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   . . . a weekly service for the media on news items related to marijuana
                                prohibition.
                              October 23, 1997
     Ingestion Of Legal Hemp Seed Oil Can Cost You Your Job, Two Recent
                               Studies Reveal
        October 23, 1997, Washington, D.C.:   Ingesting legal hemp seed oil
may cause an individual to fail a standard urine drug screen, according to
two reports in the August issue of The Journal of Analytical Toxicology.
        Results of a study recently completed by ARUP laboratories in Utah
indicate, "Commercially available cold-pressed hemp seed oil contains
cannabinoids at levels capable of producing a positive standard workplace
drug test.  ... A dose consistent with the manufacturer's recommendation ...
[is] sufficient to cause a positive finding for cannabinoid metabolites in a
workplace urine drug testing procedure designed to detect marijuana use."
The study noted that no pharmacological effects were observed in test
subjects after consuming hemp seed oil.
        A letter to the editor published in the same issue affirmed the ARUP
findings with those of a team of international researchers.   "We would like
to report on the possibility of achieving a positive urinalysis for THC
metabolites after modest consumption of commercially available hemp seed oil
in Cannabis-naive individuals," the letter states.  "Thus, in absence of
recreational drug use, it may become necessary to consider this source as a
viable explanation for cannabinoid metabolites in urine."
        Hemp seed oil is sold commercially in health food stores across the
nation.  Presently, health professionals like Dr. Andrew Weil tout the
nutritional benefits of hemp seed oil, noting that it is second only to soy
in protein and contains the highest concentration of essential amino and
fatty acids found in any food.
        Hemp seed oil may be applied to foods just prior to consumption or
ingested in capsule form.  Participants in the studies tested positive for
THC regardless of which way they consumed the oil.
        "Urinalysis is not a reliable indicator of workplace impairment, and
in some instances, is not even a true detector of past marijuana use," said
Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of The NORML Foundation.   "As the use
of hemp seed oil gains popularity, employers need to recognize that this
legal product may test positive for THC."
        For more information or copies of the studies, please contact either
Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of The NORML Foundation @ (202)
483-8751.  For more information on hemp seed oil's nutritional potential,
please contact NORML board member Don Wirtshafter of The Ohio Hempery @
(614) 662-4367.
California County Supervisor To Meet With Attorney General Regarding Plan To
            Distribute Medical Marijuana In County-Run Facilities
        October 23, 1997, Sacramento, CA:   San Mateo County Supervisor Mike
Nevin will meet with state Attorney General Dan Lungren on November 14 to
discuss a proposal to distribute medical marijuana through county-run
facilities.
        "It just makes sense," Nevin told The San Francisco Chronicle.  He
suggested that local hospitals and pharmacies dispense medical marijuana in
order to eliminate the need for private Cannabis Buyers' Clubs which are not
uniformly regulated.
        "We already have in place a secure system where people can receive
medication," he added.  Presently, the county has a local ordinance
prohibiting the establishment of Cannabis Buyers' Clubs.
        Legal analysts note that the proposed policy would likely run
contrary to federal law unless the marijuana was supplied by a branch of the
National Institutes of Health (NIH). Presently, federal law prohibits state
entities from distributing marijuana unless it is mandated for "research
purposes" only.   During the late 1970s and early 1980s, several state
boards of health distributed marijuana to certified patients under this
provision.  In all cases, the marijuana was provided by the federal
government.
        NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup said that it is unlikely
the federal government would supply marijuana for such a program at this
time.
        For more information, please contact either Dale Gieringer of
California NORML @ (415) 563-5858 or Allen St. Pierre of The NORML
Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.  A report outlining the history of state-run
medical marijuana research programs is available from The NORML Foundation
upon request.
   Washington D.C. Political Leaders Sign On To Medical Marijuana Petition
                                    Drive
        October 23, 1997, Washington, D.C.:   District of Columbia Council
Chair Linda Cropp and Mayor Marion Barry are two recent signatories of a
petition drive to place a medical marijuana initiative on the city ballot,
according to a recent press release by the AIDS awareness group ACT-UP.
        The release also named all four of the candidates running in the
December 2, 1998 special election for the at-large DC Council seat as
signatories.
        "The only council member to refuse my personal request to sign
Initiative 57 has been Republican Carol Schwartz," said ACT-UP spokesman
Steve Michael.  "This clearly indicates that there is broad based support
for [medical marijuana.]
        Repeated calls by NORML to Marion Barry's office neither confirmed
nor denied whether the mayor supports the legal use of medical marijuana.  A
spokeswoman from Linda Cropp's office told NORML that she does not
necessarily support Initiative 57, but believes that District voters should
have the opportunity to decide the issue.
        The District's Initiative 57 would legalize the possession and
cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes under a physician's
supervision.  Members of ACT-UP filed the initiative earlier this year after
interim Council Chair Charlene Drew Jarvis and U.S. Attorney Eric Holder
proposed legislation to stiffen penalties for the possession of marijuana.
        For more information, please contact ACT-UP @ (202) 547-9404.
     New York City Political Candidate Runs On Marijuana Reform Platform
        October 23, 1997, New York, NY:   Manhattan borough presidential
candidate Thomas Leighton believes that adults should be free to use
marijuana recreationally and medicinally, and vows to halt rising marijuana
arrests if elected this November.
        "Responsible adults who use marijuana should not be arrested or put
in prison," Leighton states in his campaign literature.   "Even though the
maximum punishment in New York [under state law] for using or possessing
marijuana is ... a small fine, pot smokers in New York City are now arrested
and jailed instead of ... given a summons.  This is a radical and costly
change from long-standing city policy."
        According to the state's Division of Criminal Justice Services,
citywide arrests for marijuana possession rose from 1,766 in 1990 to nearly
11,000 in 1996.  By comparison, arrests for marijuana sales remained
virtually the same.
        "While I am sure that Mayor [Rudoplh Giuliani] feels that these
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