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Legalizace: Prague high

2010-09-05T17:58:52+04:00

24 August 2010 – The freshly appointed National Drug Coordinator Jindřich Vobořil, who assumed his post on 1 July, has his hands full. Although the partial decriminalization of cannabis at the beginning of this year didn't transform the capital into the new Amsterdam, as some headlines suggested, the accessibility of soft drugs, Vobořil says, has secured the Czech Republic one of the highest rankings in Europe regarding cannabis use. According to a 2009 report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, for the third time in a row, Czechs rank among top four heaviest cannabis users in Europe, and almost half of those aged between 15 and 24 have used marihuana at least once.

„To buy a narcotic in a small village you need to know phone numbers, dealers,“ Vobořil says. „In the capital going to Wenceslas Square is enough.“

Praguers know well that it takes as much as asking a bartender, or heading to spots like Chapeau Rouge or Můstek after dark.

For those not well-versed in the city's green scene, there are ample online forums where willing individuals offer help with supply, share links and emails, including, for instance, http://prague.tv/…annabis:2570 or [www.techno.cz] .

Tomáš Gřivna, PhD expert in criminal law at Prague's Charles University, emphasizes that despite partial decriminalization, marijuana is still illegal in the Czech Republic.

„The only change in law that occurred, is such that possession of some amounts of certain drugs is a minor offense now, and not, as yet, a crime,“ he explains.

The possession of more than the allowed 15 grams of cannabis is subject to a fine of up to CZK 15,000, or imprisonment of up to one year.

That's theory. In reality, not many drug users care about the margins of legality as punishment for cannabis use is rare. According to the mentioned EMCDDA report, 87 % of all drug law offences in the Czech Republic were related to supply; less than 10 % concerned use.

„The police doesn't pay any attention,“ says Josef Kavka, a student at Charles University. „Among my friends 50% use cannabis once a month, 20–30% once a week, the rest avoids it.“

According to Vobořil, due to lack of resources, the drug squad of 150–200 is forced to mainly focus on riskier drugs like methamphetamines and heroine.

To curb the number of soft-drug users, he suggests law changes that would also penalize club owners, not just sellers, as well as tougher punishment for suppliers. He mentions that, currently, the law doesn't distinguish between a regular dealer and one who supplies the underage.

A key ingredient to remedy the widespread use of cannabis, though, he says, is greater public awareness. „What we need is closer communication with local communities and social services, like in United Kingdom where BAP teams adjust antidrug policy to particular areas.“

Zdroj: http://praguemonitor.com

Legalizace: Research on cannabis and Multiple Sclerosis

2010-06-30T10:22:41+04:00

An estimated 350,000 people in the United States are living with multiple sclerosis (MS), a debilitating and sometimes fatal disorder of the central nervous system. MS is the most common debilitating neurologic disease of young people, often appearing between the ages of 20 and 40, affecting more women than men. Symptoms vary considerably from person to person; however, one frequently noted concomitant is spasticity, which causes pain, spasms, loss of function and difficulties in nursing care.

MS exacerbations appear to be caused by abnormal immune activity that causes inflammation and the destruction of myelin (the protective covering of nerve fibers) in the brain or spinal cord. MS most frequently presents at onset as a relapsing and remitting disorder, where symptoms come and go. Current treatment of MS is primarily symptomatic, focusing on such problems as spasticity, pain, fatigue, bladder problems and depression.

Anecdotal reports and a small controlled study have reported that cannabis improved spasticity and, to some extent, improved tremor in MS patients. Many studies of the pharmacology of cannabis have identified effects on motor systems of the central nervous system that have the potential of affecting tremor and spasticity. A recent carefully controlled study of the efficacy of THC in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, the animal model of MS, demonstrated significant amelioration of these two MS symptoms. Moreover, cannabis has demonstrated effects on immune function that also have the potential of reducing the autoimmune attack that is thought to be the underlying pathogenic process in MS.

Many MS patients report that cannabis has a startling and profound effect on muscle spasms, tremors, balance, bladder control, speech and eyesight. Many wheelchair-bound patients report that they can walk unaided when they have smoked cannabis.

A House of Lords reports states that the British Multiple Sclerosis Society (consisting of some 35,000 MS-suffering patients) estimates that as many as 4% of their population already use cannabis for the relief of their symptoms despite the considerable legal risks associated with prohibition. The chairman of the committee went on to state that, „We have seen enough evidence to convince us that a doctor might legitimately want to prescribe cannabis to relieve…the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and that the criminal law ought not to stand in the way.“ Many of the witnesses for that report shared the British Medical Association's view that „A high priority should be given to carefully controlled trials of cannabinoids in patients with chronic spastic disorders.“ The BMA has requested that the synthetic cannabinoids Nabilone and Dronabinol be officially licensed for use in MS and other spastic disorders. Research findings on cannabis and MS Zdroj: www.medical-marijuana-testimonials.org