Dallas / Ft. Worth NORML

Dear MPP Supporter :

It’s been another big year for medical marijuana in 2010. New Jersey and Washington, D.C., joined the growing list of jurisdictions where patients can legally obtain medical marijuana, with South Dakota, Oregon, and Arizona slated to vote on medical marijuana initiatives in November. Perhaps most shocking, though, was the introduction and success of medical marijuana bills in the legislatures of states where one might not expect a lot of support for medical marijuana. Kansas, Virginia, and North Carolina considered medical marijuana bills, and bills in Tennessee and Alabama were actually approved by one or more legislative committees. Now Texas joins the list of conservative states that may be considering medical marijuana.

Late last month the Texas Democratic Party held their statewide convention, at which the party decides what issues are important enough to be made a part of their campaign platform. In addition to resolutions calling for improving public education, promoting green jobs, and calling for development of renewable energy resources, delegates at the convention voted in favor of adopting a resolution calling on legislators in Austin to pass medical marijuana in the Lone Star State. The resolution noted that medical marijuana has the capacity to ease the symptoms associated with certain medical conditions and treatments, and correctly pointed out that revenue from taxation would help raise revenue toward state budget shortfalls.

by Julian Aguilar, The Texas Tribune
August 5, 2010

Stephen Betzen’s life changed the morning he found a gift from a stranger on the steps of his house. At the time, his wife, Rachel was reeling from a combination of Lyme disease and injuries from a car wreck. If the opiates prescribed by her doctors eased her pain, they left her nearly comatose, Betzen says. If they didn’t, he awoke to her screams.

The gift was a bag of marijuana.

“We had hit rock bottom, and here is this medicine on our porch — and we were actually having to think about [using] it,” he says. The next day, he says. he heard the most beautiful sound: “The sound of silence when my wife wasn’t in tears.”

Betzen is now the executive director of Texas Coalition for Compassionate Care, a Dallas-based nonprofit that, alongside Texas NORML and Medcan University, is lobbying legislators in hopes of reforming Texas’ marijuana laws. The organizations don't agree on strategy, however, with the TCCC pushing only for a limited law allowing medical use as a defense against criminal charges, and the others seeking broader legalization that would include permitting and regulating sales outlets.

Chief Greenbud is coming to Opening Bell Coffee on October 7th!! Thu: October 7th, 2010 Times: 8pm Address: 1409 S. Lamar Street Web Site: Opening Bell

Welcome all to the 4th Annual REGGAE MADNESS!

We have been blessed with the support from the beautiful people of TEXAS over these years!
And we would like to celebrate each year with REGGAE MADNESS.

Come share the love and enjoy a wonderful night filled with local artist, vendors and sexy people!!!

Saturday: AUGUST 28th, 2010 @ 9pm
$7 for members of NORML / $10 for nonmembers

GREEN ELEPHANT
5627 Dyer Street
Dallas, TX 75206-5003
(214) 265-1338

August 4th, 2010 By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

[Editor's note: This post is excerpted from this week's forthcoming NORML weekly media advisory. To have NORML's media advisories delivered straight to your in-box, sign up for NORML's free e-zine here.]

The administration of THC reduces the tumor growth of metastatic breast cancer and “might constitute a new therapeutic tool for the treatment” of cancerous tumors, according to preclinical data published online in the journal Molecular Cancer.

Investigators from Complutense University in Madrid assessed the anti-tumor potential of THC and JWH-133, a non-psychotropic CB2 receptor-selective agonist, in the treatment of ErbB2-positive breast tumors – a highly aggressive form of breast cancer that is typically unresponsive to standard therapies.

A few years ago NORML sponsored a contest for the best short video clip in support of cannabis legalization. The time limit for the submitted cartoons and videos was 30 seconds. However, a gentleman submitted a unique and highly allegorical video entitled ‘The Flower’ that ran nearly 3 minutes long, which disqualified it from consideration. Over the ensuing months the artist contacted NORML a number of times with amended versions, never quite right with the narrative or pacing of the story he was trying to tell.

No more.

He’s nailed it and we’re all the better for it:

Flex Your Rights has made their new film, 10 Rules for Dealing with Police, available for free on YouTube.

For more information see: http://flexyourrights.org/10_Rules/