns”. Green MP Keith Locke was given a copy of his file, to find it started when he was aged 11 and continued after he became an MP.

Norml News editor Chris Fowlie then wrote to the SIS requesting anything held on himself, NORML or the ALCP. After a lengthy delay SIS director Warren Tucker said he would “nether confirm or deny the existence or non-existance of that information.” Keith Locke told Norml News that given “they gave out some files, it does make you wonder.” He said other people - such as academic Jane Kelsey - had received similar letters, and in many cases we could infer why. “It might be they don’t want to disclose agents, former agents, or methods of operation.” Norml News intends to take the matter up with the Privacy Commissioner.

Five years of 4:20 Protests Otago University students recently celebrated five years of Friday 4:20 Protests. The regular acts of civil disobedience at the Otago University Union Lawn aim to demonstrate the futility of cannabis prohibition, as well as inject some fun into the end of the week. The time of 4:20 is a not-so-secret code for publicly consuming cannabis. There could not have been more contrast between the chilled-out 420 crowd and the drunken Undie 500 brigade that happened the same week.

Prisoners all time high There have never been so many Kiwis locked up in jails. The latest figures show 8509 people are in jail, and around ten per cent are there for cannabis. New Zealand has the secondhighest rate of imprisonment in the western world. It costs more than $90,000 per year to house each prisoner. www.NORML.org.nz

The Friday 4:20 Protests have become quite an institution over the years. Through sheer determination and perseverance, supporters have been lighting torches of freedom and standing up for their rights for five years running. “It hasn’t always been easy,” says Otago NORML’s Abe Gray, “so we felt it was time to celebrate, at 4:20pm of course!” Students and cannabis enthusiasts from throughout the community gathered on the Otago University Union Lawn on Sept. 11 and chilled to irie beats from The Weedchillers, Bad Sav, Pissed Chris, and DJ Sets from Manick, Boof, The Real JBJ, Fattronic and more. Nice one! Otago NORML, c/o OUSA, 640 Cumberland St, Dunedin. www. otagonorml.com Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

NZ law reform

Putting cannabis on trial Dakta Green challenges the law, writes Harry Cording

Jnr from Hamilton: ‘my first successful grow!’

This challenge is Dakta Green’s mission. He is using the court system to put cannabis on trial - to show that it is a benign substance in the hands of responsible adults and the law against it conflicts with the Bill of Rights. Section 9 of the Bill of Rights Act states: “Everyone has the right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, degrading, or disproportionately severe treatment or punishment.” Dakta Green’s argument, which he will put to the court, is: “To be subject to imprisonment for possession of the benign plant cannabis amounts to Dakta Green disproportionately severe treatment or punishment.” His day in court comes on December 21, when his application for a stay of proceedings will be heard. This relates to charges of possession for supply which he has been fighting for the past two years. If his application is successful, the prosecution can not proceed further.

Roaring Lion locked in a cage by Harry Cording

Brian Borland has been sentenced to 2 years 4 months in prison on cannabis charges. Known as “Dakta Grower”, he will be locked in a cage for his activism on behalf of the herb and his services to the cannabis community. Having been in custody since May 15, Brian had pleaded guilty to cultivation, possession for supply, and possession of resin, utensils and seeds, with sentencing in Henderson District Court on August 25. He had been arrested while on bail, and had a further possession charge after bringing a live cannabis plant into the courtroom during a previous hearing. In contrast to most growers, who prefer to keep a low profile, Brian has been loud and proud in his support of cannabis and law reform. He took part in the nationwide Cannabus tour last year, and after the tour had finished, he started the Henderson Potnic public protest in the centre of Henderson. It was held every Saturday, attracting up to 70 people. Brian also registered his Roaring Lion Cannabis Shoppe with Inland Revenue as a business, complete with GST number, with the intention of declaring income and paying tax like any legitimate business. A handful of supporters wearing NORML T shirts turned up at the court for his sentencing. Some had arrived on the Cannabus, which was parked 6

N O R M L N e W S Spr ing 2009

Brian Borland

in front of the court. The crown lawyer trotted out the usual bollocks: “Imprisonment is the only appropriate sentence. It is important to denounce such behaviour,” he said. “He continually justifies his offending through his belief in decriminalisation.” A deterrent sentence was necessary “to help him realise the harm he is causing” before adding “Mr Borland’s rehabilitation is obviously an important consideration.” There was the inevitable description of his grow room as “sophisticated” which is police-speak for any cupboard with a light.

The defence lawyer read Brian’s statement and said he had “strong morals and convictions”. Dakta Green spoke in support, noting his role in the CannaBus tour and the widespread support throughout the country for law reform. Judge Tremewan said Brian had 15 previous cannabis convictions and added “You have flagrantly breached the law.” (With years of legal training, you too can learn to state the obvious.) The judge said Brian was due credit for his cooperation with police and his early guilty plea, and was “otherwise of good character.” According to her honour, the starting point would be 4 years, but she gave him a 20 month discount for his guilty plea. In closing remarks, she said “I don’t know if you are aware of the latest research” about cannabis. Would that be the research that shows it’s safer than alcohol, Your Honour? If Brian had received less that 2 years, he would have automatically been released after serving half his sentence. As it is, he goes before the parole board after a third of his sentence is up (around March 2010). If he does not tell them what they want to hear and show remorse, or if he fails a random drug test, he will be denied parole. At the time of writing, Brian was in Mt Eden Prison. For updates on his situation, visit www.norml.org.nz/ forums www.NORML.org.nz

Coronaki Afi from Flying High

hen the law is out of step with the people, and Parliament refuses to change it, the only alternative is to challenge the law through the courts.

Dakta Green has a vast amount of evidence in support of his application. Videos from last year’s Cannabus tour will be introduced as evidence to show the widespread acceptance of cannabis in the community and its role in popular culture. He also plans to have world authorities on cannabis testify via video link about the merits of the herb. Along with extensive evidence, Dakta Green has legal precedents to draw upon. In a High Court decision Justice Richardson stated there are grounds for a court to depart from previous authority to achieve a “socially just result” when Parliament has not resolved the law or otherwise dealt with the issue. If the law no longer meets the conditions and values of society, the court can no longer administer the law. Dakta Green had been scheduled to go to trial on August 31 on possession for supply charges. Shortly before the trial was due to start, he was granted an adjournment until December 21 to allow him to prepare submissions in support of a stay of proceedings.

Photo: Chris

t is unusual for a court to vacate a firm trial date. In granting the adjournment, Judge Field noted “Ordinarily a delay of this kind would be inexcusable,” but because Dakta Green had recently taken over his own defence, he was entitled to make the application. However, the judge added, “It is not the function of this court to interfere with the workings of Parliament. The law is, after all, as it stands.” On December 21 Dakta Green’s hearing will begin at Auckland District Court. Dakta Green is calling on all supporters of cannabis to come to a rally in Albert Park at 8 am and march from there to the court at 69 Albert St. He also calls on people in other cities to march to their local courthouse and show their support for freedom. Dakta Green is representing himself in court, assisted by a barrister who has been appointed by the court as amicus curiae (friend of the court - Latin survives in the legal system centuries after people stopped speaking it elsewhere). He feels confident that he will be acquitted on all of his current charges. Dakta Green’s slogan is “Legal by 2010” and this could be the case that makes it happen. “This is the one,” he says. “We have done the hard yards. They can not turn back the tide of change.” Until then Dakta Green will be at the Daktory in New Lynn, the home he shares with Maryjane the Cannabus. He welcomes new members - membership is only $20 per month. Phone (09)948 1048 or email thedaktory@ windowslive.com

That’s December 21 at the Auckland District Court. Readers who want to help can donate to Dakta Green’s Freedom Fighting Fund - account no. 38-9009-0263609-00. See www. thedaktory.co.nz www.NORML.org.nz

Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

Phil Saxby out campaigning

NZ Law Reform

Thirty Years Too Long -

Stop the NZ Drug Wars! NORML needs an outreach strategy, to be decided at the Annual Conference in Turangi, writes Phil Saxby.

his is because, after thirty years of campaigning against the Misuse of Drugs Act, there is a real prospect of stopping the NZ Drug Wars. • Public opinion in important countries like the USA, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina has turned against prohibition • European countries are increasingly looking at health-based approaches to drug problems • New Zealand is about to start a public debate following the first official review of the Misuse of Drugs Act since it was passed in 1974. Over the years, NORML has tried many different approaches to achieve cannabis law reform, often simultaneously.

These different approaches – lobbying MPs, letter-writing, smokeins, J-Day protests and other forms of civil disobedience – do not necessarily contradict each other. Together, they can work to reinforce each other and increase pressure for reform. Campaigns in Aotearoa/New Zealand for cannabis law reform have had some success – such as two Health Select Committee reports, in 1998 and 2003, that identified the failures of prohibition policies and recommended law reform. As recently as 2009, the same Health Committee proposed improved access to medicinal cannabis. A weakness of these reports is that the Committee was not able to make a wide-ranging study of the whole

Drug and alcohol laws under review

he Law Commission is reviewing the failed Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, with an issues paper expected to be released in November for public discussion and feedback. It is crucial that supporters of reform have their say. The Law Comm has also released an issues paper on the reform of New Zealand’s liquor law. While it proposes significant changes to the way alcohol is sold, the Law Commission is to be commended for sticking with the R18 age limit for licensed premises. “There has been constant criticism of R18 for the last Licensing Authority could be allowed to impose few years, and we get out there and support the idea additional conditions on a licence for the purpose of that people have to be treated as adults, and given reducing liquor-related harm. adult responsibilities, at 18,” said NORML president * Alcohol excise taxes could be increased, but may be Phil Saxby. “It’s the Kiwi culture of binge-drinking lowered for low-alcohol drinks, and some drinks could and drink-driving that is harmful, not the legal age of be banned on health grounds. Have your say! purchase. Attitudes to the legal drinking age will affect What do you think? The Law Commission’s review people’s stance towards marijuana law reform, so it’s is intended to stimulate public debate. The report important NORML people engage in this debate.” The report proposes some possible changes to the Alcohol in our Lives - is comprehensive but easy to read. Have your say! You could use the opportunity way alcohol is sold: * Retaining the R18 age limit for purchasing alcohol to promote a consistent regulated approach to on licensed premises, but for off-licences such as bottle both alcohol and cannabis sales. The deadline for submissions is 5pm, Friday 30 October 2009. The Law shops the age of purchase could be raised to 20; * Bars and clubs would stop selling alcohol at 2am, Commission says it will take these into account when with some extensions to 4am for those with a one- preparing its final report, due in March 2010, which will be presented to the Government as suggested law way door policy; * Police would be given powers to immediately close changes. Keep an eye out for their Misuse of Drugs bars and clubs that breach liquor laws, and licences Act review, expected in November. could be cancelled on more grounds; Download the report from www.talklaw.co.nz/ * More weight given to community concerns when liquor. See ‘Marijuana is Safer’ on page 20. considering granting a licence, and the Liquor

N O R M L N e W S Spr ing 2009

problem of illegal drugs, leading to detailed recommendations on an alternative system of drug control. Some private attempts to fill the gap failed to get traction. At last, after more than 30 years of the Misuse of Drugs Act, a full, official, study of the Act is under way (by the Law Commission). It should produce the blue print for change that is so long overdue – but that depends in part on the public reaction.

hat is why it is vital for NORML to reach out beyond our core supporters to the NZ public. Reform does not just mean finding 62 MPs who privately agree that reform is needed – reform will happen only when the public sees the failure of present policies and supports the new approach. It won’t happen overnight! • We need to re-establish active NORML branches. This was one of the purposes of my recent tour. • Branches need to increase their membership; lobby local MPs and the news media. Members need to write letters but also find clever ways of getting the issue in front of the public – on the street, on the job and on the Internet. • We need better links with allied groups such as trade unions and Maori groups, student and health organisations and political parties. Many of these represent the victims of prohibition – those who are fined, jailed or hurt in other ways. • We even need outreach to uncommitted, mainstream or even hostile groups. • Service clubs are an important target. Another important group are teachers (via their unions) and school boards of trustees, and principals. Obviously we need to work closely with Green Cross as part of supporting medicinal cannabis use. This should be a main focus at present, as it is still www.NORML.org.nz

Labour Network formed

esponses to an e-mail letter in early 2009 were so favourable that a Labour Party network of drug-law reformers has been formed. Calling itself LEADR (Labour E-list Advocating DrugLaw Reform), the network aims to promote debate within the Labour Party and trade unions on drug law reform. Current LEADR coordinator Phil Saxby is also NORML president. Phil promoted LEADR at the Party Conference in Rotorua in August, lobbying sector groups within Labour and talking to MPs and delegates. Invitations are flowing in for LEADR to speak to groups within the Party. He says: “Drug law reform is already a significant political issue. It’s not going away any time soon. Our current drug control policies have largely failed to achieve good public health outcomes, with New Zealand having the highest rates of cannabis use by children and teenagers in the world”. World Health Organisation figures show that 27% of young New Zeaanders have used cannabis by age 15, while in the USA the figure is 20% and in the Netherlands only 7%. “For some reason, the public does not seem to realise what a disaster our current policies are,” says Phil. “We need to encourage effective participation in the current Law Commission review of the Misuse of Drugs Act.” LEADR points out that criminal sanctions for drug use mainly fall on our already-marginalised young people, especially Maori, and often exacerbate their problems. Phil hopes that NORML members will soon be networking in the other main political parties to increase support for sensible, workable drug law reform.

PRESENTS

2009 Conference & AGM SAT 14 - SUN 15 NOVEMBER,

TURANGI Register now spaces are limited!

It’s shaping up to be the most exciting NORML meeting in years, with the theme of Thirty Years Too Long: Stop the NZ Drug Wars! NORML NZ turns 30 this year. After three decades of campaigning, NZ is starting to feel the effects of the worldwide collapse of prohibition policies – and to help chart our course in this new situation, we have a range of speakers on how to change unjust and unworkable laws like the Misuse of Drugs Act:

• Cathy Healy, NZ Prostitutes Collective, on “Getting to Decriminalisation” • MPs Panel on where the Law Commission review might take us • Plus speakers on California, hemp, local organising, the news media and more

Contact phil@norml.org.nz if you can help LEADR.

a live issue. An area of increasing importance, in this time of financial crisis, is the economic / tax argument for reform – can we afford the gross waste of money that is prohibition? While society is quite tolerant of adult use (especially cannabis), most parents are worried about teenage and child use rates – as they should be! Women, especially, need to understand why drug law reform is so vital to our future. And as always, we need to remember the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” No longer can anyone afford to ignore or laugh at Join NORML’s monthly news list the case for drug law just email ‘subscribe norml-nz’ to majordomo@norml.net reform!

e-mail alerts

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NORML’s Annual Conference is the time and place where members, budding activists and seasoned old hands get together to discuss cannabis law reform strategies, share information, elect the board, and generally plan out the year ahead.

Yes! I want to come to the NORML Conference in Turangi.

Pre-registration is Send me more information. essential. Send this form The Registration fee is $25 - enclosed Y/N to NORML, or for more I am / am not currently a member of information email NORML. I do / not need accommodation. phil@norml.org.nz or Name: see www.tinyurl.com/ Address: normlagm09

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Post form to PO Box 3307, Auckland Spr 2009 NORML NeWS 9 oring email admin@norml.org.nz

WORLD wide weed WITH HARRY

CORDING

Photo: Reuters

Latin America rejects Drug War Mexico & Argentina decriminalise drugs

n Mexico and Argentina you can now possess personal amounts of cannabis without any danger of getting arrested - and Mexico has extended this protection to all recreational drugs. Earlier this year Mexican president Felipe Calderon proposed the law, which took effect in August, in an effort to reduce the country’s prohibition-related violence which has claimed more than 11,000 lives in the last three years. In the same period almost 100,000 people have been detained on minor possession charges. Under the new law specific l i m its have been set for p o ss e ss ion : 5 g ra m s of cannabis, half a gram of cocaine, 50mg of heroin, 40mg of methamphetamine and 0.015mg of LSD. People found in possession will be

encouraged to attend a drug treatment program, which will be mandatory for thirdtime offenders. “This is not legalisation. This is regulating the issue,” said Mexico’s attorney general Bernardo Espino del Castillo. The law is designed to ease pressure on the country’s overcrowded prisons and prevent corrupt police from seeking bribes from smalltime drug users. The response from the USA - or lack of it - is significant. There have been no American efforts to derail Mexico’s reforms - i n contrast to 2006, when Mexico tried to enact similar reforms and American pressure caused Mexico’s president at the time, Vicente Fox, to veto the law even though he had previously supported it. Within days of Mexico’s new

Presidents call for change Mexico’s Vincente Fox has joined a growing chorus of Latin American ex-presidents calling for an end to the war on drugs. In February the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, headed by ex-presidents of three leading Latin American countries—César Gaviria of Colombia, Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, and Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil—said “Prohibitionist policies ... have not yielded the expected results. We are further than ever from the announced goal of eradicating drugs.” It’s just a pity they waited until leaving office before saying it. law taking effect, Argentina decriminalised cannabis use, as its Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to prosecute private use of the herb. The ruling strikes down a law which allowed for people caught in possession of even small amounts to be sentenced for up to two years in prison. The decision reversed a 2006 lower court ruling involving eight people sentenced to jail

for possession. The court did not set a weight limit for personal use and said it was not decriminalising all drug use. “Behaviour in private is legal, as long as it doesn’t constitute cle a r d a n ger,” Supr eme Cou rt P resident R ica rdo Lorenzetti said. “The state cannot establish morality. Each adult is free to make lifestyle decisions without the intervention of the state.”

