Cable Briefs

Press, 23 February 1978, Page 8

Cable Briefs

‘Pot’ for patients Governor Jerry Apodaca, of New Mexico, has signed into law a bill allowing cancer patients to obtain and smoke marijuana to ease nausea and relieve painful side-effects of chemotherapy, treatments. The legislature! passed the act last week at I the request of Lynn Pierson, aged 26. a University of’ New Mexico business stu- j dent who is undergoing chemotherapy for lung can-1 cer. -Mr Pierson said that} smoking about 100 marijuana cigarettes a month reduces vomiting and allows him to eat solids while he undergoes chembtheiapy. Cancer patients who do not respond to other treatments to ease chemotherapy will i be certified by a board of physicians to receive the marijuana. Glaucoma patients who can certify smoking marijuana eases sight problems are also eligble. — Santa Fe. Proposal rejected The Soviet Union has rejected as completely unacceptable a tough Western draft of a final declaration for the stalemated European security conference, containing detailed proposals on human rights. The 22-page Western proposal was supported by all member ■ of the Western North Atlantic Treaty Organisation military alliance except France, which tabled its own version earlier this week. The chief Soviet delegate (Mr Yuli Vo, rontsov) speaking at a plenary session of the 35-nation gathering, declared that he was not even prepared to consider the document, saying it represented an attempt to revise the 1975 Helsinki accords on EastWest detente, which the conference is reviewing. — Belgrade. Saccharin teaming All food products in America containing saccharin must now carry a label warning people the artificial sweetener may cause cancer. Among other places, the notice will appear on the little containers of sugar substitutes in restaurants and coffee shops, apd on the side or top of soft-drink cans, which accounts for 74 per cent of all saccharin in food. Congress voted to delay a proposed ban on saccharin for 18 months, but to require the warning label meanwhile. — Washington. Dogs suffocate More than 100 sled dogs cooped up in a transport plane went berserk during the flight and suffocated to death before reaching a Japanese expedition planning a trek to the North Pole, the Canadian police have said. One crew member was quoted as saying the crated dogs “just went crazy” and broke out of their crates and fought amongst themselves while being flown to the remote Arctic outpost in the Northwest Territories of Canada where the expedition was to start. — Yellowknife (Canada). Senators barred Two Australian senators were refused entry to Parliament House by security guards when they arrived early for the opening of Parliament on Tuesday, the Opposition Whip (Senator George Georges) has said. Two senators arriving early in the morning were refused entry because they did not have passes, and their luggage was searched, Senator Georges said, in spite of instructions that no member or senator was to be barred. Senator Condor Laucke, president of the Senate, who was responsible for security arrangements said he would investigate the situation further. A heavy guard has been placed on Parliament after the bombing of the Sydney Hilton Hotel last week. — Canberra.