Cannabis Study House - NORML Weekly News in Audio 2006.7.06

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Weekly News in Audio

July 6, 2006

Cannabinoids Halt Pancreatic Cancer, Breast Cancer Growth, Studies Say

Alaska: Judge To Rule Next Week On Pot Recrim Law

NORML Remembers Lynn Zimmer: Noted Sociologist, Former NORML Board Member

Madrid, Spain:
Cannabinoids Halt Pancreatic Cancer, Breast Cancer Growth, Studies Say

Compounds in cannabis inhibit cancer cell growth in human breast cancer cell lines and in pancreatic tumor cell lines, according to a pair of preclinical trials published in the July issue of the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

In one trial, investigators at Complutense University in Spain and the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM) in France assessed the anti-cancer activity of cannabinoids in pancreatic cancer cell lines and in animals. Cannabinoid administration selectively increased apoptosis (programmed cell death) in pancreatic tumor cells while ignoring healthy cells, researchers found. In addition, "cannabinoid treatment inhibited the spreading of pancreatic tumor cells ... and reduced the growth of tumor cells" in animals.

"These findings may contribute to ... a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of pancreatic cancer," authors concluded.

In the second trial, investigators at Spain's Complutense University reported that THC administration "reduces human breast cancer cell proliferation [in vitro] by blocking the progression of the cell cycle and by inducing apoptosis." Authors concluded that their findings "may set the bases for a cannabinoid therapy for the management of breast cancer."

Previous preclinical data published in May in the Journal of Pharmacological and Experimental Therapeutics reported that non-psychoactive cannabinoids, particularly cannabidiol (CBD), dramatically halt the spread of breast cancer cells and recommended their use in cancer therapy.

Separate trials have also shown cannabinoids to reduce the size and halt the spread of glioma (brain tumor) cells in animals and humans in a dose dependent manner. Additional preclinical studies have demonstrated cannabinoids to inhibit cancer cell growth and selectively trigger malignant cell death in skin cancer cells, leukemic cells, lung cancer cells, and prostate carcinoma cells, among other cancerous cell lines.

Juneau, AK:
Alaska: Judge To Rule Next Week On Pot Recrim Law

A Juneau Superior Court judge heard arguments this week by lawyers for the Alaska branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) regarding the constitutionality of a new state law that criminalizes the possession of small amounts of cannabis in the privacy of one's home. The Alaska ACLU filed suit last month to block the enforcement of the law, arguing that it violates the privacy clause of the state constitution, which provides that "the right of the people to privacy is recognized and shall not be infringed."

In a 1975 Alaska state Supreme Court ruling (Ravin v State), justices determined that this provision encompassed the possession and use of cannabis in the home.

The Superior Court judge is expected to rule on Monday on the ACLU's request to enjoin the new law.

Under the law, signed by the Governor in June, possession of any amount of cannabis is punishable by jail time, and possession of greater than four ounces of cannabis is a felony offense.

New York, NY:
NORML Remembers Lynn Zimmer: Noted Sociologist, Former NORML Board Member

Lynn Zimmer - a longtime sociologist at Queens College, City University of New York and co-author of the book Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts - died Sunday, July 2, due to complications from Multiple Sclerosis. She was 59 years old.

Professor Zimmer was an outspoken critic of American drug policy and a published author of several titles investigating illicit drug use and addiction. Most notable among her many works, Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts - co-authored with NORML Advisory Board member John P. Morgan - has been published in seven languages and was praised by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) as "an important contribution to the marijuana and drug policy literature."

In 1995, Professor Zimmer joined NORML's Board of Directors, a position she held until 1999. She is a recipient of both the Lindesmith Award for Achievement in the Field of Scholarship from the Drug Policy Foundation (now the Drug Policy Alliance) and the Lester Grinspoon Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Marijuana Law Reform from NORML.

"Lynn was an articulate truth-teller and thoughtful academician who favored depenalizing the use, possession and cultivation of cannabis by adults," NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said. "Her insight, wit, and knowledge of the cannabis issue will be sorely missed by those working to inject some needed sanity into America's irrational marijuana laws."

NORML expresses its sincere condolences to the friends and family of Lynn Zimmer.

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