Washington, DC: The findings of a study published earlier this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry alleging that smoking marijuana can 'double' one's risk of psychosis or schizophrenia are in conflict with those previous reviews and ought to be interpreted with caution, says NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano.

"Despite claims that marijuana use may play a causal role in diagnosed incidences of schizophrenia, there exists no empirical evidence anywhere on Earth indicating that populations which have experienced rising rates of cannabis use have also experienced a parallel increase in rates of mental illness," Armentano said.

Most recently, a 2009 systematic review published in the scientific journal Schizophrenia Research compared trends in marijuana use and incidences of schizophrenia in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2005. Researchers reported that the "incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia and psychoses were either stable or declining" during this period, even the use of cannabis among the general population was rising.

Armentano said that a non-causal association likely exists between marijuana use and psychosis because the symptoms of mental illness often strike early in life at a time when young people are likely to be already experimenting with cannabis. He also speculated that some people diagnosed with psychotic disorders might be turning to cannabis after the onset of symptoms as a form of self-medication.

Ultimately, however, Armentano said that even if the latest concerns about the potential adverse effect of marijuana use are to be taken at face value, then such findings support a policy of cannabis legalization and regulation not criminal prohibition.

"Health risks connected with pot use when scientifically documented should not be seen as legitimate reasons for criminal prohibition, but instead, as reasons for the plant's legal regulation." he said. "For example, we as a society don't regulate the production, use, and sale of alcohol because it is innocuous, but rather because we acknowledge that its consumption, in some situations, may pose a risk of harm. Placed in this context, today's latest warnings do little to advance the government's position in favor of tightening prohibition, and provide ample ammunition to wage for its repeal."

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. NORML's commentary on the subject of marijuana use and mental illness is available on the NORML blog at: http://blog.norml.org.

Providence, RI: House lawmakers on Wednesday for the first time introduced statewide legislation that seeks to legalize the production, distribution, and personal use of marijuana for adults age 21 and older.

As introduced, House Bill 7838: The Taxation and Regulation of Marijuana Act, would exempt adults from any statewide criminal or civil penalty for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana, the not-for-profit transfer of small amounts of marijuana, and/or the cultivation of up to three marijuana plants. The proposal also establishes licensing requirements for the commercial cultivation and distribution of marijuana via retail facilities. Licensed commercial producers will be imposed a $50 per ounce excise tax under the measure.

Under current law, the possession of any amount of marijuana is a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $500 fine. The cultivation or sale of marijuana of any amount of marijuana is classified as a felony offense, punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

In February, lawmakers introduced separate legislation H. 7317 which seeks to reduce minor marijuana possession offenses to a civil offense punishable by no more than a $150 fine.

A special legislative task force is conducting an ongoing review of the state's marijuana policies. The nine-member panel is required to issue its recommendations to the legislature by March 31, 2010.

Similar marijuana legalization bills have been debated already this year in California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Washington.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at 202-483-5500. For additional information regarding HB 7317, please visit NORML's 'Take Action Center' at: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/.

Chapel Hill, NC: More than one-half of school districts that randomly drug test their students impose punitive punishments for test failures that are contrary to federal advisory guidelines, according to a national study published in the Journal of School Health and summarized in the January 2010 online edition of the NIDA (National Institutes on Drug Abuse) News Scan.

Researchers at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in North Carolina analyzed data from a national sample of 1,922 school districts, of which 205 administered suspicionless drug testing programs to the student body. Authors found that more than half of the districts that enacted random drug testing imposed severely punitive punishments upon those students with test failures.

Many districts "reported consequences contraindicated by federal advisory guides, such as notifying law enforcement officials (45.1%) and suspending the student from an athletic team (65.0%) or from school (31.0%)," investigators reported noting that schools that contacted police following a positive test result engaged in "a serious breach of protocol."

Commenting on the study, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: "Random student drug testing is a humiliating, invasive, and expensive practice that may inadvertently drive at-risk students toward socially deviant behavior through the misuse of these type of punitive sanctions."

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "Responses to positive results from suspicionless random drug tests in US public school districts," appears in the Journal of School Health.