Worldwide rallies for Prince of Pot

Photo: Guppy Fish

arc Emery, the Prince of Pot, will serve 5 years in US federal prison for selling marijuana seeds and funding the cannabis law reform movement. Emery has reached a plea agreement for a 5-year term was sentenced in Seattle Federal Court on September 21. Marc was facing a potential 30 years to life sentence, so agreed to the lesser sentence and will turn himself in at the US border. Emery is a well-known activist, marijuana seed vendor, and editor of Cannabis Culture magazine. He was raided by Canadian police and the US DEA on July 29, 2005, and arrested for selling marijuana seeds over the internet. The sales were legal in Canada and he had paid around

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

$600,000 in taxes to the Canadian government while running the seed business. Emery was targeted by America for his activism and the Canadian government facilitated his extradition in spite of all those taxes. It is possible t h at he m a y be transferred to a Canadian prison, where he would be eligible for parole in 20 months. Cannabis Culture magazine has become an online-only publication in preparation for his absence. Marc is calling for worldwide protests to bring attention to his situation. Contact Cannabis Culture or Marc directly if you would like to be involved in a rally. marc@cannabisculture.com Ph 001-604-6890590 or see www.cannabisculture.com/bc3; www.NoExtradition.net; www.WhyProhibtion.ca

www.NORML.org.nz

One kilo of Afghani hash (Photo: Chris)

WORLD wide weed

Portugal: A drug policy success story

US anti-drug program fails in Afghanistan

senior American diplomat has admitted that US efforts t o erad icat e opiu m popp y cultivation in Afghanistan has been a failure.

US special envoy Richard Holbrooke said that existing programs had not reduced by one dollar the amount of money the Taliban earned from production. “Spraying the crops just penalises the farmer and they grow crops somewhere else. The hundreds of millions of dollars we spend on crop eradication has not had any damage on the Taliban. On the contrary, it has helped them recruit. This is the least effective program ever.” Holbrooke said destruction of poppy fields would be phased out and funds would be redirected to farmers to grow different crops.

On the other hand, the US seeks to target Afghan drug traffickers who allegedly help finance the Taliban. “We have a list of 367 ‘kill or capture’ targets, including 50 nexus targets who link drugs and the insurgency,” an unnamed general told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. US military commanders say the policy is legal under the military’s rules of engagement and international law. Afghanistan supplies about 90 percent of the world’s opium, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Opium production rose from around 185 tonnes annually at the time of the American-led invasion in 2001 to 8200 tonnes in 2008, according to UN statistics. Afghan officials blame the US and its allies for the increase. T he invasion of A fghanistan was justified as part of the “war on drugs”.

Kiwi hash connection Meanwhile, New Zealand soldiers in Afghanistan have been busted enjoying the fine hashish produced there. Six soldiers were caught at it last year at The Provincial Reconstruction Team base at Bamiyan.

In a classic piece of reefer madness journalism, the Sunday Star-T imes recently rehashed the episode in a story headlined “Drug culture of disgraced NZ soldiers”. It described how soldiers “used a codeword to summon members to regular drug sessions, held in an army workshop where two bongs were stashed.” The soldiers reportedly also did spots with a soldering iron, gushed the

www.NORML.org.nz

newspaper. The so-called “Bamiyan Six” were sent home under military police guard in March last year. Defence Force spokesman Commander Shaun Fogarty said although five of the six admitting to smoking hash, all the charges against them were dismissed. The soldiers were not advised of their rights, so the evidence against them was inadmissible. All but one are still in the army. Fogarty said since the incident, all officers are trained in conducting investigations. In addition, the Defence Force can now do random drug tests in the field, which were not available when the Bamiyan Six were caught.

Possession of all drugs ha s been d e c r imin a li se d in Por tug a l s ince 1002, and now, due to the success of decriminalisation, its Parliament is considering a bill to legalise cannabis, following an initiative of the Bloco de Esquerda (Left Block) party. Under the current law - reported in the previous issue of Norml News possession for personal use and use itself are still legally prohibited, but violations are deemed to be administrative matters and are removed from the criminal realm. None of the nightmare scenarios touted by opponents - from rampant increases in drug use among the young to Portugal becoming a haven for “drug tourists” - has occurred. Drug use rates in Portugal are now among the lowest in the EU, particularly when compared with states with harsh drug laws.

Dutch pot shops for ‘locals only’ The Dutch Government is considering new limits on who may purchase cannabis at licensed coffeeshops. Under Dutch law, they may sell up to 5 grams of cannabis to patrons aged 18 years or older. However a legislative committee recommended in July that Dutch coffeeshops begin catering to ‘locals only,’ to discourage foreigners, and central government lawmakers are now considering legislation along those lines. Such ‘members-only’ restrictions are scheduled to begin soon on a trial basis in the border city of Maastricht. The government proposes running another trial in the town of Limburg, located near the border with Belgium and Germany, so people could only pay by debit card. They are also considering reducing the amount people may buy, from 5 grams to 3 grams. Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin said coffeeshops would not be forced to ban foreign customers but the new policy would move to make it harder for foreigners to buy cannabis. In response to a similar pervious plan, coffeeshops threatened to have a Dutch person sitting in their shops wearing a T-shirt proclaiming “I buy cannabis for foreigners”. That plan was quietly dropped. Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

WORLD wide weed WITH HARRY

CORDING

California ponders Legalisation America’s failing economy has sparked intense interest in the economic benefits of legalising and taxing the trade. Cannabis grown in California has been valued at US$14 billion annually, making it the state’s largest cash crop - and a major source of potential tax revenue with the added benefit of reduced police and prison costs. The state’s budget deficit is more than US$26 billion, and polls have found a sizeable majority of California voters support legalising and taxing pot.

America’s first cannabis sales tax Voters in Oakland, California, have overwhelmingly approved a special tax on me d ic a l m a r iju a n a sold at the city’s four cannabis dispensaries. The tax, the first of its kind, is $18 on every $1000 of sales, which will bring in an estimated US$294,000 in its first year.

T he fou r dispensa ries reported revenue of $19.7 million in the last financial year. Dispensary owners proposed the measure as a way to further legitimize their businesses, and they had no formal opposition. A l t h o u g h C a l i f o r n i a ’s approximately 800 cannabis dispensaries are expected to pay state sales tax, Oakland Caption is the first city in the US to create a special tax on marijuana sales. Activists say the next step is to get a proposal on the

Obama enjoying a smoke, circa 1980. Photo: lisa jack

Obama on pot: not much hope or change Drug law reformers hoped for change when Barrack Obama was elected, but their hopes are starting to look like wishful thinking. In 2007, when he was a senator, Obama said, “I think it’s time we took a hard look at the wisdom of locking up some first time nonviolent drug users for decades.” As a candidate, Obama pledged to end Drug Enforcement Administration raids on medical marijuana patients and their caregivers. But they went on for some time after he became president, while he endorsed medicinal cannabis as “entirely appropriate” for states where a majority of voters approve. During Obama’s first-ever “internet town hall”, questions about whether legalising marijuana could help boost the economy received more votes from the public than any other topic, but Obama treated the question like a joke. “I don’t know what this says about the online audience,” he sniggered. “The answer is no, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy.” Hopes were raised again when Obama appointed former Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske as “drug czar”. Kerlikowske renounced the “War on Drugs”, saying he would emphasize harm reduction policies over imprisonment. But hope changed to something less optimistic when Kerlikowske said “Legalization is not in the president’s vocabulary, and it’s not in 12

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

mine. Marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal benefit.” If Obama balks on marijuana reform, he will be going against a strong tide of public opinion. 13 states have legalised cannabis for medicinal use, and other states are considering more liberal laws. Furthermore, maintaining prohibition imposes a massive burden on the American economy that is becoming less and less affordable. America is the world leader in imprisonment, with 2.3 million people caged at an annual cost of US$68 billion. The majority are inside for drugs, and much of the money goes to the corporations that run the prison-industrial complex. Last year 847,864 Americans were arrested for pot and 89% were charged with possession only. According to Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron, “Federal, state and local governments spend roughly $44 billion per year to enforce drug prohibition. These same governments forego roughly $33 billion per year in tax revenue they could collect from legalized drugs, assuming these were taxed at rates similar to those on alcohol and tobacco.” Senator Jim Webb recently introduced legislation to form a presidential commission on prison reforms that would study drug laws. He insisted that marijuana legalisation must be “on the table.” Webb has reportedly received “quiet encouragement” from President Obama on the issue.

state ballot that would allow all adults to possess up to an ounce of cannabis, and allow homeowners to grow for personal use. A group called TaxCannabis2010. org is currently gathering signatures in anticipation of the November 2010 vote. State assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced a bill earlier this year to legalise a nd ta x ma r ijua na on a similar basis to alcohol, with a tax of $50 per ounce. I n Ma y gover nor A r nold Schwa rzenegger ca lled for a large-scale study to determine whether to legalise and tax marijuana. California has been a leader in liberalising marijuana laws. The state was one of the first to end felony penalties for possession 34 years ago, a nd beca me the first, in 1996, to legalise medical use for “any...illness for which marijuana provides relief.” Mainstream debate When the Wall Street Journal covers a topic, you can be sure it’s gone mainstream. A recent front page article looked at the business potential of California’s medicinal cannabis and interviewed some entrepreneurs in the trade. Some vendors are trying a proven business model: v e r t ic a l i nte g rat io n , o r growing as well as selling. This has become far less risky since the federal government stopped targeting marijuana distributors who obey state laws. A new entrant in the medpot business is Dr David Allen, a former heart surgeon who smokes pot for insomnia, anxiety and stress. He has found providing medpot more lucrative than heart surgery. Dr. A l len sa id ma ny of www.NORML.org.nz

WORLD wide weed

LA’s new KFC is Finger Smokin’ Good! An old Kentucky Fried Chicken store in Los Angeles has been replaced by the Kind For Cures medical-marijuana dispensary, who say they provide “friendly, knowledgeable and compassionate care to patients living with Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Anxiety, Muscular Spasticity Disorders, Glaucoma and other disabilities”. The classic red and white building now has a menu of medicinal buds and edibles that won’t increase your cholesterol. his patients are people who already used pot but wanted a doctor’s recommendation to avoid legal trouble. “If I was to deny them, I would put them at more risk, and I’d be hurting society as well. Cannabis is safer than aspirin.” Other businesses are starting up to ser ve t he g r o w i n g industr y. I n Oa k la nd, OD Media manages advertising and branding for cannabis c l i e n t s , a n d H a r b o r s id e M a n a g e m e n t A s s o c i a te s provides distributors with business advice. Oaksterdam University offers courses in Ca n na-Busi ness. Vetera n activist Richard Cowan has opened General Marijuana, which he envisions as an i nvestment ba n k for potrelated businesses. Cowan is also chief financial officer of Cannabis Science, which is marketing a medical pot lozenge for nonsmokers. Obstacles One of the biggest obstacles facing California’s cannabis entrepreneurs is inconsistent local regulations.

Ca l i for n ia c ou nties a r e required to issue ID cards to help police identify legitimate medical marijuana patients, under a law which was passed as SB-420. Despite this, San Diego County spent years fighting the state medical cannabis law, appealing all the way to the US Supreme Court, which declined its appeal in May. Some cou nties reg u late d ispensa r ies, some have ba n ned them, a nd others have enacted moratoriums on new outlets. Patients and their advocates have accused authorities of trying to thwart the law and deny them access to cannabis. Dale Gieringer, co-ordinator of California NORML, said morator iu m s on med ic a l marijuana dispensaries are becom i ng com monplace in California, as cities and counties try to fig ure out how to regulate them. “I will not speculate on what other ulterior motives there might be.” See www.wsj.com and wwwTaxCannabis2010.org

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Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

MEDiCiNAL CANNABiS

Parliament rejects Med Pot Bill The attempt to shepherd the Bill through it’s first reading failed, as National block-voted to scupper hopes - for now - reports Jonathan Rennie. Traditional allies and enemies alike rallied around Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei as she led an historic attempt to legalise medical marijuana in New Zealand in July. But the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill was eventually defeated 84 to 34.

MedPot around the world > USA: 13 states have legalised medicinal cannabis. A small number of patients receive joints from the Federal government. Patients may also be prescribed synthetic THC. > Canada: patients can either get Sativex, grow their own, or are given cannabis by the Government. > Australia: NSW is relaunching a programme to allow patients to grow their own or be prescribed Sativex. > The Netherlands: patients can grow up to 5 plants, or be supplied with herbal cannabis grown for the Government. > Germany: patients can purchase Dutch medicinal cannabis from German pharmacies, or may be prescribed synthetic THC. > Spain: patients can grow their own or be prescribed Sativex. > Israel: patients can grow their own, or are supplied with an extract made from police seizures. > New Zealand: Patients may be arrested and/or jailed.

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

ll Green and ACT MPs, plus Hone Harawira from the Maori Party and a solid contingent of Labour MPs voted yes. Special acknowledgement is due to Harawira, who voted against his clique. Keep wielding your taiaha of truth, Hone. In cold contrast, all 58 Nats voted no as one; while Dunne, Anderton, the rest of the Maoris and over half of Labour scurried to join them. After the dust had settled, it felt like the numbers could fall quite differently next time this issue comes around. Many of the MPs had become recently informed in response to a strong, last ditch email & letter campaign run by NORML. Even the bill’s detractors were keen to show off their medpot street cred and the packed chamber got a lively debate. Labour was split down the middle, and muscular contributions in support from their own Ruth Dyson and Steve Chadwick (both familiar with the topic) probably swayed some of them on the day. Meanwhile, A IDS Foundation ex-president, the Green’s Kevin Hague added scholastic punch to the law-reformist attack. Labou r’s Lia n ne Da lziel perhaps spoke for many who voted no, saying she supported the bill “in principle”, but couldn’t ignore it’s flaws. This is

unfortunate because, as health select committee member Dyson explained, the committee can, if necessary, “throw out the entire bill except for the point of it, and rewrite it”. It’s a pity then, that more members didn’t take the approach of ACT’s David Garrett who had concerns with the bill, but defended its passage through to the “valid” select committee process. Damn straight, because none of the actual flaws in the bill would have lasted; and those concerns resulting from ignorance and misunderstanding would have been laid to rest under proper scrutiny.

he bill’s two main weaknesses were a “schedule” of cannabis-treatable conditions, and a police seizures-reliant seed supply. The schedule was from a list established by the weighty UK Medicinal Cannabis Research Foundation, but included a few medical marijuana applications like asthma and schizophrenia that alarmed some members, including two former doctors, National’s Jonathan Coleman and Paul Hutchinson. But the Greens’ research shows that doctor’s approval of medpot increases with their knowledge of it. So clearly there is no need for a schedule, just doctors who can read.

www.NORML.org.nz

MEDiCiNAL CANNABiS

Photo: Staybees kush

herbal cannabis

vs.

