A NON PROFIT LEGAL, RESEARCH, AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION
             The NORML                    1001 CONNECTICUT AVENUE NW
            Foundation                            SUITE 1010
                                            WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036
         T 202-483-8751 ? F 202-483-0057 ? E-MAIL NORMLFNDTN@AOL.COM
                        Internet http://www.norml.org
   . . . a weekly service for the media on news items related to marijuana
                                prohibition.
                                July 3, 1997
       Oregon Legislature Ends 24 Years Of Marijuana Decriminalization
          July 3, 1997, Salem OR:  Governor John Kitzhaber (D) signed
legislation at the eleventh hour last night that recriminalizes the
possession of less than one ounce of marijuana.  A press statement released
today from the governor admits that he signed the measure "with a good deal
of reluctance."
          House Bill 3643 increases the penalty for possession of less than
an ounce of marijuana from a non-criminal "violation" to a class C
misdemeanor crime.  Under the new law, individuals would be arrested and, if
convicted, could face up to 30 days in jail, a $1,000 fine, and loss of
their driving privileges for six months.
          Passage of the bill came despite a strong effort from NORML and
other national and local drug-law reform organizations.  NORML Executive
Director R. Keith Stroup led a task-force opposing H.B. 3643 that conducted
field polling and organized opposition in an attempt to convince the
governor to veto the legislation.  State reform groups, including Portland
NORML, first attempted to stop the measure in the Legislature and
subsequently conducted a telephone campaign to persuade Gov. Kitzhaber to
kill the measure.  Kitzhaber acknowledged many of NORML's concerns when
expressing his reluctance to sign the new law.
          "The difficult question raised by this legislation ... is the
delicate balance between the public safety of our society at large and the
civil liberties of it's individual citizens," Kitzhaber explained in a
released statement.  "I am willing to give this legislation the benefit of
the doubt, but I will direct the Criminal Justice Commission to closely
monitor how it is being implemented and what effect it is having.  ... If
... the measure proves to be ineffective -- or if it is used for such
purposes as harassment rather than for legitimate law enforcement objectives
-- then it should be repealed and we should return to current law."
          Kitzhaber further remarked that he felt most law enforcement
agents would continue to treat marijuana possession cases as violations.  In
this respect, he said that "this measure has less to do with the possession
of marijuana as it does with expanding the powers of search and seizure," a
position which Kitzhaber favors.
          NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup strongly criticized the
adoption of the new law.  "This law will cost Oregonians millions in already
scarce law enforcement resources that should be focused on violent crime,
broadly expand the powers of law enforcement and reduce the privacy rights
of citizens, and needlessly criminalize tens of thousands of otherwise
law-abiding adult Oregonians who smoke marijuana.
          "Nearly one-third of Americans live in states which have now had a
15-20 year real-world experience with marijuana decriminalization, and the
experience has been overwhelmingly favorable.  Contrary to fears expressed
by some, marijuana usage rates are virtually the same in states that have
decriminalized in states where marijuana smokers are still arrested.
Moreover, research fails to demonstrate any change in attitudes in marijuana
use among young people in decriminalized states.
          Stroup added, "Otherwise law abiding citizens who smoke marijuana
are not part of the crime problem and it is both fiscally wasteful and
needlessly harmful to treat them as if they were."
          Oregon was the first state to decriminalize the possession of
small amounts of marijuana in 1973.  Presently, marijuana decriminalization
laws remain in effect in California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, and Ohio.  Individuals
found possessing small amounts of marijuana in these states receive a
traffic-like citation and must pay a small fine.
          For more information, please contact either R. Keith Stroup of
NORML @ (202) 483-5500 or Terry Miller of Portland NORML @ (503) 777-9088.
                                    -END-
  MORE THAN 10 MILLION MARIJUANA ARRESTS SINCE 1965 . . . ANOTHER EVERY 54
                                  SECONDS!
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         A NON PROFIT LEGAL, RESEARCH, AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION
             The NORML                    1001 CONNECTICUT AVENUE NW
            Foundation                            SUITE 1010
                                            WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036
         T 202-483-8751 ? F 202-483-0057 ? E-MAIL NORMLFNDTN@AOL.COM
                        Internet http://www.norml.org
        NEWS RELEASE ** NEWS RELEASE ** NEWS RELEASE ** NEWS RELEASE
                                July 3, 1997
            NORML Responds To Recent Marijuana And Brain Studies
  Rat Studies Must Not Overshadow Decades Of Epidemiological Human Research
 That Fails To Demonstrate That Marijuana Has The Kind Of Serious Dependence
                  Liability Of Heroin, Alcohol, Or Tobacco
          July 3, 1997, Washington, D.C., 1997:  Recent studies performed on
rats lend little support to the notion that marijuana may act as a "gateway"
to harder drugs in humans, the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws (NORML) announced today.
          Two independent studies reported in this month's edition of
Science Magazine revealed that marijuana-like synthetic agents induced
chemical changes in the brains of rats that are commonly associated with
drugs of dependence.  The first study, conducted by a team of researchers in
Italy, demonstrated that THC -- one of the active ingredient in marijuana --
stimulated the release of a neurochemical called dopamine in the so-called
"reward pathways" of the brain.  The second study indicated that rats
suffered effects of mild withdrawal from the chemical HU-210, a potent
substance that mimics the effects of marijuana, when administered a blocking
agent directly in the brain. Some scientists speculate that the findings
from these two studies, when examined together, show that marijuana
manipulates the brain's stress and reward systems the same way as more
potent drugs.
          While NORML does not question the actual science of these latest
studies, the organization sharply criticizes the "real-world application" of
their findings.  "Many substances have some dependence liability, including
legal ones like chocolate, sugar, and caffeine, and illegal ones, such as
cocaine and heroin," NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup explained.
"The issue is not whether or not marijuana has any dependence liability, but
its relative dependence liability compared to other drugs.  This research
further supports, rather than challenges, the assertion that marijuana does
not have sufficient abuse potential for Schedule I status because it
explains the neurological basis the mild withdrawal symptoms that
occasionally occur and emphasizes the chronic levels of use necessary to
induce them.
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