tagged w/ Medical Marijuana
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And from the very start, the cannabis was a godsend for Sam’s family. “The first time we did it, we wanted to see if it would work at all,” Steve recalls. “It was an amazing experience, I’ll never forget it, as we watched what happened, it was like ‘He’s back!’ It was like all this anguish, pent-up rage and aggressiveness went away — it just calmed him down.” http://hempnewstv.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/10-year-old-with-autism-benefits-from-medical-marijuana/And from the very start, the cannabis was a godsend for Sam’s family. “The first... more
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Businessman Len Goodman owns a company that makes hand-painted art tiles, but these days his office desk is strewn with the raw materials of a new enterprise: fat, sweetly pungent marijuana buds.
Newly licensed by the state to produce and distribute medical marijuana, Goodman must decide which strains he will grow in a steel-doored industrial building somewhere in Santa Fe County that will soon be converted into a high-tech indoor greenhouse.
"Every one is different," Goodman said of the brownish buds in plastic bags. "It's like wine."
While California confronts a proliferation of pot shops and Colorado wrestles with regulations, New Mexico is slowly and quietly breathing life into a 2007 law that allows patients with certain medical conditions to get relief from marijuana.
The first state to license producers, New Mexico gave the OK to one nonprofit in March and four others last week.
Patients with a qualifying condition - there are 15 - must get recommendations from medical providers, apply to the Department of Health, then, if they are approved, reapply each year.
There were 755 approved patients as of last week, according to the state agency.
"This is medical marijuana," said Goodman, who submitted 100 pages of plans to the department to get licensed. "This is not de facto legalization."
The licensing of four new nonprofits is welcome news to patients. The first provider ran out of marijuana shortly after it began distribution in July, and wasn't expected to have more for months.
With each producer limited to 95 plants, there was no way for one nonprofit to keep up with the growing demand as more patients were certified.
The medical cannabis program, as the department refers to it, "will continue to proceed carefully ... so we can meet the needs of our patients while not creating an excess supply," Health Secretary Dr. Alfredo Vigil said when he announced the latest licensing.
The department doesn't disclose the names of patients or producers, saying it wants to ensure their safety.
Goodman, who came forward on his own, isn't critical of the department's policy but says he thinks patients and producers should be forthright.
"I think the faster we move away from a paranoid drug dealer model to a normal business model, the better it's going to be," he said. "It's like coming out of the closet. If people are not out of the closet, nothing changes."
Goodman arrived in New Mexico in the late 1960s and lived briefly at the famed New Buffalo community in Taos, inspiration for the commune scene in the film "Easy Rider." He started Arius Tile in 1972.
He is also a registered medical marijuana patient, who says he smokes occasionally for post traumatic stress disorder stemming from a fatal automobile accident in 1992. He said marijuana helped him shake his longtime reliance on prescription anti-anxiety and anti-depression drugs and "became a medicine for me."
He sees providing medical marijuana as a public service. His nonprofit, NewMexiCann, plans to do patient outreach and advocacy.
"Whether they buy from us it doesn't matter. We believe in medical marijuana," he said.
He hopes to be able to begin distribution as early as February. He'll make deliveries to patients, rather than have a dispensary.
The health department estimates each producer should be able to supply about 100 people. Of the 755 approved patients, more than 200 have been authorized to grow their own marijuana.
Reena Szczepanski, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico, who lobbied for the law, said the state-licensed production provision grew out of concerns of patients who didn't want to get the state's OK to use the drug then be forced to buy it illegally. It became a model for other states, she said.
Click link...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MEDICAL_MARIJUANA_NEW_MEXICO?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-11-16-09-27-05Businessman Len Goodman owns a company that makes hand-painted art tiles, but these... more
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Suffering from cancer, and sickened by opium based pharmaceuticals, talks about his medical marijuana needs.Suffering from cancer, and sickened by opium based pharmaceuticals, talks about his... more
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Lou Dobbs - “Some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day.”
Is this the winds of change?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG05GqzpriA&feature=player_embeddedLou Dobbs - “Some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go... more
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The American Medical Assn. changes its policy to promote clinical research and development of cannabis-based medicines and alternative delivery methods.