How they voted: Ayes 34 Ardern J (Lab), Beaumont (Lab), Boscawen J (ACT), Bradford S (Grn), Burns (Lab), Chadwick S (Lab), Chauvel (Lab), Cunliffe D (Lab), Delahunty C (Grn), Dyson R (Lab), Fenton D (Lab), Fitzsimons J (Grn), Garrett D (ACT), Graham K (Grn), Hague K (Grn), Harawira H (Mao), Hide R (ACT), Hipkins C (Lab), Hodgson P (Lab), Kedgley S (Grn), King A (Lab), Lees-Galloway I (Lab), Locke K (Grn), Mackey M (Lab), Moroney S (Lab), Norman R (Grn), Prasad R (Lab), Pillay L (Lab), Robertson G (Lab), Roy H (ACT), Sepuloni C (Lab), Street M (Lab), Turei M (Grn), Twyford P (Lab) Noes 84 Adams A (Nat), Anderton J (Prg), Ardern S (Nat), Auchinvole (Nat), Bakshi (Nat), Barker R (Lab), Bennett D (Nat), Bennett P (Nat), Blue J (Nat), Borrows C (Nat), Bridges (Nat), Brownlee G (Nat), Calder (Nat), Carter D (Nat), Carter J (Nat), Choudhary (Lab), Coleman J (Nat), Collins J (Nat), Cosgrove C

Likewise, someone obviously forgot to scribble out the bill’s whimsical requirement that medpot seeds be supplied from police confiscation stocks. Elsewhere in the real world, government licensed medical grade marijuana seeds are bred for local and international healthcare markets.

s always, misapprehensions about the sa fety profi le of ca n nabis medicines muddled the debate: the most important attend the smoking pariah, summoned by Maori MP Rahui Katene. She admitted there were other ways of taking cannabis, but insisted that smoking would be the dominant method for medpot, claiming that this would “model” marijuana smoking for children. But the current conventional pain treatment for serious illnesses include suppositories and injected morphine, so by Katene’s logic, no sick people should receive treatment at home in case the kids start shelving or pinging up. Seriously: smoking cannabis is an www.NORML.org.nz

Sativex®

(Lab), Curran (Lab), Dalziel L (Lab), Davis K (Lab), Dean J (Nat), Dunne P (UF), English B (Nat), Finlayson C (Nat), Flavell T (Mao), Foss (Nat), Gilmore A (Nat), Goff P (Lab), Goudie S (Nat), Groser T (Nat), Guy N (Nat), Hawkins G (Lab), Hayes J (Nat), Heatley P (Nat), Henare T (Nat), Horomia P (Lab), Hughes D (Lab), Huo R (Lab), Hutchison P (Nat), Joyce S (Nat), Katene R (Mao), Kaye N (Nat), Key J (Nat), King C (Nat), Laban W (Lab), Lee M (Nat), Lotu-Iiga P (Lab), Macindoe T (Nat), Mahuta N (Lab), Mallard T (Lab), Mapp W (Nat), McClay T (Nat), McCully M (Nat), Nash S (Lab), O’Connor D (Lab), Parata H (Nat), Parker D (Lab), Peachey A (Nat), Power S (Nat), Quinn P (Nat), Ririnui (Lab), Robertson R (Lab), Roy E (Nat), Ryall T (Nat), Shanks K (Nat), Sharples P (Mao), Sio S (Lab), Smith L (Nat), Smith N (Nat), te Heuheu G (Nat), Tisch L (Nat), Tolley A (Nat), Tremain C (Nat), Turia T (Mao), Upston L (Nat), Wagner N (Nat), Wilkinson K (Nat), Williamson M (Nat), Wong P (Nat), Woodhouse M (Nat), Young J (Nat). Did not vote: ACT’s Roger Douglas; Labour’s David Shearer, Chris Carter & Shane Jones.

effective dose-delivery method for pain relief in the very ill, and it’s in no one’s interests to deprive them that. It is hard to believe that youngsters will find anything glamorous about herb used in a medical context. Evidence from California corroborates this: since medical marijuana was legalised there, teenage use has actually dropped, because sickness is rather uncool. Katene also dragged up the scientifically clunky contention that cannabis smoke is either as, or more dangerous than tobacco smoke, based on comparisons of their carcinogen profiles and observed short-term changes in the lungs of smokers. But in recent years epidemiological studies and deeper

research into the differences between cannabis and tobacco smoking have overturned this assumption (see p17). However, the bill’s biggest hurdle proved to be an indoctrinated mistrust of all whole-herb medicines. Some Kiwi politicians react almost superstitiously to the idea of patients growing and administering their own marijuana, as National’s Nicky Wagner gasped, “This bill suggests that seriously ill people should grow their own medicine [!]” Yet to grow one’s own medicine is, to most reasonable human beings, a perfectly wonderful proposition. Then she lectured that, “all prescription medicine... needs to be dispensed in a safe, reliable and consistent manner.” Which is precisely how whole herb medical cannabis is dispensed in nearly twenty states and countries around the world. Coleman also snubbed whole herb, then extolled the virtues of expensive sublingual sprays like Sativex, as though they grow on trees. But when Turei asked if his government would subsidise Sativex, he was stumped. In addition to flaunting their knowledge gaps, some opponents of the bill exposed an unhealthy attachment to prohibition by raising the old “thin end of the wedge” suspicion. This cynically frames medical marijuana as a ruse to sneak in general legalisation. Examined carefully, it’s a revealing admission that when society observes marijuana in a non-oppressed context, fears surrounding the drug will inevitably subside. Even if the opportunity to relieve thousands of New Zealanders’ suffering was illogically rejected, at least the discussion it provoked did much to raise awareness among our elected representatives and provided valuable insights on how we might better advance medpot legalisation in future. Importantly, the impact of the reformist campaign before the vote proved that communicating with MPs really helps. Opinion polls show that ordinary Kiwis are ready for medpot. We just need to encourage a few more parliamentarians to join their electors.

what now? Green MP Metiria Turei told Norml News “My first bill was defeated, but the debate enabled a real discussion and offers from a number of MPs to work on a better Bill. We have to be prepared to make incremental steps in politics, so I have taken up that offer. The struggle is not over until we have compassionate law that protects ill New Zealanders from an unjust and cruel law.” Metiria and NORML agree it is crucial that all who support medpot should write polite letters to MPs and media and tell them. Really! [You can use the format Firstname.Lastname@parliament.govt.nz] Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

MEDiCiNAL CANNABiS

Cannabis News You Won’t See in the Mainstream Media

People in need

Haaretz, 27 June 2009; Denver Daily News 4 August 2009

No schizophrenia link Scientists at Keele University in the UK have disproven the hypothesis that cannabis use increases the risk for the development of schizophrenia or psychosis. Their study of more than 600,000 people from 1996 to 2005 found cannabis use increased but the incidence of schizophrenia and psychoses were either stable or declining. Researches concluded that “the causal models linking cannabis with schizophrenia/psychoses are not supported by this study”. Frisher et al. Schizophr Res. 2009 Jun 26.

Anti-cancer Researchers at Complutense University i n S p a i n , fo u n d b o t h t h e p l a n t cannabinoid THC and the synthetic cannabinoid HU210 lowered the viability of rhabdomyosarcoma cells, a type of cancer in skeletal muscle cells. Oesch S, et al. Mol Cancer Ther 2009 Jun 9.

Anti-Aging Another new study shows cannabinoids reduce the effects of aging upon inflammation and formation of new ner ves. Activation of cannabinoid receptors triggered the formation of new nerve cells in the hippocampus (a brain region) in aged rats. Marchalant Y, et al. Neurobiol Dis 2009 Feb 5.

Rhode Island Rhode Island has become the third US state to permit cannabis sales to chronically ill patients with an approval for the medicinal use of the drug. The new law allows up to three non-profit stores in the state to sell cannabis to patients registered with the state Department of Health. Another ten US states let patients grow their own. the latest research is at www.cannabis-med.org

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

Regular marijuana use lowers risk of cancer A

lthough it has been 35 years since the first study that showed cannabis has anti-cancer and anti-tumour properties, few researchers have taken the time to assess these potential anti-cancer effects in humans - until now. Far from being a toxic poison the mainstream media would have us believe, a team of US scientists has reported that marijuana use, even long-term, is actually associated with a ‘significantly reduced risk’ of head and neck cancers. The researchers looked at patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in the Boston area between December 1999 and December 2003. “After adjusting for potential confounders (including smoking and alcohol drinking), 10 to 20 years of marijuana use was associated with a significantly reduced risk of HNSCC. Perhaps even more notably, the study found people who smoked cannabis and consumed alcohol and tobacco (two known high risk factors for head and neck cancers) also experienced a reduced risk of cancer. “Our study suggests that moderate ma rijua na use is associated w ith reduced risk of HNSCC,” concluded the researchers. “Further, we observed that marijuana use modified the interaction between alcohol and cigarette smoking, resulting in a decreased HNSCC risk among moderate smokers and light drinkers, and attenuated risk among the heaviest smokers and drinkers.” By contrast, investigators at McGill

California medical marijuana

Isreal reports that about 700 patients are currently allowed to use cannabis for medicinal purposes and it is expected that the number will surpass 1,000 at the end of this year. Meanwhile the health department of the US state of Colorado says it is receiving about 2000 applications a month from patients for medical marijuana permits.

University in Montreal reported that moderate alcohol consumption- defined as six drinks or less per week - is positively associated with an elevated risk of various cancers including stomach, rectal, and bladder cancer. A 2008 review in the journal Cancer Research reported that the administration of cannabinoids halts the spread of a wide range of cancers, including brain cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, and lymphoma. Sources: Cancer Prevention Research, August 2009; Cancer Epidemiology, 3 August 2009.

Cannabis may prevent osteoporosis Researchers examining the effects of cannabis have found its impact on bones varies with age: while the herb can reduce bone strength in the young, it could protect against osteoporosis, a weakening of the bones, in later life. Osteoporosis affects up to 30% of loss in older mice and prevented the women and about 12% of men at some accumulation of fat in the bones, which point in their lives. The University is known to occur in humans with of Edinburgh team found that the osteoporosis. S cie nt i sts note d “c a n n abi noid CB1 receptor - which is activated by cannabis - plays a role in the receptor ligands may be of value therapeutically in enhancing peak development of osteoporosis. Cannabinoids that activated the CB1 bone mass and preventing age-related receptor increased the rate at which osteoporosis.” bone tissue was destroyed in the young. However the study also showed that Source: Idris AI, et al. Cell Metab 2009;10(2):139-47. the same compounds decreased bone www.NORML.org.nz

YOUR BACK YARD!

Photo: CHRIS

Legalise

Dunedin study: pot smoker’s lungs similar to non-smokers

www.alcp.org.nz

early four decades ago, in the journal Science, New York State University sociologist Erich Goode lamented the media’s complicity in maintaining cannabis prohibition. He noted: “[T]ests and experiments purporting to demonstrate the ravages of marijuana consumption receive enormous attention from the media, and their findings become accepted as fact by the public. But when careful refutations of such research are published, or when later findings contradict the original pathological findings, they tend to be ignored or dismissed.” Unfortunately, nothing much has changed since then. Only last year, media all around the world sensationally reported a study from Dunedin that showed cannabis use might be bad for the lungs. Now, a just-published follow up study using the same group reports that the lungs of cannabis smokers are similar to non-smokers - and yet that same media has remained silent. Researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of Otago, led by Prof Ritchie Poulson, compared the effects of cannabis and tobacco smoke on lung function of 1037 people born in Dunedin in the mid-1970’s. They found that cannabis users had lung function similar to non-smokers, in contrast to tobacco smokers. “Cumulative cannabis use was associated with higher forced vital capacity, total lung capacity, functional residual capacity, and residual volume. Cannabis was also associated with higher airways resistance but not with forced expiratory volume in 1 second, forced expiratory ratio, or transfer factor. These findings were similar amongst those who did not smoke tobacco.” “Cannabis appears to have different effects on lung function to those of tobacco. Cannabis use was associated with higher lung volumes suggesting hyperinflation and increased large-airways resistance, but there was little evidence for airflow obstruction or impairment of gas transfer.” Rather predictably, this “inconvenient truth” was not reported in any media - other than Norml News of course!

Hancox RJ, Poulton R, Ely M, Welch D, Taylor DR, McLachlan CR, Greene JM, Moffitt TE, Caspi A, Sears MR. Effects of cannabis on lung function: a population-based cohort study. Eur Respir J. 2009 Aug 13. www.NORML.org.nz

Spr ing O RS M17 L NeWS Autumn 2009 N O R2009 M L N eNW

MEDiCiNAL CANNABiS A study from Temple University in Philadelphia, USA, showed that activation of the CB1 receptor reduces the concentration of the pro-inflammatory substance tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) and may protect nerve cells from inflammation following injury or during neurodegenerative diseases. In another study, researchers at the Hadassah-Hebrew Universit y in Jerusalem found the natural plant cannabinoid CBD improved cognitive and motor function that had been impaired by damage from liver cirrhosis. Zhao P, et al. Neuropharmacology. 2009 Aug 3; Magen I, et al. J Hepatol 2009 May 27.

What did you expect? US scientists showed the effects of cannabis are largely influenced by expectancy of the user. They gave 20 young cannabis users either cannabis cigarettes with 2.8 per cent of THC or placebo joints without THC. All of the participants who were told that they received THC, but received placebo cigarettes, were adament they had smoked active cannabis containing THC. Researchers noted, that “both expectancy and pharmacological effects of marijuana can modify smoking behaviour.” Metrik J, et al. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2009;17(4):217-25.

Canna-business German company Bionorica says it’s new cannabis preparation for the therapy of symptoms of AIDS, cancer and multiple sclerosis may be approved in the coming year. Bionorica has produced dronabinol (THC) since 2002 by transforming cannabidiol extracted from fibre hemp. The THC is sold to pharmacies for the manufacturing of medicinal drugs. The company has 870 employees and a yearly turnover of 130 million euros. Meanshile an abandoned mine in northern Canada may lose its role as the country’s only government-approved cannabis production site. Operator Prairie Plant Systems said production at the mine at Flin Flon, Manitoba, had to be moved because the facility was no longer big enough. Aerztezeitung, 19 July & Reuters 22 July 2009.

the latest research is at www.cannabis-med.org

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

Marijuana may offset alcohol-induced toxicity

rinking alcohol is w idely known to damage the brain, and ‘reefer madness’ advocated would have us believe that cannabis is even worse. But not according to new research that has found compounds in cannabis may protect the human brain against alcoholinduced damage. Investigators at the University of California at San Diego found teenage binge drinkers showed signs of white matter damage in eight separate regions of the brain. In contrast the binge drinkers who also used marijuana experienced less damage in seven out of the eight brain regions. “[It is] possible that marijuana may have some neuroprotective properties in mitigating alcohol-related oxidative stress or excitotoxic cell death,” the researchers concluded. I n a separate study from 2005, r e s e a r c he r s at t he US Nat ion a l Institutes of Mental Health reported that the administration of the nonpsychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) reduced alcohol-induced cell death in the hippocampus and etorhinal cortex of the brain in a dose-dependent manner by up to 60 percent. Sources: Jacobus J., et al. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 2009 Jul 23. The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, May 2005.

Photo: Cannabis.com

Reduces brain damage

Study: it’s easier for teens to buy pot than beer A recent study by the US National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse has proven once again that seven decades of criminal pot prohibition has resulted in making cannabis more readily available to teens than alcohol. The study found that 40 percent of teens could get marijuana within a day; and another quarter said they could get it within an hour. Teens between the ages of 12 and 17 said it’s easier to get marijuana than buy beer or prescription drugs. Ask any supporter of marijuana prohibition why they oppose law reform and you will almost always receive the same response: “protect the children!” Yet this survey demonstrates once again that prohibition does not work.

Pot’s impact on the brain “minimal”. Cannabis consumption, even long-term, has only a “minimal” impact on brain function, according to an international team who conducted a systematic review of the effects of cannabis on brain structure and function. Investigators from the United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, Australia, and Switzerland reviewed 66 published studies but found only three found differences between the pot users and controls.

