USA No new court ruling:
 A federal appeals court in Californa has refused to reconsider its ruling that allows Californians to grow and use cannabis medicinally. The Bush administration had asked the court, for the Ninth Circuit, to hold a new hearing on that ruling, issued by three judges in December on a lawsuit filed by two women with chronic illnesses. But in an order of 26 Februay, the court denied the request. The ruling allows tens of thousands of people in California and six other Western states with laws that permit the medical use marijuana to continue it without fearing federal prosecution. (Source: New York Times of 27 February 2004)

Jamaica:
Parliamentary committee for decriminalisation The Parliamentary Committee considering the report of the National Commission on Ganja agreed on 17 February to support the decriminalisation of ganja for private personal use. It recommends, "that the relevant laws be amended so that the private, personal use of ganja be no longer an offence." The Ganja Commission, headed by Professor Barry Chevannes, had recommended in 2001 that the personal use of ganja be decriminalised.
This report is available at: www.cannabis-med.org/science/jamaica.htm. (Source: The Jamaica Gleaner of 18 February 2004)

Spain:
Catalonia The health ministry of the regional governement of Catalonia (capital: Barcelona) announced that it intends to make a cannabis extract available to patients, since "we cannot deny the possibility of the medical value of some cannabis extracts." Today, only the synthetic THC derivative nabilone, which is imported from the UK, is available in Spain. (Source: azprensa.com of 28 February 2004)

Science:
Anti-inflammatory activity of CBD Italian researchers of the University of Milan-Bicocca demonstrated that cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive constituent of cannabis, was effective in reducing acute carrageenan-induced inflammation in the rat paw. CBD reduced the levels of prostaglandin E2, the activity of cyclooxygenase and the production of nitric oxide and free radicals that were elevated after inflammation. Researchers concluded that "cannabidiol has a beneficial action on two symptoms of established inflammation: edema and hyperalgesia." Hyperalgesia denotes increased sensitivity for pain. (Source: Costa B, et al. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 2004 [Electronic publication ahead of print])