The American Medical Assn. on Tuesday urged the federal government to reconsider its classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical use, a significant shift that puts the prestigious group behind calls for more research.
The nation's largest physicians organization, with about 250,000 member doctors, the AMA has maintained since 1997 that marijuana should remain a Schedule I controlled substance, the most restrictive category, which also includes heroin and LSD.
In changing its policy, the group said its goal was to clear the way to conduct clinical research, develop cannabis-based medicines and devise alternative ways to deliver the drug.
"Despite more than 30 years of clinical research, only a small number of randomized, controlled trials have been conducted on smoked cannabis," said Dr. Edward Langston, an AMA board member, noting that the limited number of studies was "insufficient to satisfy the current standards for a prescription drug product."
The decision by the organization's delegates at a meeting in Houston marks another step in the evolving view of marijuana, which an AMA report notes was once linked by the federal government to homicidal mania. Since California voters approved the use of medical marijuana in 1996, marijuana has moved steadily into the cultural mainstream spurred by the growing awareness that it can have beneficial effects for some chronically ill people.
This year, the Obama administration sped up that drift when it ordered federal narcotics agents not to arrest medical marijuana users and providers who follow state laws. Polls show broadening support for marijuana legalization.
Thirteen states allow the use of medical marijuana, and about a dozen more have considered it this year.
The AMA, however, also adopted as part of its new policy a sentence that admonishes: "This should not be viewed as an endorsement of state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana, or that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets the current standards for a prescription drug product."
The association also rejected a proposal to issue a more forceful call for marijuana to be rescheduled.
Nevertheless, marijuana advocates welcomed the development. "They're clearly taking an open-minded stance and acknowledging that the evidence warrants a review. That is very big," said Bruce Mirken, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project. "It's not surprising that they are moving cautiously and one step at a time, but this is still a very significant change."
Advocates also noted that the AMA rejected an amendment that they said would have undercut the medical marijuana movement. The measure would have made it AMA's policy that "smoking is an inherently unsafe delivery method for any therapeutic agent, and therefore smoked marijuana should not be recommended for medical use."
Dr. Michael M. Miller, a psychiatrist who practices addiction medicine, proposed the amendment. "Smoking is a bad delivery system because you're combusting something and inhaling it," he said.
Reaction from the federal government was muted.
Dawn Dearden with the Drug Enforcement Administration said: "At this point, it's still a Schedule I drug, and we're going to treat it as such." The Food and Drug Administration declined to comment.
In a statement, the office of the White House drug czar reiterated the administration's opposition to legalization and said that it would defer to "the FDA's judgment that the raw marijuana plant cannot meet the standards for identity, strength, quality, purity, packaging and labeling required of medicine."
The DEA classifies drugs into five schedules, with the fifth being the least-restrictive. Schedule II drugs, such as cocaine and morphine, are considered to have a high potential for abuse, but also to have accepted medical uses.
Several petitions have been filed to reschedule marijuana. The first, filed in 1972, bounced back and forth between the DEA and the courts until it died in 1994. A petition filed in 2002 is under consideration.
Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, said that advocates hoped the petition would receive more attention. "Given the change of heart by the AMA, there is every opportunity for the Obama administration to do just that," he said.
In a report released with its new policy, the AMA notes that the organization was "virtually alone" in opposing the first federal restrictions on marijuana, which were adopted in 1937. Cannabis had been used in various medicinal products for years, but fell into disuse in the early 20th century.
Sunil Aggarwal, a medical student at the University of Washington, helped spark the AMA's reconsideration after he researched marijuana's effect on 186 chronically ill patients. "I had reason to believe that there was medical good that could come from these products, and I wanted to see AMA policy reflect that," he said.
The AMA is not the only major doctors organization to rethink marijuana. Last year, the American College of Physicians, the second-largest physician group, called for "rigorous scientific evaluation of the potential therapeutic benefits of medical marijuana" and an "evidence-based review of marijuana's status as a Schedule I controlled substance."