Noting that marijuana users and controls perform similarly on cognitive tasks, researchers concluded, “Minimal evidence of major effects of cannabis on brain structure has been reported”. Another study from 2001 published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry found long-term cannabis smokers who stopped smoking for one week “showed virtually no significant differences from control subjects.” Source: Psychological Medicine www.NORML.org.nz

Research & Science

Drug driving survey shock T he Drug F oundation’s on l i ne survey of attitudes to driving has been trumpeted by the media as evidence of a so-called ‘epidemic’ of drug driving. Last year only one person was charged with causing death while under the influence of a drug. So how big a problem is it? While the survey is far from scientific, about one quarter of the 1164 self-selected participants reported driving under the influence of cannabis, compared to 21% driving while drunk. More than half the pot smokers said taking cannabis did not affect their driving and 16% said it actually improved it, while over a third (37%) of drunk-drivers thought their driving was not affected or was better. Government agency ESR is studying blood samples taken from most driver deaths in New Zealand. Preliminary results show 40% of drivers killed between 2004 and 2006 had used alcohol, cannabis or both before their death. Ten per cent had used cannabis only, and of those drivers only 30% were likely to have smoked within three hours of driving. The

www.NORML.org.nz

rest had residues from previous use. Meanwhile a new testing regime comes into effect on 1 December. Police will have the power to make drivers perform a ‘Field Sobriety Test’ which involves coordination tasks such as walking a straight line and balancing on one leg. I f the officer says a driver has failed, they c a n de m a nd a blood test, and any trace Australian researchers have found that stress and of illegal drugs will be dieting by regular cannabis users can lead to a positive enough for a drugs test long after stopping use. conviction. THC-COOH, the inactive metabolite of marijuana

THC detection influenced by stress and dieting

Read NORML’s Principles of Responsible Marijuana Use on p.46

that is identified in urine drug tests, accumulates in body fat and is released gradually and intermittently over time. The study found stress and dieting can trigger a new increase of THC metabolites in the blood, by mobilising metabolites from fat, resulting in a positive drug test long after last use of cannabis. Source: Gunasekaran N, et al. Br J Pharmacol 2009 Aug 14

Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

Marijuana is safer than alcohol

Marijuana is More than half of Americans now believe that smoking marijuana is less dangerous than drinking alcohol, according to the results of a new poll.* By contrast, just 19 percent of respondents believed pot is more dangerous than alcohol. Steve Fox, Paul Armentano, and Mason Tvert say the public has it right, and the law, which results in the arrest of some 800,000 Americans annually, has it wrong. This is an extract from their new book.

t’s June 2004 and the city of Lisbon, Portugal, is preparing for war. Not a literal war, but an epic encounter almost as frightening in its potential for violence: England is playing France in the opening round of the Euro 2004 soccer tournament. But the showdown on the field will be nothing compared to the anticipated battle in the stands and in the streets. Soon the city will be overrun with one of Earth’s most dreaded species, the English soccer fan. Branded as “hooligans,” these fans are notorious for their drunken antics and their propensity to instigate alcohol-fueled fights, assaults, and, in some extreme cases, all-out riots. So with 50,000 rabid Frenchmen and Englishmen descending upon this normally quiet town, what were the authorities to do? Ban alcohol? Not a bad guess, but no. I nstead, the police announced that French

Steve Fox is Director of State Campaigns, MPP (www.mpp. org), Paul Armentano is Deputy Director for NORML (www. norml.org), and Mason Tvert is Executive Director of SAFER (www.saferchoice.org). 20

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and English soccer fans would not be arrested or sanctioned in any way for smoking marijuana. A spokeswoman for the Lisbon police explained the policy to Britain’s Guardian newspaper this way: “If you are quietly smoking and a police officer is 10 meters away, what’s the big risk in your behavior? I’m not going to tap you on the shoulder and ask ‘What are you smoking?’ if you are posing no menace to others. Our priority is alcohol.” In large part because of Lisbon’s novel approach, the highly anticipated match took place without incident. Police made no arrests during the game, and England’s infamous hooligans behaved remarkably peacefully, even in the immediate aftermath of England’s 2-1 defeat by its hated rival. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, while this social experiment p r o v e d successful, it was shortlived. Later that evening, after E ng l ish fa n s h ad d r o w ne d their sorrows at the local pubs, v iole nc e e r upte d among clashing fans, and several hundred people were arrested. What’s surprising about the Lisbon experience is not the outcome, which

was predictable, especially since a similar lack of violence was observed when England played a soccer match in the Netherlands (where the possession of marijuana by adults is de facto legal) during the Euro 2000 tournament. Rather, it is the lack of attention the story received in the U.S. media and among policy makers. Although the Lisbon experiment was not conducted in a scientifically controlled environment, it nevertheless prompts the question: Would the legalization of marijuana reduce alcohol-related harms in society? In a country where, according to the Department of Justice, alcohol plays a pivotal role in some two-thirds of all cases of violence suffered by an intimate (such as a spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend), and is responsible for approximately 100,000 sexual assaults among young people each year, this is a serious question deserving of serious discussion. Ironically, just a few years later, the same American media that turned a collective cold shoulder to Portugal’s unique experiment in “pot tolerance” became enamored with a campaign by university presidents to spur a national debate about whether to lower the drinking age in the United States to eighteen. This campaign, dubbed the Amethyst Initiative, “aims to encourage moderation and responsibility as an alternative to the drunkenness and reckless decisions about alcohol that mark the experience of many young A merica ns.” A re these university presidents also pushing for a debate about whether the legal use of marijuana could provide an alternative to “drunkenness and reckless decisions about alcohol”? Not as of this writing. So we a r e lef t w ith a pu z z l i ng dichotomy. Despite knowing that a large percentage of assaults and injuries on their campuses are related to alcohol, university presidents are still willing to consider lowering the legal drinking age. www.NORML.org.nz

Photos of mako haze leaves by chris

So why are we driving people

Book excerpt

Safer

to drink?

Yet these same officials will not even discuss the idea of granting students the legal right to use a substance that is less likely to lead to violent behavior. This is just one example of our nation’s perpetual double standard surrounding the use of marijuana and alcohol. How did we as a society end up in this position? Why do we criminally arrest or discipline people for consuming a substance that is not associated with acts of violence, yet tolerate and at times even celebrate the use of another that is? Why do we embrace the use of alcohol, a toxic substance whose consumption is responsible for hundreds of acute alcohol-poisoning deaths in the United States each year, while at the same time condemn the use of marijuana, which is incapable of causing a fatal overdose? Although marijuana remains the third most frequently consumed drug of choice in America, trailing in popularity only behind alcohol and tobacco, these questions have never been addressed at length by either the media or America’s elected officials. This is about to change.

mericans have a unique, if slightly schizophrenic, relationship with Mary Jane. On one hand, the U.S. government reports that over 100 million U.S. citizens – that’s nearly 43 percent of the population over twelve years of age – admit that they’ve smoked pot. On the other hand, marijuana possession and recreational use is illegal in all fifty states. (We should note, for factual accuracy, that the private use of marijuana inside the home is legal in Alaska, based on a state court determination that it is protected under a right to privacy. In addition, as of this writing, the medical use of cannabis is legal in thirteen states.) Cannabis has been described – by an administrative law judge at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, no less – as “one of

www.NORML.org.nz

the sa fest therapeutically active substances known to man.” Yet the federal government stubbornly classifies it under federal law as one of society’s most dangerous drugs. Hollywood actors unabashedly simulate pot smoking in movies and on television, much to audiences’ delight. Meanwhile, this same behavior is criticized and discouraged in government-sponsored public service announcements on the very same screens. One might wonder how a substance so universally demonized by America’s elected officials remains so popular among the American public. Perhaps the answer is that politicians and the mainstream media are just reinforcing each others’ talking points, while much of the rest of America now accepts marijuana for what it is – a relatively benign substance that is frequently used responsibly by millions of people. Well, that may be the case for a certain segment of the population, but this enlightened attitude is far from universal. Despite pot’s popularity, surveys indicate that many people – nonusers in particular – tend to overestimate the drug’s actual harms. Not necessarily to the same degree as the federal government, mind you, but nonetheless much of the public still holds many misconceptions about the plant and its effects. In fact, some one-fifth to onethird of Americans assume that pot is more harmful than booze. Another onethird of Americans consider marijuana to be equally as harmful as alcohol. It i s ou r c ontent ion t h at t hese misconceptions about pot’s alleged

Marijuana is safer is a thoughtprovoking book that compares and contrasts the social and public health impact of cannabis and alcohol. It examines the popularity of each drug, as well as the potential harms each one presents to the user and to society. It also details the various ways our government has attempted to outlaw and demonize marijuana over the past seventyplus years, and explains how these policies are driving people to drink. The authors then provide an overview of past attempts to reform America’s marijuana laws and propose an alternative, citizen-driven public-education campaign based on the message that marijuana is safer than alcohol. They offer a vision for a future in which cannabis is regulated and controlled like alcohol, with laws limiting pot’s sales to licensed establishments and mandating the enforcement of proper age controls. The book also includes tips and resources for those who want to spread the “marijuana is safer than alcohol” message among friends, on campus, or in their communities. Availably on Amazon.com, ChelseaGreen. com or The Hempstore in Auckland. ISBN 9781603581448 *Rasmussen Reports, August 28, 2009. Online at tinyurl.com/lqmqqz Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

dangers are the primary obstacle to changing marijuana laws in this country. Therefore, our goal is to demonstrate to you, the reader, that marijuana is not only less harmful than alcohol, but that the difference is really quite significant. This is not to say that cannabis is harmless. No rational person would make this assertion, and indeed we have dedicated a portion of this book to addressing pot’s potential health hazards. Nevertheless, almost all drugs, including many that are legal, pose greater threats to individual health than does marijuana. To date, virtually every federally commissioned government study ever conducted on the subject affirms this conclusion. But don’t expect your government to highlight this fact or even stay neutral on the issue. Rather, most politicians and law enforcement officials today rely on gross distortions and exaggerations regarding pot’s supposed dangers – call it “Reefer Madness redux” – to justify their failed and destructive prohibitionist policies. In this book, we provide ample scientific evidence contradicting a number of the government’s more popular and egregious marijuana myths. Readers will learn the facts surrounding the alleged “new dangers” of today’s supposedly superpotent pot. We will also examine just how harmful marijuana smoke is to the lungs, and what association, if any, there is between the use of cannabis and harder drugs. The answers may surprise you.

ne might ask, if marijuana poses so few legitimate harms to health and society – in fact, far fewer than those posed by alcohol – then why does the federal government spend tens of millions of dollars annually on Web sites and public advertising campaigns primarily designed to maintain the criminal prohibition of ca n nabis? Is the feds’ fixation on pot a moral crusade or part of a larger cultural battle? Regardless of the government’s underlying motivation, it is beyond dispute that politicians and members of law enforcement have systematically demonized pot to such a degree that a significant portion of Americans still support criminalizing the recreational

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

White Widow Auckland

use of marijuana – even though it could lead to the arresting and jailing of their friends, neighbors, and perhaps, even family members. Of cou rse, the d issem i nation of antimarijuana propaganda is not our government’s sole means of marijuana demonization. Where persuasion does not suffice, there is always the threat of punishment. The federal government, as well as every state in the nation (except Alaska), prohibits the possession and cultivation of marijuana for recreational use, with state penalties ranging from $100 fines (in Ohio) to life in prison (in Oklahoma). Since 1965, police have arrested an estimated twenty million Americans for marijuana-related crimes – mostly for simple possession. This figure is roughly equal to the combined populations of Colorado, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. While a relatively small portion of first-time offenders arrested for marijuana possession are sentenced to time in jail, the fact remains that the repercussions of the arrest alone are significant.

The potential sanctions include: • loss of driving privileges; • loss of federal college aid; • loss of personal private property; • revocation of professional driver’s license; • loss of certain welfare benefits such as food stamps; • removal from public housing; and • loss of child custody. Ca n nabis consu mers a re a l s o s u bje c t to add it io n a l punishments stemming from the now nearly ubiquitous specter of drug testing. Depending on the circumstances, individuals who test positive for having consumed pot at some previous, unspecified point in time may lose their jobs, be suspended from school or barred from participating in extracurricular activities, be forced to enter a “drug treatment” program, have their parole revoked, or even be stripped of an Olympic medal. We contend that the ultimate, if unintended, impact of the government’s ex treme a nti ma rijua na laws a nd propaganda is to push people away from cannabis and toward consuming alcohol. If students learn that they may lose their financial aid if they use cannabis, but will most likely receive a slap on the wrist – at worst – for drinking alcohol while underage, which option are they likely to choose? A similar incentive is created in many workplaces that impose random drug testing. Employees know that they can spend their off-hours drunk as skunks with nothing more to fear than some lost productivity if they arrive to work hungover the next morning. Yet if an employee at the same company is randomly drug tested on Monday after relaxing with friends and enjoying a joint the preceding Friday, he or she may be searching for a new job within the week. T he i rony is that these policies implicitly motivate people to use what is an objectively more harmful substance. Studies by the National Academy of Sciences and others have demonstrated that alcohol is significantly more addictive than marijuana. Moreover, chronic alcohol use, as well as acute intoxication, can lead to organ damage and death. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, more www.NORML.org.nz

Photos: chris

Marijuana is safer than alcohol

Book excerpt than 35,000 Americans die annually as the direct result of alcohol consumption. By contrast, no study to date has ever identified a link between long-term marijuana use and increased mortality – meaning, researchers have not identified any way in which longterm marijuana use hastens death. A lcohol has also been show n, in contrast to marijuana, to fuel aggressive, violent behavior. In one study of domestic violence, researchers found that men were eight times more likely to be abusive on days when they consumed alcohol as compared to days when they did not. Overall, the U.S. government estimates that alcohol contributes to 25 to 30 percent of all violent crime in America. In the United Kingdom, the association between alcohol and violence may be even more pronounced. In 2004, the Guardian newspaper reported that the police minister planned to “blitz alcohol violence [that coming] summer, in the face of Home Office research showing that alcohol is the root cause of nearly half of all violent crime, and of 70% of hospital emergency and accident admissions at peak times.”

o what can we do to ensure that individuals have the freedom to choose marijuana instead of alcohol without risking arrest, jail, and their very livelihoods? The obvious answer is that we need to amend federal and state laws that criminalize the possession and use of marijuana by adults. But how does one go about doing so? On this topic we speak from experience, having worked for more than twentythree years combined at three of the nation’s most prominent organizations dedicated to reforming marijuana laws – the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana L a w s ( N OR M L) , a nd Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SA F ER).T h rough public-education campaigns, state and federal lobbying efforts, and state and local ballot initiative campaigns, these three groups have helped to diminish a nti-ma rijua na

www.NORML.org.nz

sentiment in America. However, prior to the establishment of SAFER in 2005, no organization had single-mindedly engaged in the strategy outlined in this text: that is, a high-profile, publiceducation campaign focused entirely on the fact that marijuana is objectively safer than alcohol, both for the user and for society. Past efforts to reform marijuana laws in this country have typically made only passing references to the marijuanaversus-alcohol comparison. Instead, they have emphasized other, more conventional arguments, many of which we will discuss in greater detail later in this book. One such contention is that it is a waste of law enforcement resources to arrest and prosecute marijuana users. Although arguments like this are valid, they have so far failed to convince our elected officials – or even a majority of the American public – to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana. Instead, reformers are all too often confronted by citizens and elected officials echoing one common refrain: “Why should society legalize another vice?” In essence, much of the public and its elected officials, having witnessed firsthand the many problems associated with alcohol, are hesitant to give a green light to another intoxicant – regardless of what its relative harms may be. In the face of this obstacle, many advocates have downplayed discussing the relative harms of the two substances. Instead they have simply argued that marijuana should be “treated like alcohol” – in other words, it should be sold legally and regulated. Although we agree with this conclusion, the call to treat marijuana like alcohol does little to alter the underlying public

Regardless of your views on the civil liberties issues, this book should convince you of another compelling justification for marijuana law reform: that it will promote health and safety for all of us, including our children.” Prof. Nadine Strossen, New York Law School, former head of the ACLU. perception that marijuana is “bad” or “dangerous” and, therefore, is no more than another unnecessary vice. Until we force the public to appreciate that the legalization of marijuana would not be “adding a vice,” but instead would be providing adults with a less harmful recreational alternative, legalization will likely remain – pardon the pun – a pipe dream. Of cou rse, educati ng the publ ic about the relative harms of cannabis and alcohol will not be accomplished through a top-down, government-run advertising campaign. It will require a broad movement of citizens willing to speak honestly and openly about the relative harms and benefits of the two substances. We hope this book, which is designed to both educate and inspire, will become an essential part of that movement. www.marijuanaissafer.com

White Widow Auckland

Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

Interview

Yippie for drug treatment! Dana Beal, one of the world’s original pot protesters, was in New Zealand recently promoting Ibogaine, a controversial treatment for drug addiction. By Chris Fowlie

