Houston NORML

Meeting Tomorrow

Be sure to come on out for the meeting this as we have our elections...

So far for nominees we have are

Tami - President

Jim - Vice President

John - Treasurer

Kim - Secretary

Summer 2008 Newsletter

Our summer edition of the newsletter is out so be sure to check it out. Find out what we have been doing this spring. We'll have some hard copies at the meeting so you can pass them out to friends and kind minded individuals as well as those that need a bit more convincing:)

Houston NORML Summer 2008 Newsletter

2008 420 Fest

Come on out to the Last Concert Cafe on 4/19/08 for our 7th annual 420 Fest membership drive and fundraiser.

This year we will be having National NORML board member and host of "Weekday Legal" attorney Norm Kent. Dean Becker of the Cultural Baggage show will be MCing a night of activism and celebration.

The musical guests we have lined up in Liquidious, The New Jack Hippies, Kozmic Pearl, Lonestar Ponstar, Opie Hendrix and Sean Reefer with his Resin Valley Boys.

We'll also have arts and crafts from local merchants as well as door prizes and raffles to items autographed by Tommy Chong and NFL great Mark Stepnoski.

Doors open at 6pm so come on out to find out what you can do to help change marijuana laws in Texas. The Last Concert Cafe is located at 1403 Nance St just north of Downtown.

Resolution for 2008 primaries

For those voting in the Democrat or Republican primaries on 3/4/08 please bring this to your precinct convention on that night.

Resolution endorsing medical marijuana

Whereas, A large majority of Americans and Texans support allowing the use of marijuana as a medicine under appropriate medical supervision.

Whereas, The American College of Physicians (ACP) - the nation's largest organization of doctors of internal medicine with 124,000 members - strongly supported such use in February of 2008

WHEREAS, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 categorized marijuana as a Schedule I substance making it unavailable for medical use; and,

WHEREAS, twelve states have laws that permit use of medicinal marijuana/cannabis; and,

WHEREAS, marijuana/cannabis has a wide margin of safety for use under medical supervision and is effective for numerous conditions; therefore be it

RESOLVED that the Democratic/Republican Party of Texas supports and/or encourages the following:

1. Research in controlled investigational trials on the therapeutic efficacy of marijuana/cannabis, including alternative methods of administration.

2. The right of patients to have safe access to therapeutic marijuana/cannabis under appropriate medical supervision.

3. The ability of health care providers to discuss and/or recommend the medicinal use of marijuana without the threat of intimidation or penalization.

4. Legislation to remove criminal penalties including arrest and imprisonment for bona fide patients and providers of therapeutic marijuana/cannabis.

5. Federal and state legislation to exclude marijuana/cannabis from classification as a Schedule I drug.

6. The education of medical professionals regarding current, evidence-based therapeutic use of marijuana/cannabis.

Willie Nelson hosts NORML Benefit Concert Aug 10

WHEN - Friday Aug 10 - show starts at 7pm

WHERE: The Backyard - Austin TX

HOW MUCH, MAN? - Two tiers from as low as about $55 on up to as high as $62

WHEN DO I GOTS TO PAY? - TIckets go on sale Saturday, July 14

http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5602

Drugs, Crime and Politics Tonight 7/11/07 8pm

We will be having some clips from Dean tonight on the Social Forum and I'm sure Bindu and Buford will want to hear from you on what you think about the recent bills that have passed in Texas and around the nation.

That's tonight, 7/11/07 at 8pm in Houston.

WTP-TV Cable Channels: Time Warner 17, TVMax 95 & Kingwood 98

20th Annual Houston Art Car Parade

Houston NORML will be having an entry in the Art Car Parade as we do our part in the Global Marijuana March. Yeah, it's a week after the other marches but since there will be over 200,00 people this will bring a lot more exposure to the benefits of marijauna.

