MONTGOMERY - The Alabama Senate voted 34- 0 Tuesday in favor of a medical study that would allow some people with epilepsy to have access to a cannabis-derived medicine. Despite the unanimous vote, the Legislature doesn't appear likely to approve the use of other forms of medical marijuana any time soon. "The regular kind, with the THC, I am not in support of," said Sen. Paul Sanford, R- Huntsville. Sanford is the sponsor of a bill called "Carly's Law" which would set up a five-year study, through the University of Alabama at Birmingham, in which the university would treat some patients who have severe epileptic seizures with cannabidiol, an oil derived from marijuana plants. The oil doesn't have the psychoactive effects people associate with marijuana, Sanford said. [continues 569 words]
The post-Sept. 11 crackdown in airport and border security may have made it harder to sneak contraband into the country, but local law enforcement officials say sales of Ecstasy and other illegal drugs are as brisk as ever. "As far as the supply in Gainesville goes there's no change whatsoever," said Ed van Winkle, head of the Gainesville Police Department's narcotics division. "There may be a change in what's coming across the border, but it hasn't had an effect in Gainesville yet." [continues 390 words]
The organizer of Gainesville's annual marijuana legalization festival says his group won a "major victory" this week when a federal appeals court struck down two city ordinances aimed at regulating public gatherings. "I think the city tried to use a scorched-earth policy to prevent one group from holding an event," Kevin Aplin, president of the Florida Cannabis Action Network, also known as CAN, said Friday. Since 1989, CAN has sponsored Hempfest in Gainesville. In 1995, the city denied the group two of the three permits it needed to hold the event. [continues 296 words]