Photo: E.h.Downing / Erowid

n the 1960’s Dana Beal helped found the Yippies - the Youth International Party - with Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, and participated in the first public Smoke-In, held in New York in 1966. Decades later, Beal founded the Global Marijuana March. Known as J Day in New Zealand, this highly anticipated annual event is now held in over 200 cities around the world. The Yippies were one of the highlights of the 60’s. They tossed money at the stock exchange, tried to levitate the Pentagon and protested at the Democratic National Convention in 1968. In the 1970’s and 80’s they held smoke-ins for marijuana legalisation, marched against Reagan’s secret wars, and took the right to burn the flag all the way to the US Supreme Court. A hard core of Yippie activists continue to this day, working on drug law reform, medical marijuana, promoting Ibogaine for treatment of substance addiction, and protesting the wars of the 21st century. Among them is Dana Beal, who visited Aotearoa in September as part of the Ibogaine Forum held at Otago University on 5 & 6 September. Over forty people attended the forum organised by former addict Tanea Paterson, with a least 8 having already tried Ibogaine therapy. Among them was Dr Anwa Jeewa who discussed his

experience treating about 300 people in his South African clinic. Ibogaine is a medicinal extract from the inner root bark of the Tabernanthe Iboga plant, which grows in West Africa and has long been used by the people there as a healant and ritual entheogen. It is a powerful tool for introspection, leading patients to an understanding of their addiction and showing them a path out of it. As well as this, in low doses Ibogaine acts like a stimulant, so proponents say it has the potential to be a maintenance tool for methamphetamine (P) addicts in a similar way to how methadone is given to heroin or morphine addicts. “Ibogaine cancels out withdrawal,” says Dana Beal. “It’s legal here. It’s actually really conventional, because you’re not trying to lead them into taking more Ibogaine. Nobody does this stuff for fun - it’s a real ordeal.” Yet Ibogaine has a remarkable success rate. “If you have legal access to Ibogaine, we could get it to about 70 or 80 percent, which is far greater than anything else.” Dana says the separation of marijuana from hard drugs has always driven his law reform efforts. “We did a number of Smoke-Ins in the summer of 1967. There was a situation where there was series of violent incidents, like police riots, and we distributed marijuana in order to encourage peace, and it worked: a wave of peace.” He says that promoting Ibogaine, and the separation of marijuana from hard drugs, are “the same issue”, because

“Ibogaine, and the separation of marijuana from hard drugs, are the same issue”

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

if Ibogaine is available “you are able to deal with the problems that may occur because people you know may engage in problematic behaviour that is screwing up the whole scene. “When you have Ibogaine it’s like having that “break this glass in case of fire” object, that you can deal with someone who has got completely out of control on a heroin problem. The system can’t deal with that. The system here [in New Zealand] has a lot of problems dealing with their P problem.” It can be hard to understand why people would do such “really lousy drugs”, but Dana has one theory: “I think it’s the absence of good marijuana. Sufficient marijuana would displace the P thing almost completely, if we legalized marijuana, because it’s such a shitty high and any good pot would chase it away. You know how we got rid of speed in the 60’s? Millions of doses of LSD!” “There was a thing involving the Vietnam War where they were importing heroin in the body bags. Me and Tom Forcade the founder of High T imes did a demonstration against the CIA conspiracy to flood the marijuana scene with heroin. They had Operation Intercept and they cut off all the pot and heroin was everywhere. They were out to get us because they believed they could cripple the anti-war movement using heroin. They’d already done it to the black community. “Ed Rosenthal in 1973 introduced me to Howard Lotsoff. Over a period of time he told me the whole thing. I was very deeply impressed, but we didn’t develop [Ibogaine] right away and it was a big mistake. “A couple of years later I’m talking to the drug czar under Jimmy Carter, Peter Borne, hanging out at the NORML party that he got in trouble for being at. I saw everything, man. They were www.NORML.org.nz

Ibogaine

Photo: Chris

“Sufficient marijuana would displace P almost completely... You know how we got rid of speed in the 60’s? Millions of doses of LSD!”

being very discreet, you wouldn’t have really seen coke being snorted. They had these snifters there, but you could tell. He was basically a good guy, but you know, he had problems. And they ended up pulling a serious of dirty tricks and the entire movement to legalise pot crashed. And that was when we realized the agreement not to talk about psychedelics didn’t mean anything, because if these guys were going to flirt with legalising coke, all that was out the window. “We started developing Ibogaine and the problem was it was intermittent money, it would start and stop but Howard started doing the research. The first thing he did was read through all the literature and he started finding out a lot of the places heroin is active, Ibogaine is active but in a different way.“ Dana says there is even emerging evidence Ibogaine helps with Hepatitis C. “There’s a lot of skepticism about this claim, but there were three people at the [Dunedin] conference, all of them took Ibogaine, and all of them the Hepatitis is fine. This is with one heroic dose like what you give for heroin.” Although Ibogaine is legal in New Zealand, in order to be marketed as a treatment it would need to be approved by MedSafe, an agency of the Ministry of Health. Even if it is not approved by MedSafe, it is still legal to use. Treatments are available in the www.NORML.org.nz

Netherlands, Britain, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, and some have already been done in Dunedin (“for opiates”). After a comprehensive medical check up, patients are given an oral dose of Ibogaine of up to 20mg per kg of body weight, with effects lasting for 24 to 48 hours, during which the patient lies down and experiences a vivid dream state while awake. This can be an extremely intense experience; aspects can be arduous as well as deeply emotional. During the treatment, symptoms of narcotic withdrawal virtually disappear, while patients afterward report almost none of the insatiable cravings associated with methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, alcohol or nicotine withdrawal. Ibogaine has also been found to switch on a growth hormone called GDNF that not only regenerates dopamine neurons fried by substance abuse, but also back-signals to cell nuclei to express even more GDNF. “Ibogaine turns on the growth factor that rebuilds the dopamine neurons. That’s specifically what’s involved with methamphetamine, because it’s a big dopamine releaser. That’s the reason people are completely burned out after they quit doing it. Their dopamine receptors are all wilted. So what we’re thinking is a low dose product where we give really low doses to methamphetamine addicts as a kind of replacement. It should still turn on the growth factor.” An Ibogaine trip is not fun, so there is little potential for abuse. Undesirable side-effects include ataxia, nausea and (rarely) bradycardia (dangerous slowing of the breathing and heart rate), which is why patients must

be screened for existing health conditions. Ibogaine can be risky, but in a controlled setting such as a clinic it has been shown to be a safe treatment for addiction, with some patients undergoing profound transformation. “Think of it like pulling a tooth. It really hurts but you’ll feel so much better later.” “Everyone says there should be a clinical trial. I was thinking we should do the P here in Auckland, because it’s the biggest place where P is, and do the heroin down in Christchurch. We should go to the main places where the problem is.” “You’ve got to judge society by how it treats the most vulnerable people. The people who are sick and dying, the people in terrible pain. One of the things about the prohibitionist paradigm is that they like to inflict pain on people a lot.” When asked how the medical marijuana movement is progressing in the US, Beal replies “it’s spreading like an inexorable tide.” The New York resident is pushing for a citizen’s initiated referendum, which unlike other states, New York doesn’t have - “or we’d have had legal medical marijuana twenty years ago.” In the mean time, this tireless campaigner is concentrating on organizing the 2010 Global Marijuana March, which continues to grow. “We got Kathmandu and Istanbul this year - the more the merrier. We’ve got to go to India, and find the activist Sadhu’s or something. Just explain to them we finally see what they were talking about, and we need them to have processions through the streets on a certain day...” More info: see the video ‘Right of Passage’ (2004, Ben de Leonen) or these links: www.ibogaine.org www.cures-not-wars.org www.mindsalive.co.za Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

www.NORML.org.nz

Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

Drug POLICY RESEARCH

. Chemo from West Aucks

Nonsense Upon Stilts A

n analysis of the costs of harmful alcohol and other drug use prepared by economic consultancy firm BERL was released in April 2009. After it was cited by Law Commission head Geoffrey Palmer as a reason to hike alcohol taxes, Canterbury University economist Dr. Eric Crampton led widespread criticism in the media regarding its methods, assumptions and conclusions. BERL eventually revised their estimate, although only modestly. Here Dr Crampton turns his attention to their equally-controversial Drug Harm Index.

If the New Zealand Drug Harm Index is nonsense, then Detective Senior Sergeant Scott McGill’s claim that recent police action against marijuana prevented $379 million1 in social harm is nonsense upon stilts. Social cost measures provided in reports like the “New Zealand Drug Harm Index” and “Costs of Harmful Alcohol and Other Drug Use” are very good at providing very big numbers related to harms but are not terribly useful for public policy purposes. We’ll here contrast the method used in these kinds of reports with proper economic analysis. When economists talk about social costs, they’re almost always talking about costs over and above any benefits. So if we say the social costs of greenhouse gas emissions are somewhere around $20 per tonne, that’s an external cost imposed by emitters on everyone else in society: a cost not accounted for in the emitter’s decision-making. It’s what economists call an external cost. When activity has external costs, government intervention to internalize those costs, either through Pigovean taxation [a tax levied to ‘correct’ the market when there are external costs - Ed.] or through regulatory measures, can improve efficiency, although a badlydesigned intervention can often make things worse. But the usual bottomline message from economists is that a Pigovean tax is a decent intervention

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where social costs are large, and that economic measure. In public health if total tax revenues are roughly equal reports, health is the only goal and any to external harm imposed, things are benefits individuals might enjoy from probably about right.2 consuming risky products don’t get to So when Sir Geoffrey Palmer3 count as “real” benefits. This method contrasted BERL’s reported social is anathema to economists who costs of alcohol – well over four billion prefer welfare measures that count dollars – with the current excise individual benefits as the individuals tax take of about $800 million, that themselves perceive them. So where provided prima facie evidence of the economists have an efficiency norm need for a hike in the alcohol excise that counts all costs and benefits, tax. Perhaps it would have, if the public health reports have a healthist BERL report provided a measure of norm where anything risky can’t external costs imposed by harmful really count as having benefits. The drinking. But the cost figure produced two methods lead to widely divergent by BERL included a raft of costs borne results. Where the economic measure exclusively by the drinkers themselves has a sound basis in formalized theory including, perversely enough, every showing efficiency characteristics of dollar spent on alcohol by “harmful different potential policy interventions, drinkers” – even the excise taxes paid the healthist reports borrow the by harmful drinkers.4 language of economics with none of its Because the BERL report on alcohol rigour. included a high proportion of internal costs and because it seemed very hat sorts of things then get likely to adversely affect policy, Matt added to healthist reports Burgess and I spent a month reversethat are ruled out in economic cost engineering and correcting their analysis? First, BERL counted figures to match what economists reduced economic output due to excess would recognize as external social drinking as a cost of harmful alcohol costs. We found that external costs use. But, employees who are less amounted to about $675 million productive tend to earn less. In other and roughly matched the excise words, the cost is internalized: the tax take, about $700 million for the worker bears the cost of his drinking. year on which costs were assessed.5 Lost output totalled approximately $1.8 Consequently, there appears little billion of BERL’s $4.8 billion in social basis for an increase in the alcohol costs of drinking; the vast majority of excise tax, at least if the guiding those costs are borne by the drinkers criteria is economic efficiency and themselves in reduced wages. As harm internalization. such, they shouldn’t count. Worse, Both BERL reports provide what BERL multiplied forgone wages by 1.87 I’ll call a “public health” measure Eric Crampton is Senior Lecturer in of social costs Economics at the University of Canterbury. He rather than an blogs at http://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.com

www.NORML.org.nz

Drug HARM INDEX

How BERL’s Drug Harm Index has been used By Brandon Hutchison

– the ratio of total economic output to wage earnings. Such a multiplication is only legitimate in cases where the employee can never be replaced either by another unemployed worker or by a more capital-intensive production process; that is not the world we’re living in. BERL’s use of the 1.87 multiplier added over a half a billion dollars in costs to their estimates but warranted only the briefest one-line mention in the report. Next, BERL counted $700 million spent on all alcohol purchased by “harmful drinkers” as a social cost of drinking. Until the government starts providing me with free beer, it’s hard to see that what I spend on alcohol is a cost on anybody else; even in that case, should we count it as a cost of harmful drinking or as a cost of a silly government programme? Intangible costs of premature mortality and lost quality of life figured heavily in BERL’s cost figures: $1.5 billion. Again, the vast majority of these costs are borne by heavy drinkers themselves. We found that only about $90 million in this kind of cost was imposed by drinkers on others through road crashes and crime. For this category, an economic measure of social cost provides a figure of $90 million where a healthist measure says $1.5 billion. Finally, BERL counted some truly external costs imposed by harmful drinkers on others. If drunks are more likely to commit crimes, then the costs of the excess crimes can be counted as a social cost of alcohol.6 So too for health care costs where the government decides to pick up the tab, although www.NORML.org.nz

we again can quibble about whether this is properly viewed as a cost of alcohol abuse or as just one of many costs involved with having a publicly funded health care system.7 The costs that drunk drivers impose on innocent persons outside of their vehicles8 also very reasonably count as externalities. The majority of the difference between our measure of costs and BERL’s came from our focus on policy-relevant external costs and their count of total costs, both internal and external. There are two basic approaches that economists view as reasonable. The first is to tally up all costs and benefits, both internal and external; the second is to focus only on externalities. BERL was commissioned by the Ministry of Health and ACC to consider only the costs of harmful alcohol use, so the first approach was likely out of scope for them. However, BERL notes that they were able to count internally-borne costs as socially-relevant because they assumed harmful drinking to have zero benefits.9 But is this reasonable? BERL defines as costs of harmful drinking the cost of producing all alcohol consumed by anyone who drinks more than 1.8 pints per day, on average, as well as all of the realized costs for those who incur real costs from their harmful drinking: excess unemployment, poor health, or death in a car accident. Reading the kinds of heart-rending anecdotes provided aplenty in the Law Commission’s report on alcohol10 makes very clear that for some individuals, the costs of harmful alcohol use are so far beyond any possible benefit that it would not be unreasonable to view them as having received zero benefit, at least in

1.As a driver for draconian legislation As part of its justification for introducing the “Gangs and Organised Crime” Bill to Parliament in February 2009, the government, in the analysis of the bill, quoted BERL’s figure of $1.31 billion of “social costs” caused by illicit drugs. 2.To feed dramatic headlines and panics in the media “Hardcore drugs ... gave New Zealand a bill of about $546 million for social costs” “They are part of the total of $1.3 billion that drug use cost the country (NZ Herald front page story, June 2008) 3.To provide ammunition for politicians “Over a third of the social costs of illicit drug use are caused by cannabis. That’s $444 million of social costs in 2006 from cannabis alone.“ Jim Anderton, speech at Otago University 4. As a justification for Police cannabis eradication operations “In the 2008/2009 year police seized 141,000 plants with the potential to cause community harm worth $379 million” Sergeant Scott McGill calling on the public to dob in pot growers in TenOne magazine, September 2009 5. To justify customs border searches and seizures “Contributing to the recently released Drug Harm Index will aid Customs in determining the trends in the drug trade and in measuring the impact that Customs is having. It will also allow the value of Customs interceptions to be put into more meaningful contexts”. Customs Press Release June 2008 Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

Drug POLICY RESEARCH would really like to drink - then some portion of internally borne costs can legitimately be counted as being of social relevance. This does not, however, give leave to count all costs as being social costs. Suppose that the full costs to me of having the third pint, including what I pay for the beer as well as the increased risk of adverse health or other negative consequences, are $10 and the benefits to me, including how much I enjoy the taste of the drink and any increased camaraderie I also enjoy as consequence, are $5, but weakness of will compels me to drink the third pint. “Social” costs are then $5, the net excess cost, not $10, the gross cost. If I enjoyed net $2 in benefits from the second pint and net $5 in benefits from the first pint, I’m still $2 better off for having gone out for the evening despite having had one pint too many. By focusing only on external costs, we essentially assume that across the whole set of all individuals who take the risk of adverse outcomes from drinking, these excess costs roughly match the benefits from prior units of consumption. By How the BERL DHI is calculated contrast, BERL The Drug Harm Index stood at $1.3billion in assumes that these 2005/06. This was comprised of: benefits do not exist. We believe $217.5m Intangibles (crime, value placed on our approach to be shortened lives @$3m per life) the more realistic. $518.7m Drug Production (producing drugs is In sum, social assumed to have no value so is a cost) cost measures like those derived $413.9m Crime Costs (incl. police, courts, prisons) in BERL’s report $106.4m Lost labour (absentee drug users etc) of the costs of harmful alcohol $51.4m Health Care (hospital care etc) use differ $2.0m Road Accidents substantially from economic notions Of this, $430 million is attributed to cannabis. The of social costs and cost of production is based on the assumption that consequently are cannabis sells for four times what it costs to produce. of very limited The drug production figure is the largest item in the policy relevance.

proportion to the costs incurred. But isn’t this true of any activity where folks take on risks and are unlucky? Imagine that we weighed up the costs of skiing by telling a lot of stories about people dying in avalanches, then assuming that skiing had zero benefits. For every tragic case where someone dies on the slopes, there are tens of thousands of others who’ve taken no fewer risks but enjoyed a great day out. If we say that the benefits from “harmful” drinking are by definition zero because we’re only counting the folks who have been unlucky, we’re ignoring the benefits to folks who have been lucky. Their enjoyment counts for something in an economic analysis, but not in a healthist report. But what if individuals are not perfectly rational? Economists typically make rationality assumptions when deriving conclusions. If individuals are not perfectly rational either systematically underestimating the true costs of their activity or suffering from weakness of will that leads them to drink more than they

index. Even if it is conceded that producing drugs/ growing cannabis produces no benefit at all, it is hardly a “harm” in its common meaning. Moreover, the interception of drugs necessarily happens after they have been produced therefore this component of the “harm” has not been saved by Police action nor has the cost of the police effort, which also forms a large part of the index. For these reasons alone, claims by Police of the costs saved or harm prevented by drug seizures are nonsense. -BH

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ERL’s alcohol report can be viewed as a followup of work they previously had conducted under commission from the New Zealand Police: the Drug Harms Index.