Last month, the California Medical Assn. passed resolutions that declared the criminalization of marijuana "a failed public health policy" and called on the organization to take part in the debate on changing current policy.
http://cannabisasmedicine.com/story/medical-marijuana-gets-boost-major-doctors-groupThe American Medical Assn. changes its policy to promote clinical research and... more
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Endocannabinoids are derivatives of arachidonic acid (and of other poly-unsaturated fatty acids), that have been discovered approximately 15 years ago. Nowadays they are recognized as a new class of lipid signaling molecules, that play several central and peripheral roles. Endocannabinoids are endogenous ligands of brain-type (CB1) and spleen-type (CB2) cannabinoid receptors, that bind also an exogenous ligand like Δ9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of Cannabis sativa.
CB1 receptors have been found mainly in the central nervous system, but they are also present in lymphocytes, ovary, uterine endometrium, testis, vas deferens, urinary bladder, and other peripheral endocrine and neurological tissues. CB2 receptors have been identified mainly in immune cells, but are expressed also in astrocytes and in the brain stem.The best characterized endocannabinoids are N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide, AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), that are prototype members of two types of compounds: the fatty acid amides and the monoacylglycerols, respectively. These lipids are not stored in intracellular compartments, but are synthesised from membrane precursors through multiple biosynthetic pathways; therefore, they are released “on demand” by neurons and peripheral cells. AEA is produced mainly by a transacylase-phosphodiesterase-mediated pathway, starting from the precursor N-arachidonoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine through the action of N-archidonoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (NAPE) hydrolysis, catalysed by a specific phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD). The biosynthetic pathway of 2-AG provides for rapid hydrolysis of inositol phospholipids by a specific phospholipase C; this enzyme generates diacylglycerol (DAG), which is subsequentially converted to 2-AG by a sn-1-DAG lipase. The biological effects of AEA and 2-AG depend on their life span in the extracellular space, which is limited by a rapid transport through the plasma membrane. Both compounds have been proposed to be taken up by cells through a specific carrier, but the identity of this putative entity is still a controversal issue. Once inside the cells, endocannabinoids can be metabolized by multiple pathways; AEA is a substrate for fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), that breaks the amide bond and releases arachidonic acid and ethanolamine, whereas 2-AG is degraded to arachidonic acid and glycerol mainly by a specific monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL). As mentioned above, AEA and 2-AG act primarily at cannabinoid receptors. These are seven trans-membrane spanning receptors that belong to the rhodopsin family of G protein-coupled receptors, particularly those of the Gi/o group. The binding of endocannabinoids to CB receptors triggers various signaling pathways, such as the inhibition of adenylyl cyclase, the regulation of ionic currents (inhibition of voltage-gated L, N and P/Q-type Ca2+ channels, activation of K+ channels), the activation of focal adhesion kinase, of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and of cytosolic phospholipase A2, and the activation (CB1) or the inhibition (CB2) of nitric oxide synthetase. In addition, recently an unprecedented coupling of CB1 to Gq/11 proteins has been shown, suggesting further diversity of CB1 signaling. Furthermore, there is some evidence that endocannabinoids induce a biological activity via other CB receptors, like a purported CB3 (GPR55) receptor, via non-CB1/non-CB2 receptors, and via non-cannabinoid receptors. In the latter group, type-1 vanilloid receptor (now called transient receptor potential vanilloid 1, TRPV1) has emerged as an important target of AEA, but remarkably not of 2-AG. TRPV1 is a six trans-membrane spanning protein with intracellular N - and C - terminals; this ligand-gated and non-selective cationic c-terminals; this ligand-gated and non-selective cationic channel is activated by molecules derived from plants, such as the pungent component of “hot” red peppers capsaicin, by noxious stimuli like heat and protons, and by peptides contained in spider toxins. AEA is so far the only “endovanilloid” known, behaving as an authentic (though weak) endogenous ligand of TRPV1. In the last 5 years endocannabinoids have emerged as key-mediators of several central and peripheral pathophysiological processes. In fact they act as retrograde neurotransmitters, and as neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory substances, taking part in neuronal circuitries that include dopaminergic, glutamatergic and GABAergic transmission. In addition, they participate in signaling networks that include cytokines (e.g., interleukins, growth factors, interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α), and steroid hormones (e.g., progesterone, 17-β-estradiol and glucocorticoids). Furthermore, only recently new endocannabinoids (like N-arachidonoyldopamine) have been discovered, that along with “endocannabinoid-like” molecules (e.g., N-oleoylethanolamine and N-palmitoylethanolamine) are able to activate unexpected molecular targets like TRPV1, peroxisome proliferator activator receptors (PPAR), and CB3. Against this background, it is not surprising that endocannabinoid signaling is at the basis of neuroinflammatory diseases (like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), of cancer cell survival and death, of immune response and of metabolic disease. For instance, endocannabinoids have been shown to regulate food intake, and in fact a selective CB1 antagonist is available on several markets as the first anti-obesity drug for humans. Last but not least, human reproduction is under the control of endocannabinoid signaling, that regulates oviductal transport and implantation of embryos (on the female side), as well as spermatogenic output, sperm viability and motility (on the male side).Taken together, endocannabinoids have emerged as widespread signaling molecules, which take part in neuronal circuitries and cytokine-hormone networks that impact to different extents a number of pathophysiological conditions in humans.
