Cannabis Study House - NORML Weekly News in Audio 2008.1.17

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Weekly News in Audio

January 17, 2008

White House Announces Dates, Locations For 2008 Regional Drug Testing Summits

Vermont: Senate Bill Seeks To Replace Minor Pot Penalties With Civil Fines

Study Highlights Limitations Of Urine Testing

Washington, DC:
White House Announces Dates, Locations For 2008 Regional Drug Testing Summits

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is once again sponsoring a series of regional summits to encourage middle-school and high school administrators to enact federally sponsored random student drug testing. The 2008 summits mark the fifth consecutive year that the White House is funding the symposiums, which are scheduled to take place this winter in Jacksonville, Florida (January 29), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (January 31), Albuquerque, New Mexico (February 6), and Indianapolis, Indiana (February 13).

"These summits fail to acknowledge the harsh realities of random student drug testing programs," NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. "These programs are humiliating, expensive failures. They fail to deter students from using drugs and alcohol, and they break down trust between teens and educators."

According to the results of a two-year prospective study published in the Journal of School Health in November, random drug testing programs that target high school athletes do not reduce self-reported drug use and may encourage behaviors associated with "future substance use."

Last year the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on School Health resolved, "There is little evidence of the effectiveness of school-based drug testing," and warned that students subjected to random testing programs may experience "an increase in known risk factors for drug use." The Academy also warned that school-based drug testing programs could decrease student involvement in extracurricular activities and undermine trust between pupils and educators.

A 2003 cross-sectional study of national student drug testing programs previously reported, "Drug testing, as practiced in recent years in American secondary schools, does not prevent or inhibit student drug use."

Since 2005, the US Department of Education has appropriated over $10 million dollars to enact random student drug testing programs in public schools and has sponsored over 20 regional summits.

Free registration to attend any of this year’s summits is available online at: http://summits.csrincorporated.com/index.cfm.

Montpelier, VT:
Vermont: Senate Bill Seeks To Replace Minor Pot Penalties With Civil Fines

Members of the Vermont Senate have introduced legislation seeking to decriminalize the possession and sale of small amounts of cannabis.

As introduced, Senate Bill 238 would replace existing criminal sanctions outlawing the possession, cultivation, and sale of minor quantities of pot with civil sanctions, punishable by a fine only.

Specifically, the bill would impose a civil penalty of no more than $250 upon first offenders found guilty of possessing up to two ounces of marijuana or growing up to two marijuana plants. Offenders found guilty of possessing between two and four ounces of marijuana and/or cultivating up to five marijuana plants would face civil fines of $1,000. Defendants found guilty of possessing or cultivating amounts above this threshold would face up to three years imprisonment.

Under current state law, the possession or cultivation of any amount of cannabis is a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to six months in jail.

Senate Bill 238 also seeks to reduce violations involving the transfer of small amounts of cannabis from a felony offense to a civil violation.

The bill is currently before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Members of the Burlington City Council are also debating a separate marijuana decriminalization resolution.

Currently, twelve states have enacted similar versions of marijuana decriminalization 窶� replacing criminal sanctions with the imposition of fine-only penalties for minor pot violators.

Kansas City, KS:
Study Highlights Limitations Of Urine Testing

Results of immunoassay urine screens 窶� the most popular type of workplace drug tests 窶� should always be considered presumptive until confirmed by a laboratory-based confirmation test (e.g., gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry testing), according to a review published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Investigators at the University of Kansas Medical Center conclude: "Immunoassays, which use antibodies to detect the presence of specific drugs or metabolites, are the most common method for the initial screening process. … However, these assays are not perfect. False positive results of immunoassays can lead to serious medical or socials consequences if the results are not confirmed by secondary analysis. … Also, urine drug screens do not provide information regarding the length of time since last [drug] ingestion, overall duration of [drug] abuse, or state of intoxication."

Authors report that various prescription and over-the-counter medications may yield false positive drug test results on immunoassay tests, though these results are primarily limited to amphetamines, opioids, and phencyclidine (PCP).

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