While I have not examined this report in nearly the detail of the alcohol costs report, some common features stand out. First, the Drug Harms Index is based on a total cost measure against a counter-factual world where no drug use exists and where every current drug user would otherwise be identical to the population average. Where in the case of alcohol BERL assumed that harmful use had zero benefits, in this case BERL assumes that all use is by definition of zero benefit. At page 5, BERL notes “Social costs are borne by an individual or the rest of society for which there is no compensating benefit”; at page 10 they say “this study assumes that illicit drug consumption is abusive and imposes a social cost.” In other words, they’ve assumed all benefits to be equal to zero. Again, this is very different from an economic approach that would either weigh benefits to users against total harms, or would consider only harms that drug users impose upon others. In assuming zero benefits, the method assumes its conclusion. In the alcohol report we found that, after we had corrected for other errors, roughly eighty percent of tabulated costs counted as internal rather than external. A rough glance here suggests similar results: costs of illicit drug production, “labour costs” (reduced productivity and output), and intangible personal costs of loss of life or loss of health account for about sixty five percent of tabulated costs. Some of these will be external costs: loss of quality of life for crime victims, for example.11 Reverse-engineering the figures to more accurately apportion costs is a task beyond this essay. Second, the Drug Harms Index counts as costs of drug use many items that could better be viewed as costs of prohibition. Some of these are internal costs: in the absence of prohibition, mortality due to consumption of drugs of uncertain quality or purity would drop as would deaths due to unclean injection equipment; many of the costs of “lost output” are due to the drug user being in prison for drug use; the real resource costs of producing any quantity of drugs would be lower in the absence of a prohibition regime. Other costs are borne externally: the costs of police time and effort in www.NORML.org.nz

Drug HARM INDEX enforcing prohibition should properly be viewed as a cost of prohibition rather than as a cost of drug use; many drug-associated property crimes would disappear were the drug user able to buy his preferred substance in a legal market and hold down a steady job without fear of imprisonment.12 In sum, the Drug Harms Index mixes together costs of drug use with costs of prohibition and costs borne by drug users with costs imposed by drug users on others so opaquely that it is difficult to say to what possible policy use Chemo from West Auckland their numbers can grown in Canna Coco with Canna nutrients be put. This is truly disappointing; a proper from the numbers as presented. measure that provided the different categories of harms could o what good then is the drug harm be very useful in helping to decide index? Well, Detective Senior which drugs would best quickly be Sergeant Scott McGill found it very legalized and which might be of lower useful in helping him put a really big priority. If it were the case that the number on the social good his unit vast majority of the costs of marijuana was providing by eradicating a lot use were really costs associated with of marijuana plants. Unfortunately, prohibition and if external costs were that’s a use that even BERL ruled relatively low, a very good case could out. As many of the costs in the be made for legalization combined Drug Harm Index consist of things with an excise tax to defray those like the cost of growing marijuana external costs. If it were the case that – already largely incurred by the methamphetamine were associated with very high relative costs, with most time the plants were uprooted by the police – and the costs of running of those costs being due to drug use police operations against marijuana rather than to prohibition, and with growers, it is nonsense upon stilts a greater proportion of those costs to use numbers from the Drug Harm falling on external parties, that would Index to quantify the harms avoided by provide a reason to legalize marijuana police enforcement operations. Police while keeping P prohibited. But we eradicating marijuana crops simply simply cannot say anything useful

ENDNOTES & REFERENCES:

1: “Over 140,000 cannabis plants destroyed”. New Zealand herald, 18 August 2009. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_ id=1&objectid=10591564 2: Of course, there can be many cases where tax revenues are less than social harm but raising the tax level would be inefficient: if we are constrained to using a linear tax, like with alcohol, it can well be the case that the harm imposed on moderate drinkers by an excise tax increase outweighs the benefits of increasing the tax even if total external costs imposed by heavy drinkers exceed the total tax take. 3: “The Law Commission’s Liquor Review” Address by Sir Geoffrey Palmer to the New Zealand Police’s “Alcohol related harm” breakfast, 24 April 2009. 4: BERL has since admitted that including collected excise taxes as a cost of harmful drinking was an error. 5: Crampton, Eric and Matt Burgess. 2009. “The price of everything, the value of nothing: A (truly) external review of BERL’s study of harmful alcohol

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and other drug use”. Available at http://www.econ.canterbury.ac.nz/RePEc/ cbt/econwp/0910.pdf . Please read in conjunction with the update correcting minor errors and replying to BERL’s reply, available at http://www.econ. canterbury.ac.nz/personal_pages/eric_crampton/Reply.pdf 6: However, we must be realistic about what crimes would be eliminated in the absence of alcohol. BERL assumed that each and every crime where the criminal, on a survey, responded that alcohol had been at least “somewhat” involved in his offending would have disappeared in the absence of alcohol. It’s certainly plausible that many alcohol-fuelled crimes would disappear if there were no harmful drinking. But all of the crimes where alcohol was “somewhat” involved? We adjusted downwards 7: Browning (1999) suggests that these kinds of “fiscal externalities” do not really have efficiency consequences and are best viewed as pecuniary. Further, to the extent that we wish to worry about them, we need to worry about all the margins along which individuals may choose to take on excess risk due to subsidization of downside events: risky sporting and sexual

cannot save us from the social costs of police eradicating marijuana crops. Similarly, costs of imprisonment figure largely in the Drug Harm Index; the enforcement operation raises those costs. As BERL notes at p. 49 of its report:

“The NZDHI does not directly measure harm avoided by seizures but rather harm that could be avoided had illicit drugs never been introduced to society. Drug seizures will not avoid all of the harm generated by drugs. For example, Customs or NZP operations divert in order to carry out drug seizures. These resources would not have been diverted if drugs had never been introduced, but they are diverted as a result of drug seizures. The NZDHI incorporates the value of Customs and NZP time spent on these activities, but these costs result from drug seizures rather than being prevented by them. Applied analyses of interventions, such as a cost-benefit analysis, are an appropriate way to measure avoidable harm.” It seems that the main use of the report is in agitprop: providing big scary numbers with a sciency feel that can help to justify ongoing prohibitionist policies. After all, if the costs of drugs are over a billion dollars, we’d be crazy to even consider legalization, wouldn’t we? Well, maybe not if those costs accrue more to prohibition than to drug use. Unfortunately, from the report as it stands, we just cannot tell. activities being but two domains where individuals may well take on more risks than they would were they individually liable for their own health care expenses. 8: American data suggests that about 18% of fatalities from drink driving accrue to individuals outside of the drinker’s vehicle; the vast majority of fatalities accrue to drunks and their passengers. 9: See p. 173 of the BERL report. 10: New Zealand Law Commission, 2009, “Alcohol in our Lives”. 11: While BERL notes this cost item at section 5.1.2, they do not provide any easy way of parsing out the portion of crime costs that accrue to external victims of crime, the portion due to violence between drug gangs that should properly be viewed as an internal cost due to prohibition, and the portion due to imprisonment of drug users. 12 See endnote 4, above; BERL again assumes that all crimes where the offender says drug use contributed “some” to his offending would have disappeared in the absence of drug use.

Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

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Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

BUSH DOCTOR

Getting Seedy All about cannabis seeds Many cannabis growers these days use cuttings (or ‘clones’), where one grower gives a cutting to another. As they are a part of the original ‘Mother’ plant, cuttings have the exact same genetics - but what if you want something new? Mr Fantastico investigates.

here are a myriad of cannabis strains from all over the world, and ultimately it is the seeds of these plants that determine what is grown, smoked, consumed and shared. Getting new seeds means growers can select new plants to breed, cross with old favourites, or select new mother plants. Seeds are sometimes found in bags of weed, or swapped between growers, but in both cases the recipient is unlikely to know for sure the heritage of the seeds. If growers want to be certain, the only way is by heading offshore to places of enlightened tolerance where seeds are legal and sold openly, like Holland, the UK or Canada. C a n n a b i s s e e d s a r e , h o w e v e r, completely illegal in New Zealand, and tucked away downunder in the far-flung corner of the globe, you might think it would be hard to get new cannabis genetics here. But like prohibition in general, authorities have proven ineffective at keeping cannabis seeds out of Aotearoa. After all, they are rather small, shipped by regular mail, and it is easy to order online from home, or an internet cafe across town.

Buying seeds Cannabis seeds are a Class C controlled drug and being caught importing them could be serious. There are also plenty of stories online about dodgy seed merchants who sell any old seed labeled as the big names, or who don’t take care to package steathily, or who just take your money and send nothing. I’ve talked with many people over the years who have ordered seeds online, and they often tell me it’s better to go with seed company names they

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

know and trust, like Sensi Seeds, Kiwiseeds, THSeeds, DNA Genetics, Serious Seeds, Dutch Passion, or their authorised distributors such as Nirvana, the Vancouver Seed Bank, and so on. To reduce risk they often order from an internet cafe and pay using a pressie card or blank money order. They never order using their own name and never have it sent to where they are growing. One seed buyer told me about getting a friendly visit from Customs but he denied all knowledge of the seeds, and since it wasn’t his name there was nothing they could do. Other regular seed buyers told me Customs tend to find about 25% of their orders, but all they usually get is a letter (addressed to the fake name) saying not to do it again. Another said to think about mail volumes and how Customs works. “There isn’t a lot of mail going between NZ and Holland,” she said, “but there is between NZ and the UK, and seeds are completely legal in the UK, so there are plenty of companies over there. There is also a fair amount of mail from Canada that tends to come straight to NZ or doesn’t go through a dozen countries on the way. My advice is to order from UK or Canadian companies, just make sure they sell in original packaging.”

Storing seeds Cannabis seeds should be kept in a dry, cool, dark place. The lower the humidity, the longer seeds will remain viable. Ensure seeds are kept in an airtight container. Film canisters are great - just put some silica gel in there to remove moisture.

Green House seeds sold as ‘souviners’

What you get Cannabis seeds are usually sold in branded packs of 5, 10 or 15 seeds of a particular variety. Cannabis has both male and female plants, and seeds could grow into either sex. Usually, growers only want female plants as these are higher in THC. However males are of interest to breeders or growers who want to produce seed for future crops. When you order seeds of a strain called ‘X’, usually only the mother will have been ‘X’ and the father will be something different - often a Haze or G13. This is because if the seed company sold you female ‘X’ crossed with male ‘X’, your seeds would be 100% ‘X’ genetics, and this would mean not only would you have no reason to ever go back to them, you could also go into seed production in competition with the seed company who sold them to you. They actually cross the female you are buying with another male, so in a pack of seeds you will get some variation. Some seeds will have more of the mother’s genetics, some will have more of the father’s genetics, and some will be in between. This difference in displayed characteristics is known as the phenotype. Usually you will notice one or two main phenotypes, with possibly several more. However there is also a good side: hydrid vigour. Seeds produced by a cross of different plants will grow faster and stronger than clones or seed produced from parents that are genetically identical. The exception to this is strains labelled ‘true breeding stock’. These will usually be classic old strains like Northern Lights, Mexican Sativa or Blueberry.

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Seed Guide

GROW TIPS SPRING OUTDOORS

It’s time to germinate seeds for early crops or bigger plants. Prepare patches - dig in some compost, use lime to break down clay, rig irrigation lines, think about location (tracking of the sun, visibility, risk of being found). Tip for sexing seedlings: to ensure all plants are female, take cuttings taken from a mother plant. If planting seeds wait until they have 3-4 sets of true leaves, and take a single cutting. Label it and put it under a light on a 12 on/12 off light cycle to induce flowering. In 2 weeks you will know the sex of the cutting, and therefore which plants will be male. Photos: Chris

SPRING INDOORS Amnesia from Barney’s Farm

Note the seeds contained inside the table resin!

Feminised seeds For the past decade seed companies have been selling so-called “feminised” seeds, which contain only female genetics so only produce female plants. For growers who don’t want to breed they are a tempting option as they eliminate the risk of missing a male which could seed their entire crop. The first company to develop and market feminised seeds was Dutch Passion, in 1998. Since then the steadilyincreasing demand has forced almost every other company to follow suit. Feminised seeds are the result of ma rijua na’s rema rkable su rv iva l mechanism - stress the plant enough and it will pollinate itself rather than die. Breeders stress out a female plant to the point where it turns hermaphrodite, using harsh conditions and most commonly a diluted solution of Silver Nitrate (AgNO3) or alternatively a hormone spray called Stamen-It. This is sprayed on the female plant early in the growing cycle, forcing it to start growing male flowers within the female buds. The pollen from those (genetically www.NORML.org.nz

female) male flowers is then used to pollinate another healthy female plant, that has not been adulterated by the chemicals. The seeds from that plant will then be feminised. Most customers get 100% female plants, but sometimes a few seeds do grow into hermies. This is because env iron mental factors have such a huge influence, that in stressful circumstances even feminised seeds may not grow into female plants. Some breeders take it a step further, by growing out their first round of feminised seed under harsh conditions, then selecting plants that resist the tendency to turn hermaphrodite, then using those to produce seed, and repeat the cycle again as necessary. So what’s the big deal? Feminised seeds are great for outdoor growers who don’t want to produce seed. They are also good for mother plant selection - buy a pack of seeds, knowing all will be female, and pick one or two to keep as mothers. Feminised seeds are NOT intended for breeding, and it seems no one is quite sure what will happen when

This is a good time to check for pests. Warmer weather can boost insect populations that then move indoors. Check foliage and leaf undersides for insects, eggs, or damage. Between crops, reduce the risk of mold or fungus by cleaning the room and all equipment with 10% diluted bleach solution. Heat may start to be an issue. Consider running the lights at night time, installing more ventilation, or moving to the basement. With heat comes more smells - when was the carbon filter last replaced?

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We are looking for a new grow author. After many years of faithful service the old Bush Doc is retiring to greener pastures. Do you have what it takes to write an informative, easy-to-read, and interesting grow column? Send examples of your writing and experience (good or bad!) to The Editor, Norml News, PO Box 3307, Auckland. Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

Germinating seeds Seeds need water, a little heat, and air to germinate (not light - it’s dark underground!). Some growers sew directly into the soil where they are planning to grow. To increase the rate of germination, cannabis seeds can be first soaked overnight in a cup of water (rain or distilled water is best - some growers add 1% bleach to the water so they know it is sterile). Don’t soak seeds for more than 24 hours or they may rot. Soaked seeds are placed between damp paper towels, or put directly into a rockwool cube, or a pot of fine, soilless mix. Some growers use a plastic baggie or glad wrap to construct a ‘tent’ over their seeds, which keeps the humidity and temperature elevated. The cover is removed as soon as the first sprout appears. Seeds usually germinate in 2-7 days, at temperatures around 20 deg C (higher temperatures can inhibit germination). When the seed germinates a white tap root is visible. The tender sprouts are planted with the root facing down, under 1cm of fine soilless mix or seed raising medium. The planting medium is kept evenly moist, and watered with a dilute fertiliser solution. Experiments have shown these factors can increase the ratio of female plants: • higher nitrogen in the seed bed and lower potassium levels; • lower temperatures; • higher humidity; • more blue light in the spectrum; • fewer daylight hours (eg 14 hours on, rather than 18); Males are increased if the grow medium is not moist, as any environmental stress tends to produce more males.

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people do. Seed company owners I have spoken to were quietly worried about what they had unleashed on the world, but said the market demanded it, and if they didn’t they would lose market share to other companies that do. I got the impression they were worried a tendency for hermaphrodism could be put out into the wild where it could pop up in people’s outdoor drops, or float into indoor rooms through the air intake. So there is a responsibility that comes with planting feminised seed: grow it, consume it, but do not breed with it! Feminised packs are marked with the female logo, and can be more than twice the price of regular seeds. The other big innovation of recent years has been auto-flowering strains, and this year has seen the release of - you guessed it! - feminised anto-flowering strains.

