Cannabis News on 12th March, 2004

• Russia - No Jail For Drug Users
  Stopthedrugwar.org
  

  As of today, Russian drug users and people in possession of small amounts of illegal drugs no longer face any jail time. Under previous Russian law, smoking marijuana or being caught with as little as one-tenth of a gram of it could bring a three-year prison sentence. 

• Time To Cut Through The Legal Haze of Marijuana
  Times-Standard, Editorial
  

  There has been a lot of debate about medical marijuana laws—most of it revolving around how much should be allowed for consumption, distribution and production for medical purposes. The arguments range from the federal position of zero tolerance to liberal cries of make it all legal.

• New Drug Could Affect Debate on Medical Pot
  Drew Johnson-Skinner, Hill News
  

  Medical-marijuana advocates are celebrating the expected approval of a marijuana-based pain reliever in Britain but remain cautious about any impact the move will have on marijuana-policy reform in the United States. 

• Drug Czar Critical of Marijuana Initiative
  Juliet V. Casey, Las Vegas Review-Journal
  

  The nation’s drug czar described as foolhardy Thursday the latest Nevada initiative to legalize marijuana. John Walters, in Las Vegas to push for a crackdown on the abuse of prescriptions drugs, said legalizing marijuana is “not an area for legitimate debate.”

• White House Gets Permission To Lie
  Common Dreams, Press Release
  

  Responding to a request by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), the General Accounting Office (ONDCP), the investigative arm of Congress, yesterday gave the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy unfettered permission to mislead the public in the name of opposing “drug legalization.”