http://cannabisasmedicine.com/story/endocannabinoids-0Endocannabinoids are derivatives of arachidonic acid (and of other poly-unsaturated... more
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The American Medical Association on Tuesday issued a cautious but historically significant call to change America's marijuana prohibition laws, urging a "review" of the drug's status as a Schedule I drug.
At a meeting in Houston, the AMA's House of Delegates adopted a new policy that calls for "marijuana's status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods."
That does not mean the AMA supports the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana.
Schedule I drugs are those considered to have no medical benefit and to be harmful when used under any circumstances. As such, marijuana is currently grouped by the federal government with drugs like heroin and LSD. By comparison, cocaine and methamphetamines are classified as Schedule II drugs, which may have some clinical benefits when used in the proper circumstances. The AMA's stance could simply result in the rescheduling of marijuana as a controlled substance that has some medical benefit.
However, Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project, calls the move "historic" all the same, noting that it comes from "what has historically been America's most cautious and conservative major medical organization."
more at link...
http://rawstory.com/2009/11/ama-review-pot-prohibition/The American Medical Association on Tuesday issued a cautious but historically... more
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SEBASTOPOL, Calif. -- A surge in medical marijuana in California has left communities trying to regulate or ban the drug. This wine country town has welcomed a dispensary as a strong source of tax revenue during the recession.
Peace in Medicine marijuana dispensary is a clean, modern operation in a former auto dealership, and has more registered patients than the town has residents. It could easily be mistaken for a doctor's office, if not for the three security guards and overwhelming skunky smell of pot.
"I guess I had my prejudices that it was going to have bars on the windows and be something very obvious and unappealing to the public," longtime city councilman Larry Robinson said.
Now the dispensary is about to open a second location, next to a Starbucks.
"I'm the luckiest guy in the world to be leading this thing," said Peace in Medicine's operator, Robert Jacob.
In Los Angeles - the marijuana dispensary capital of the country - about 800 dispensaries are estimated to have opened despite a 2007 order halting new pot operations.
The explosion is blamed on a loophole in the City Council's moratorium. Final regulations are still not in place.
The struggle has been linked to the vagueness of the ballot initiative that California voters passed in 1996 legalizing medical use of the drug. The measure makes no mention of how or where the drug can be sold.
"I think Los Angeles has made this more difficult by not having acted sooner," said Joe Elford, chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access, a pro-medical marijuana group. "There has been pressure for a long time on the City Council to do something."
The issue took on greater urgency after the Obama administration announced looser federal marijuana guidelines last month.
Federal crackdowns followed the 1996 vote, and fear of prosecution kept pot storefronts out of many areas. But looser federal guidelines, first signaled by Attorney General Eric Holder in February and further outlined in an October memo, have emboldened would-be dispensary operators. The new guidelines simply instruct federal prosecutors to avoid prosecution when dispensaries comply with state medical marijuana laws.
Sacramento is looking to other pot-tolerant cities such as San Francisco, Oakland and Malibu for insight into keeping medical marijuana available but in check.
Most of the state capital's 39 registered dispensaries opened this year before the city passed an emergency moratorium in June.