Auto-Flowering seeds Auto-flowering strains start flowering shortly after germination, regardless of the light cycle. Even under lights on 18 hours a day, they completely mature from seed to bud in only 60 days. Outdoors, yields will be low but the plant will flower automatically after a certain number of weeks, not just at the end of Autumn. Auto-flowerers are a new option for growers plagued by bud rot and mould caused by humid Autumn weather. Everyone has heard of sativa and indica being the two sub-species of cannabis, but there is also a third type called ruderalis. It is thought to predate the others, and evolved to reproduce year round, regardless of the daylight hours. These days cannabis ruderalis survives in Russia and East Europe, but early attempts at marketing it

Soma Seeds’ cup-winning range includes NYC Diesel and Lavender produced stunted, weak plants with varying potency. Some could barely be called drug varieties. Now breeders from Holland and Canada have crossed ruderalis with potent indicas and sativas, and using huge breeding programmes have managed to eliminate the weak genetics while keeping the auto-flowering trait. The first true auto-flowerer to hit the market was Lowryder from the Joint Doctor, but this year has seen several new potent auto-flowering strains released, including Taiga and Tundra by Dutch Passion, Smurfberry from Sagamartha, and Roadrunner from Spain’s Dinafem Seeds. Seed companies in Holland say Spain is up to 90% of their sales, so what they want has a huge influence on what is made available - and the Big Thing at the moment is feminised auto-flowering strains. Cannabis seeds are legal in Spain, and they have the good climate and tolerant laws to be able to grow openly outdoors. In towns and cities

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Photos: Chris

BUSH DOCTOR

Seed Guide plants on terraces or balconies are a common sight. Now with the autoflowering feminised strains they can plant anywhere, any time of the year. They only have to mark their calendar and come back at that time, knowing the plant is female and is genetically programmed to flower at a certain time, regardless of daylight hours. Hola! Auto-flowering feminised seeds will revolutionise growing for the smalltime personal grower, making guerilla ganja gardening even easier. They are particularly suited to people who just want a couple of easy plants on the deck, or growers who want to go into the bush or countryside, chuck some seeds into the ground, and just come back a certain time later. It should not be overlooked that the ability to plant year-round could put a massive spanner in the works of our constabulary’s annual helicopter recovery programme. Auto-flowering strains are also good for indoor growers who want to have plants at different stages of growth under the same lamp. Normally mothers are kept under 24 hours lighting, vegetative

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plants might be under 18 hours light, and budding plants will be under 12 hours light, but an auto-flowerering plant could be matured in the same room as a regular mother receiving 24hr light. However auto-flowering strains are not suited for growers seeking mother plants to take cuttings. They won’t get a stable mother, because the plant will start to bud regardless of what light cycle it is kept in. In balance, they are probably

not much good for indoor growers at all. The whole point about growing indoors is they can control everything about the environment. A key part of this is using the light cycle to induce flowering at the time of their choice. A strain that flowers automatically takes away that choice. Also, unless they keep mother plants, people who buy feminised strains will need to go back to the seed company for new seeds every time - which gives you some idea why many of the seed companies love them! Ultimately whether people choose to use auto-flowering and/or feminised seeds will depend to a large extent on what value they place on being easy compared to having more control. I tend to think a couple of auto-flowerers in the back yard will probably fit a lot of people’s lifestyles and we’ll probably see more of them around New Zealand in the not too distant future. Wel l, I hope you’ve enjoyed m y first attempt at writing and found it useful. Happy planting everyone!

Amsterdam seed shop

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Marijuana Culture

Amsterdam’s T.H.Seeds have given themselves an ambitious target: “to protect genetics and serve mankind”. They’ve done a good job so far, with their strains winning multiple cannabis cups and grown throughout the world. They also have a successful hemp clothing company. Chris Fowlie caught up with founders Adam Dunn and Doug Mignola in Amsterdam.

Adam Dunn

Sage & Sour

MK Ultra

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Gidday Adam, tell us about your entries for the Cannabis Cup and how it went. It went exactly as we planned we got really good feedback from people and everyone loved it. We are not really worried about the awards. [In 2008] we had one old variety, MK Ultra, which is a winner from 2003 so we just thought after 5 years bring it back out of retirement. The other one is Rambo which is a Sativa entry that has got some afghan in it [with] two types of Jamaican, called Most Wanted which is the Haze, and the other is 9 Month Skunk, a purple sativa skunk from the original hippy trail vibe. What are your concerns about feminised seeds? There is always a big hype for a moment and right now it is feminised. I think Hank was the first company with Dutch Passion to go for it and commercialise the whole process. Not to say the seeds are bad or anything, but over the years I kind of watched to see what the reaction was and I never got the feeling that you were getting the best out of it. I’m sure he made lots of money and sold millions of packs, but when you checked with people on how these things turned out a lot of times it was weak issues: not really the most potent of genetics and a lot of times the hybrid vigor was lost or something seems to be missing. And the reality is if you grow indoors you definitely don’t need feminised because you just need a mom. You also want a plant that is really strong and can be cloned for years on end without any problems. If you are breeding dogs or birds or fish, anything, you are looking for the best breeders and they are usually the most male of all males or the most female of all females. You don’t want something that is somewhere in between, where it has either hemaphroditic tendencies and/or not

robust enough for genetics to follow. If you take a plant that is feminised it has had stress induced on it at some point, a generation or two ago, so if plants were forced to turn into male then that next generation will all be female - it is true - but the fact that they are all female doesn’t mean that they are all good. It means that they have to be female because there is only female information on top of female information. But it also means that any problems will be amplified just as any good things may be amplified. So if you have a problem with bug resistance or THC production or any of these things, if there is not something to create vigor like what you get with a male and female, you can end up losing in the long run not gaining, which is our whole game. Also when you are making clones from the same plant over generations if you are starting with stress there is a good chance it will go hermy on you or won’t root as well. I have just seen so many more negative results than positive. Is there a risk that feminised seeds might contaminate the gene pool and have unintended consequences down the track? True. It is like what Ruderalis was back in the early 90s when it was a really hot thing and everybody wanted it. I never included it in our program because I felt if this gets in there is a chance that 10% or 5 % or more could come out with these “pretendicas” -

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Interview

T.H.Seeds T.H.Seeds is based at Hemp Works, Europe’s first hemp store, which opened its doors in 1993. Back then founders Adam Dunn & Douglas Mignola were known as the CIA (Cannabis In Amsterdam), an early seed company that aimed to present the best American genetics to the world. They had just successfully organised the Cannabis Cup and turned their attention to creating stylish clothing people would want to wear regardless of the fact it’s made of hemp.

Photos of Adam & Doug by Chris. All other photos by t.h.seeds & hempworks:

Doug Mignola

“When we first started there was not much hemp clothing,” says Doug. “A little bit from Germany and mostly from the States. It was really rough itchy stuff - we call it the potato sack look!” They wanted to offer people an alternative for mass-produced and synthetic clothing. First up was the HoodLamb jacket, which was designed to warm you up quick after chilly sessions in the surf or snow. With it’s plush ‘Satifur’ fake fur lining made partly from hemp, it is “like taking the ugg boot and making it into a jacket,” said Doug. www.NORML.org.nz

Before moving production to China, where the hemp is grown, Doug wanted to check out their working conditions and environmental standards. “I choose the factory by saying could I come and see it, and the ones that said it was OK, then I would go and see it,” said Doug. “I found at the factories I went to, that child labour was not an issue. I actually found that the working conditions were better than they are in Europe. I have been to Romania, Portugal, Italy, Holland and seen productions and China had the best, cleanest machines and the best working conditions.” Doug says business has “grown organically, like the hemp plant!” As with T.H.Seeds, a key to the success of Hemp HoodLamb has been an absolute focus on quality. “The jacket is super comfortable. As soon as someone tries it on they want to buy it. One of the things that is different is this is one of the few jackets that has fur in the arms. And of course we have secret pockets and paper dispensers.” HoodLamb’s range now includes summer jackets, hoodies, skirts, pants, shirts, and hats, all made from ecofriendly, comfortable hemp, soy and bamboo. They sell tens of thousands of jackets around the world, sponsor a team of surfers, and are worn by a distinctly smokey selection of celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Flava Flav, UB40, Woody Harrelson and Tommy Chong. “We sell a lot to Scandinavia, Italy, Canada, Japan and America. And now New Zealand too!” The Hemp HoodLamb range is available in NZ at The Hempstore or check out www. hoodlamb.com

FROM TOP: Hempworks shop, the T.H.Seeds HQ; HoodLamb jackets have handy paper dispensers; the Ladies jacket. Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

T.H.Seeds

duds that don’t have any resin content or the resin is not potent. It much easier to put something into your gene pool than it is to pull something out. Once it is in, it is in, and if you’re working a few generations down the road you can’t reverse it. So for us Ruderalis was never that interesting. It was in my mind back when I was a kid - I thought it was great, these little auto-flowering plants - and some companies have based their entire existence on an auto flowering situation. But it is kind of like making it too easy for the person who is the end user, and that’s not really the goal, it is more the preservation of genetics. Yeah you’re going to get a female, and yeah it’s going to flower automatically, and yeah it’s going to stay under your waist level. It is great for that guy who doesn’t know what he is doing. But for the people who really know what they are doing, the last thing they want is to have no control over a plant where it just automatically flowers and is automatically a female so you have no chance of making any of your own seeds. It would be nicer if you could, say, take a pack of Chocolate Chunk, and a pack of SAGE, cross them together and you’ve got Chocolate SAGE or something like that. You’ve given the option to the person to produce their own, and that’s a lot more interesting What is the philosophy or point of difference for T.H.Seeds? We were one of the first to recognise the American gene pool which is now

dominating the whole scene around the world with strains like Kush and Sour Diesel. When we started CIA in 1993 we had already heard about Sour Diesel from our friends New York. I didn’t actually really get to try it until I got it in 199798. It was one of those plants that didn’t even get to the Cup until 2001-2002, and now all of a sudden everyone knows Sour Diesel. The reality is that East Coast of America, that’s like the Don, you know, and the West Coast it is the Kush, and actually both of those strains are interrelated. The Chem Dawg is the plant that produced both of those things. So our thing was to find these isolated strains that had been proven themselves via the local population. And that is what is nice. They are our testers, the people who do that breeding make it that much easier for us -they do all the preselection, although they don’t know what they are doing half the time, that’s the other problem. What are your favourite strains? Our top strains are SAGE and Bubble Gum. Bubble Gum was the first plant we introduced into the whole market. That was a situation where we were forced to work with what we had. We had seven

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

different moms that we were working with, and we had a break in at the room, and somebody did all our pre-selection for us by killing everything down to the one plant that had one branch that had been left at the bottom, so that could be re-veged and kept. So the unfortunate part of that was it wasn’t particularly the best of all the Bubblegums, it was the one that made it through. So that was out first introduction into the reality that if you have something good maybe people might like it and might really want it! Then we did SAGE. That was our friend in California who lived here at the time. He actually did most of the pre-selection here and he did a lot of it outdoors which was cool. Like literally a whole back yard full, and not even the best conditions, but at least you can see in the worst conditions how it can work so you actually learn more than if you did it in the best conditions. That’s the thing about Holland. We live in a shitty horrible country, it’s rainy, miserable and humid. Conditions are never good so that’s why we all grow indoors. But everything that you bring from here and bring into nicer conditions always does so much better, like “oh my god, look at that!”. You go to Spain and take that same seed, all the different flavours pop out, things you didn’t even know were there. A lot of people grow outdoors in New Zealand. Which strains would you recommend for that? Medicino Madness is our flagship outdoor strain, that’s seven week flowering - mid September for the www.NORML.org.nz

Photo of cup entries by Chris. All other photos by t.h.seeds & hempworks:

SAGE indoors (top left and right) and outdoors (centre). BELOW: Rambo (top), MK Ultra (bottom) with a bottle of MK-Spray, a potent hashy mouth spray.

Interview northern hemisphere so probably [midMarch] for the southern hemisphere. So that’s the kind of guarantee, the money maker to make sure you can get your product out on time and be the first guy smoking, which helps! Then if you have the good conditions, Sage and Sour work really well, like in Spain and California they really love it. This year I’ve have been getting good results with Zero Gravity in California. SAGE does well if you have the conditions, but not here! I’m sure the North Island and South Island are completely different from each other so it’s probably a northern one. What about for down the bottom of the South Island which would be equivalent to Scandinavia? That would be the Mendo. That would be the only one I would guarantee, the rest would be a little bit borderline. That’s why we did the Rambo this year because we were looking for something else outdoor, with a bit more Sativa influence. It’s big outdoor producing and quick. In NoCal if something sta nds out, it mea ns someth i ng

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because they are growing a lot of different weed there. Usually they just keep going through different varieties, until they find one or two. They’ll go through sixty per year, so that’s a much better testing ground than anywhere, because they have the medical clubs and people testing it. So what are the future plans for T.H.Seeds? Well next year it is sweet 16 so big parties probably! No, we’re at a situation where we have new packaging, new energy back in. We had a couple of years with the jackets taking off, it made it hard to concentrate on everything. We’re putting more focus on getting everything tightened up so that people get the best and it’s always guaranteed. Seeds are one of those industries that have expanded so fast. There’s a new company every day, but we’re in the location where people can come to our shop any time. We also want to be available to anyone anywhere, so hopefully open a new shop, why not!

Snoop Dogg enjoying his Hemp HoodLamb jacket, and yes that is a real joint!

www.thseeds.com & www.hempworks.nl

Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

DOCTOR Who

The Green Ratio By Indoor Herb. Photos by Chris.

Everybody thinks they have cracked it: “my garden is the best thing since sliced bread.” How many times have you heard that little gem? How many times have you answered: “What’s your ratio?”

fter the confused look dies away and the curious face appears, it’s time to hit your erstwhile friend with the ratio, which simply put is 0.4 grams per watt per month. It’s not quite e=mc2, but in the growing world it is not far off. Your garden should be producing 0.4 grams of flower per watt of light used, each month. If you are not producing this, your garden needs work. Fortunately the purpose of this article is to define the ratio and to provide you with the tools to blow it out of the water. Let’s start with an example garden. It has a double light fixture, twin 600w HPS lamps to give 1200 watts of light. The number of plants or area at this stage doesn’t come into the equation, since indoors it is available light that limits yield. Given a two month (or 8 week) flowering cycle, let’s double the expected grams up to 0.8 to give you 2 months worth. 1200 watts multiplied by 0.8 is the target number of grams the example garden should produce each cycle. 1200 x 0.8 = 960grams. It’s that simple. Do the math - is your garden stacking up? If not, read on. About now you might be thinking what is this fantasy ratio, and how does it relate to my current configuration? Here are some wattage situations to ponder: Total watts

Watts x 0.8 (g)

÷ 28 (ounces)

400W

320gm

11.4oz

600W

480gm

17.1oz

800W

640gm

22.9oz

1200W

960gm

34.3oz

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

Let’s start with the basic method of achieving this ratio. First dump the dirt, as soil growers are limited by the oxygen carrying capacity of dirt. If you want to achieve more, keep reading. In the last article we blasted the myth that growing in hydroponics is more difficult (see Norml News Winter 2009). Now it’s time to show how hydroponics can dramatically increase the productivity of your garden. The logic behind this is very simple: water can carry more oxygen. Water is by definition 1 molecule of hydrogen combined with 2 molecules of oxygen = H2O. Using air pumps or ozone enrichment the gardener can increase the amount of available oxygen still further; Ozone is merely O3 or 3 molecules of oxygen in an uneasy alliance, just itching to release that extra oxygen molecule to enrich your plant. Increased oxygen available to the roots will result in a larger healthier root system, and that means your plant is able to take up greater amounts of nutrients. Exactly like humans: if you take up more nutrients (food) you will get fat, and the same holds true for plants. More nutrients will result in obese flowers. Hydroponic systems can and will produce faster growing, more productive plants, so it’s time to nail down a method of achieving these results. There are an almost endless variety of hydroponic systems, some more simple and easy to operate than others. This article aims to familiarise you the reader with one technique. The equipment needed is for the setup of a typical hydroponic garden in a 1.2 meter square area. There are always items that prove handy that are not listed here but this is a good starting position.