****Saturday, May 12****

Houston NORML 420

Be sure to make it out to the Houston NORML 420 Fest at the Last Concert Cafe on 4/20/07. We have High Times Editor Steve Bloom coming in from Cali and the Too High String Band coming down from Austin.

http://highstring.com

We'll have speakers from the Drugs, Crime and Politics TV show as well as Cultural Bagagge. We have speakers from various political groups like the Progressive Action Alliance, Libertarians and more.

Other music includes the Hightailers, Potroast, New Jack Hippies, Lee Alexander and more...

Marijuana Bills in Texas 2007

There are 2 bills pertaining to marijuana in the 2007 legislative session currently being help.

House Bill 1534, which seeks to allow qualified patients to raise an affirmative defense to prosecution for the possession and use of medical cannabis.

House Bill 758, an act to reclassify possession of less than one ounce of marijuana from a Class B misdemeanor to a Class C misdemeanor. If enacted, this measure would remove the threat of incarceration for minor marijuana offenders. Such a change would ensure that these individuals will no longer be subject to criminal arrest, prosecution and -- most importantly, incarceration -- or the emotional, social, and financial hardships that follow.

Be sure to contact your reps. You can put in your zip code at the top of the page to find out your reps and contact them.

Drug War History

December 24, 1912: Merck patents MDMA. Its psychoactive effects remain unknown for more than 60 years, but the drug then becomes popularized under the slang term "ecstasy."

December 28, 1992: ABC Television airs a major special on the drug war in Bolivia which, according to the Bush Administration, is our "best hope" for winning the drug war in South America. ABC concludes decisively that there was no hope and that the war on drug production has already been lost.

December 25, 1994: The Buffalo News reports, �Troubled with three long-term sentences he felt forced to make in recent weeks, U.S. District Judge, John T. Curtin says he will stop hearing drug cases in the coming year rather than continue to be part of a system of punishment that 'just isn't working.'� Curtin says he would rather see the federal government spend more money on education, counseling, and drug prevention programs, rather than towards putting people in prison. "You don't even have to think of it in moral terms. In financial terms, it just isn't working," Curtin said.

December 23, 1995: A British Medical Journal editorial entitled �The War on Drugs� states, �The British government's drug strategy for the next three years states baldly �There will be no legalisation of any currently controlled drugs.� But some legalisation would help.�

December 26, 1997: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that San Francisco Supervisor Gavin Newsom said that it is time to treat heroin abuse less as a crime and more like a medical problem. He added that efforts to halt drugs at the border or to "Just Say No" have failed.

December 24, 1998: The Times (UK) reports that the Prince of Wales expressed an interest in the effectiveness of cannabis in relieving the pain of diseases such as multiple sclerosis. During his annual visit to the Sue Ryder Home in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, he asked MS patient Karen Drake: "Have you tried taking cannabis? I have heard it's the best thing for it." Drake, 36, said afterwards: "I was surprised but I think I would like at least to try it. Anything that can help relieve the pain can only be for the good."

December 24, 2001: The North Carolina Lexington Dispatch reports the dismissal of 65 criminal cases investigated by three county narcotics officers charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy to distribute drugs. According to a federal affidavit issued in the case, law enforcement officers abused their authority in one or more ways, including writing fake search warrants, planting evidence and fabricating charges, keeping drugs and money seized during arrests, attempting to extort more money from the people arrested, and intimidating suspects and potential witnesses.

December 22, 2003: The Annenberg School for Communication (ASC) at the University of Pennsylvania releases a report on the Office of National Drug Control Policy�s National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. ASC was contracted by ONDCP to analyze the campaign as a whole and their work on marijuana specifically. ASC found there is little evidence that the tens of millions being spent every year are having any discernable impact on use of or attitudes toward marijuana among the nation's youth.

December 25, 2003: The Philippine Star reports that the campaign to rid the island of drugs by 2010 has resulted in cramming jails and paralyzing the justice system.

December 27, 2004: The Washington Post runs an article about FDA approval of MDMA/cancer anxiety research and the general renewal of research into the therapeutic potential of MDMA and psychedelic compounds.