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Indoor Gardening

Equipment: • 1x grow tent (1.2m x 1.2m) silver or white plastic the choice is yours. • 1x large avenger reflector with extra lamp holder running 2x 600w lamps (plus an extra ballast, lamp and lamp holder) • 2x Small Silver Pro HPS Spreader Aurora Indica • 2x SQuad self supporting garden (also left & opposite page) • 1x centrifugal fan (air exhaust) 250mm It’s a formidable list of items but as we will see each • 1x Odorsok (carbon filter for air treatment) has a part to play to producing a healthy and productive 250mm x 600mm garden: • 1x temperature and humidity gauge (get one that stores min and max) SQUAD: The SQUAD is a self-supporting ultra-simple • 2x dial timer 15 minute increments hydroponic Garden of Eden. The beauty of the SQUAD • 1x four outlet air pump is it’s design: a 30 litre container on a 42 litre container. The longer container is the reservoir, the small container • 2x airstone packs, each containing 2 airstones and holds the plants, and steel rods suspend the plant over silicon tube. the reservoir. Nutrient-enriched water is pumped up to • 2x 30cm oscillating fans the plant, and after soaking the medium trickles back to • 1x CF truncheon the reservoir. Putting an airstone in the reservoir will add • 1x pH test kit (tape roll or similar) more oxygen. In winter a water heater is a great idea, keeping the nutrient solution just right. • 2x grow wool slabs 750x300x50mm • 2x plant yoyo’s pack of 10 • 2x Periscopes Nutrients: Nitrozyme, Earth Juice Catalyst, Growth Nutrient (Growzilla, Canadian Xpress, Canna, etc), Flowering nutrients (Budzilla, Canadian Xpress, Canna, etc) Headmaster, Final Rinse. www.NORML.org.nz

TENT: Start by assembling the tent. The beauty of tent growing is the ease of setup, so the light and portable garden can be put up or pulled down quickly and easily. Extra care should be taken while assembling your tent to make sure the frame is not stressed in one direction. Ease the canvas over the corners, taking time to make sure each corner is properly seated before moving to the next. Finally make sure extra care is taken when closing Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

DOCTOR Who

zips for the first time. The pressure used to close the tent helps maintain the rigid structure making the tent able to take the weight of canvas and the mounted shade. When first constructing your tent, be sure to close the zip on the front first, as this will make closing the rest of the zips much easier. REFLECTOR: Next setup and install the Avenger reflector with 2 x 600w lamps. The Avenger is used because its light weight patented double parabolic shape creates even light coverage, avoiding hot spots that cause uneven growth. Don’t worry if the lamps appear close together - there will be no extra heat stress placed on the lamps and the extra light will make a massive difference in your garden. Using the “Super Spreader” will help dissipate the heat generated by the lamps, allowing you to move them closer to the plant tops (approximately 20cm from the top most growing tip.) The best method of attaching the light reflector to your tent is to use Periscopes, developed to allow easy

White Widow

movement and even hanging of the reflector over your plants. Periscopes work on a yoyo-like movement. Simply pull the reflector down to the desired height and the Periscopes will lock into position. If the lamp needs to be raised simply lift the reflector and the Periscopes will retract to the correct height. Keeping the light an even distance from the growing tips will ensure even growth over the entire plant. FAN: Position the 250mm centrifugal fan and 250mm Odorsok as close as practical to the roof of your tent. Attach the fan in a location that will not to interfere with the raising of your shade. This will ensure your plants have adequate fresh air allowing fast growth (a full size plant can use 5 litres of water a day, 70% of which evaporates through the leaves. That’s 3.5 litres in the air every day!). Set up the oscillating fans in opposite corners of the room. The purpose of these fans is to remove stale air from around the plants. An area called the ‘carbon dioxide depletion zone’ can occur around fast growing plants. Plants need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, so if the air is not continuously moved this depletion of carbon dioxide will cause growth to slow down or even stop. Another benefit of air circulation is the constant movement causes tiny rips in the leaves and branch tissue, and when these rips heal the plant becomes stronger so is able to support heavier flowers. Yet another benefit of circulating fans is even mixing of the air inside the room, which prevents hot spots from occurring. Any area of extreme heat will effect growth considerably. In most situations air temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius should be avoided for any length of time. GROWING MEDIUM: The recommended medium for this example garden is Rockwool slabs, cut to shape then placed inside the 30 litre container in layers like a cake. Take one of the air stones from the pack, attach the silicon tube and place it in between the bottom two layers of Rockwool. This will dramatically increase the amount of oxygen available to the roots, helping the plant grow even faster and stronger. Fill the rest of the container with good quality coco coir. NUTRIENTS: During vegetative growth you should be feeding growth nutrient at a rate of 5mls per litre of water. The CF reading should be approximately 18 (adjust

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

www.NORML.org.nz

Indoor Gardening

Photo: Staybees

These six plants (4 Hindu Kush and 2 Super Skunk) under a 600watt HPS lamp resulted in ‘a very good yield just over 12 ounces’. It’s a good effort but could be even better! The ratio (per month) is just 0.28. Following the simple steps in this guide would increase the ratio to 0.4 and a yield of 17 ounces.

to suit). After adding nutrients and additives you should adjust the pH to approximately 6. In the second week of vegetative growth you should add Nitrozyme to the nutrient solution approximately 1ml per litre of water. When the plant is well established and has reached a suitable size, the light period should be changed from 24 hours on to 12 hours on with 12 hours of complete uninterrupted darkness. Use the timer to keep a regular 12 hour cycle (the dark time must be uninterrupted). Start using flowering nutrient as the main flowering nutrient. This solution should be fortified with Earth Juice Catalyst, an enzyme that helps your plants take up and use the available nutrients as well as adding sweetness to the plant. Combine flowering nutrient and Catalyst with Headmaster in the first 4-5 weeks of flowering and you should notice a fast growing plant with prolific flowering points. FEEDING: Watering cycles should be mentioned; in general watering less more frequently can increase productivity. Plants should never be fed continually and should not be fed at all while the lights are out. Adjust the watering times to suit the size of plants and the conditions. Once per cycle for 15 minutes at the start should be plenty. Larger plants should be fed twice per light on cycle: pump on for 15 - 30 minutes after the light comes on, then again for 15 - 30 minutes before the light turns off. With such fast growing plants you should consider using plant yoyo’s to spread the branches of your plants. Pulling the branches apart yoyo’s will allow light to penetrate further into the plant meaning more useful growth towards the centre. This may also allow the light to be www.NORML.org.nz

moved closer to the plant, and higher light intensity when combined with fast growth will translate into increased production. During flowering a CF of 22-26 should be maintained. There may be times where fresh water is added to bring the CF down and others where it seems the plant uses insane amounts of nutrient. This will require regular monitoring (every two or three days at the outside). Try to maintain a pH of approximately 6; do not allow the solution to drop below 5. FLUSH: Finally before any flowers or fruit are harvested there needs to be a period of flushing. You should give your plants at least ten days of fresh water only. Dump the reservoir and refill it with fresh water along with 5mls per litre of Final Rinse. Final rinse will allow the plant to slowly release the stored nutrients while maintaining even growth over the vital last days of flowering. Be sure to dump the nutrient tank as often as possible over the final 10 days to ensure as much nutrient build up as possible is removed. The removal of these stored nutrients will ensure your produce retains flavour, colour and weight. Following the few simple rules used in this hypothetical situation adapted to suit your own conditions will prove that plants can be grown hydroponically faster and more efficiently, producing more than could be possible using a soil based container method. As long as you follow hydroponic rule number one (“Attention to detail”) you will produce 0.4 grams per watt per month … or more!

Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

Harm Reduction

Safer

CANNABIS USE

Harm reduction > The main thing is to ensure that your cannabis use does not impair your health, family, employment and education. It’s also good to have regular periods of reducing use or not consuming cannabis. > Remember that “Less is More” - the less you use, the less you will need - and the more high you will get! > 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. 46

> 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. > NORML recommends consuming organic cannabis whenever possible.

Health ADVICE > Cannabis is best avoided by pregnant and breastfeeding 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.

Photo: Kainga

Although the vast majority of cannabis consumers do so responsibly and suffer no harm, it is not without risks and some people can experience problems. This guide is intended to help you make an informed choice so you can stay safe.

> People on digitalis or other heart medications should 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 appears contaminated

NORML’s Principles of Responsible Marijuana Use Adults Only. Cannabis consumption is for adults only. It is irresponsible to provide cannabis to children. Set and Setting. The responsible cannabis user will carefully consider his/her mindset and physical setting, and regulate use accordingly.

Resist Abuse. Use of cannabis, to the extent that it impairs health, personal development or achievement, is abuse, to be resisted by responsible cannabis users.

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

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.

Respect the Rights of Others. Responsible cannabis users do not violate the rights of others, observe accepted standards of courtesy, and respect the preferences of those who wish to avoid cannabis.

or has mould or fungus on it as it could 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 acid trips, as it could intensify the experience. > While no-one has ever died from using cannabis, drug prohibition causes crime and violence Being arrested is also a significant harm, so make sure you stay safe and know your rights. www.NORML.org.nz

Legal information

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS E Tu! Kia Kaha! Police Questioning · You have the right to remain silent – including not making a statement or answering questions - but you must give your correct name and address and in some cases date of birth. Talk to a lawyer before saying anything else. · If the Police want you to go with them, ask if you’ve been arrested. · You have the right to talk to your own or a free lawyer on the Bill of Rights list if you’re being questioning about an offence. · If you’re under 17 you have the right to have a supportive adult of your choice with you at the police station. Searches · Always ask why you are being searched. If you don’t want to be searched you must say so. Silence is consent! · The police can only search you, your bag or car if you let them; or after being arrested; or they have a search warrant; or they have reasonable grounds to think you have drugs, or an offensive weapon. · The police can search your home if: you let them; or they have a search warrant; or they have reasonable grounds to think it contains drugs. You are entitled to witness a search but not to obstruct police. · If you are female usually only a policewoman can search you. Arr e sts , D e ta inm e nt a n d Charges · Always ask if you’re being arrested, detained or charged and why. · Don’t run away or resist arrest. · Ask to make a phone call and phone someone you trust. · You don’t have to answer any questions or make a statement. You have the right to talk to a free

Your cut out & keep

CIVIL RIGHTS CARD

Cut out or photocopy, keep handy in your wallet or on the fridge!

lawyer. Tell police you want to talk to one on the Bill of Rights I hereby invoke and refuse to waive all of the following rights and list before talking to them. privileges afforded to me by the NZ Bill of Rights: · You have the right to get bail • I invoke and refuse to waive my right to remain silent. Do not ask me unless there is a good reason for any questions. holding you or you have been • I invoke and refuse to waive my right to an attorney of my choice. Do charged with a very serious not ask me any questions without my attorney present. offence. Going To Court • I invoke and refuse to waive my right to be free from unreasonable · First appearance: you can searches and seizures. I do not consent to any search or seizure of enter “no plea”, and before myself, my home, or of any property in my possession. Do not ask me your next appearance ask for about my ownership interest in any property. “full disclosure” of the evidence against you, and seek legal advice. Check with the court • I do not consent to this contact with you. If I am not presently under registrar if you can get legal aid arrest or under investigatory detention, please allow me to leave. or, see the duty solicitor. • Any statement I make, or alleged consent I give, in response to · If it is your first arrest, you may your questions is hereby made under protest and under duress and in be eligible for the police diversion submission to your claim of lawful authority to force me to provide you scheme. Ask your lawyer or the with information. police’s duty sergeant for more information. · Otherwise, you can plead Guilty TEXT NORML TO 343 for the latest list of lawyers and accept the punishment & civil rights information given to you, or plead Not Guilty and fight the charges. · If you plead Not Guilty you can plea bargain at a pre-trial “status hearing”. police stations. Try to get someone to witness what Try to strike a deal that gets the charges dropped, the police do. · If the police breach your rights tell your lawyer/a or negotiate a reduced sentence. · Preparing your defence: write everything down in duty solicitor or make a police complaint later, as much detail as possible. Go through the police rather than argue at the time. evidence and identify any discrepancies or errors. Police Complaints Search the internet, local law libraries and courts. · Independent Police Conduct Authority 0800 503 728; Talk to YouthLaw, your lawyer or NORML. govt.nz for relevant cases. Write down everything that happened while you Remember · Always stay calm and don’t get smart. Try to remember. Get photos of any injuries and see a get all of the police officer’s names, numbers and doctor.

Civil rights advice & support www.norml.org.nz/rights or TXT NORML TO 343 Call NORML: 09 302 5255 or in the South Island: 021 399 822 (Please call weekday daytime only. Our priority is to norml members)

LAW YERS with experience defending Owen Harold 09 6304969; Rodney Harrison 09 MORE INFORMATION cannabis charges. Whangarei: David Sayes 09 4382154; Nick Leader 09 4384039 Auckland: Peter Winter 09 3797658; Johnnie Kovacevich 09 3093364 or 021 653933; Matt Goodwin 09 3750052 or 0274-999433, Rob Weir 09 3099636; Colin Amery 09 2665910; Marie Dyhrberg 09 3604550; Adam Couchman 09 3733592; Charl Hirschfeld 09 3076997; Maria Pecotic 09 5227399;

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3034157 Hamilton: Roger Layborne 07 8396288 Rotorua: Simon Lance 07 3460796 Palmerston North: Peter Coles 06 3581075 Wairarapa: Peter Broad 021 3264547 or 06-3798049 Wellington: Michael Appleby 0274 403363; Chris Tennet 021 626878 or 04 4711952; Christchurch: David Ruth 03 3745486 Timaru: Tony Shaw 03 6886056 Invercargill: John Pringle 03 2144069

> Under 25? YouthLaw.co.nz Ph 09 3096967 > Low income? www.communitylaw.org.nz > Help with prisoners: www.pars.org.nz > Legal Aid: www.lsa.govt.nz ph 0800 600 090 > Find a lawyer: www.lawsociety.org.nz > How courts work: www.courtsofnz.govt.nz > Laws & Statutes: www.legislation.govt.nz Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

Activist Corner

Your cut out & keep

CIVIL RIGHTS CARD

Cut out or photocopy. Keep handy in your wallet or on the fridge! for the latest list of lawyers & civil rights information

TEXT NORML TO 343

www.norml.org.nz/rights

NORML NEW ZEALAND PO Box 3307, Auckland

If the officer fails to honor your rights, remain calm and polite, ask for the officer’s identifying information and ask him or her to note your objection in their report. Do not attempt to physically resist an unlawful arrest, search or seizure. If necessary, you may point out any violations to a judge at a later time. THE NORML FREEDOM CARD The NZ Bill of Rights protects your right to remain silent, to consult with an attorney, and to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures by law enforcement. However, it is up to you to assert these rights. This NORML Freedom Card will help you do so effectively. If you are confronted by a police officer, remain calm. Be courteous and provide your identification. Politely refuse to answer any further questions. Ask to talk to a lawyer. Do not consent to any search of your person, your property, your residence or your vehicle. Tell the officer you would like to give him or her this card, which is a statement of the rights you wish to invoke. Do not reach for this card until you have obtained the officer’s permission to do so.

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You can help

Legalise cannabisp.!

you can hel There are heaps of ways to Here are some easy ways get started. > 10 MINUTES

Email your MP > The format is firstname.lastname@ parliament.govt.nz or see ww w.norml.org.nz/emailMP Buy a copy of NORML News from you store or stationers. Buying NORML r local magazine News is an easy and effective way of supporting our law reform efforts. Donate online > 12-3057-0594 667-00 Join NORML > on the opposit e page. Support the Canna-Bus > don ations can be made to the Canna-Bus account: 12-305 7-0594667-03 Write a letter to the editor Learn your rights > on page 47 Join our monthly email list > send an email with “subscribe norml-nz” in the sub ject line to norml-nz-request@norml.net

SO > 1 HOUReOR in > learn how to hold your own

Raise your voic g.nz/topic8.html an argument at www.norml.or morning Visit your MP on any Saturday sion’s review of the Take part in the Law Commis w.lawcom.govt.nz ww Misuse of Drugs Act - see r doctor and get you h wit Medical users > talk their support. your town or Distribute Norml News around networks. l.org.nz - browse Get informed > visit www.norm 0 online members. over 75,000 posts from our 700

> 1 DAY OR SO

Organise an event like a local J Day concert, demonstration, public talk, pet ition, movie showing or social evening. Grow hemp > apply for a permit from MedSafe. Apply for a medical permit > get the backing of your doctor then write to the Ministe r of Health. Form a local anti-prohibition group > get active in your area! discuss your ideas

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009

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SHOW YOUR GROW

Pix of the CROP: above: the

chronic (serious seeds). Right: ‘pride of the south’, from chch. Below: Kevin’s ak47xjack herer, at 57 days flowering. Left, from top: Mr. messmaker’s water hash, from wgtn; nails Wilson’s lovely haul, white rhino from horotiu.

PHOTOS NEEDED!

THIS IS A READER-DRIVEN PAGE, and we want your bud porn! Email high resolution digi pics to news@norml.org.nz or post PHOTOS OR a CD to NORML News, PO Box 3307 Auckland. Chur!

In te

issu

rv Pl ie us w B & ig (A wi m P m th o r h a st D e r er N i n ... m a da A G D hit v m) en ec s s et em t h M ic e e s be s d i t r! or w e 50 N O R M L N eeWs S eSpring d

e 2009

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Spr ing 2009 N O R M L N e W S

N O R M L N e W S Spring 2009