"They're seeing a little bit of leniency in the federal government that they haven't seen before," said Michelle Heppner, who is leading the city's effort to regulate dispensaries. "They're seeing this as a perfect time in their movement to progress."
One key for cities is finding a way to ensure dispensaries truly operate as nonprofits as called for by state Attorney General Jerry Brown.
Officials in Fresno have decided the best way to avoid problems with dispensaries is to not have any. In 2006, the City Council passed a zoning ordinance requiring any pot dispensaries to comply with both state and federal law, and the U.S. government still bans the drug outright.
A state judge last month sided against nine Fresno dispensaries that opened this year, upholding the zoning ordinance that forbids them and ordering them to close.
Smaller cities are also turning to zoning laws. In Claremont, a college town about 30 miles east of Los Angeles, Darrell Kruse sought to open a dispensary in mid-2006 but the zoning code did not permit them.
Kruse opened Claremont All-Natural Nutrition Aids Buyers Information Service (CANNABIS) anyway. Several months later, he was convicted of operating without a business license and fined. A state court rejected his appeal.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/story/1318723.htmlSEBASTOPOL, Calif. -- A surge in medical marijuana in California has left communities... more
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As the mother of an autistic child, Marie Myung-Ok Lee is navigating uncharted territory as she struggles to manage her son's condition. She has bravely come forward to share her son's battle with this mysterious disorder, and to discuss how medical marijuana has brought them both back from the brink of despair.
During what Marie calls the "dark phase," her son J had unpredictable mood swings that could erupt into fitful rages. Her 9-year-old would scream during lengthy tantrums, he refused to eat and threw his food on the floor. J broke plates, windows, and other household items as a way of expressing his pain and frustration. The family would hide out within the confines of their home until the darkness passed.
J's behavior disrupted his school performance and terrified the staff. "The teachers were wearing tae kwon do arm pads to protect themselves against his biting," Marie said. The school monitored J's daily outbursts on an "aggression chart" that documented as many as 300 episodes in one day that involved hitting, kicking, biting, or pinching another person.
With her son in crisis, Marie had no choice but to perform an intervention. But the only solution offered by child psychiatrists came in a pill bottle. "His school tried to force us to medicate him," says Marie, who feared the risk of dangerous side effects associated with commonly prescribed antipsychotic drugs like Risperdal. Many of the FDA-approved drugs on the market used to treat symptoms of autism have no proven safety track record for use in children.
Despite the unknown risks, more kids are using prescription drugs than ever before. The number of children on psychiatric meds has skyrocketed in recent years, according to reports in medical journals such as Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Prescription drug use is growing faster among children than the elderly and baby boomers. But when it comes to medicating kids with marijuana, the issue becomes taboo.
"There's no such thing as a harmless drug, but marijuana is much less harmful than other drugs," said Lester Grinspoon, M.D., a professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Grinspoon is a leading expert in the field of medical marijuana, who has authored several books on the subject. "No one in the world has died from marijuana," insists Grinspoon, who has spent four decades researching the illicit drug.
Undeterred by the social stigma, Marie pursued this more natural approach to calm J's demons. After discussing her wishes with J's pediatrician, Marie decided to check out Marinol, a synthetic form of THC, which is the primary cannabinoid in marijuana. After fine-tuning J's dosage, she began hearing praises like, "J was a pleasure to have in speech class," instead of complaints about his violent episodes.
After a few months, J built up a tolerance to the drug and his unruly behavior returned. "The drawback of taking Marinol is that it's only THC. That's the most powerful cannabinoid, but it may not be the most relevant," said Mitch Earleywine, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at the State University of New York at Albany. Earleywine says there are about 70 different cannabinoids in the marijuana plant, many of which have medicinal value. Marie decided to take a chance on the real deal.
All it took was a signed prescription and a background check for J to become the youngest person in Rhode Island to obtain a license for pot. After buying some marijuana-infused olive oil, Marie made a batch of pot cookies. That night, J ate half of one cookie and "he was tired and conked out," said Marie, who checked hourly on his sleep, "half-expecting some red-eyed ogre from Reefer Madness to come leaping out at us." To her relief, J slept soundly and appeared happy and mellow the next day.
Over the past four months, Marie has documented her son's progress in an online blog entitled, Why I Give My 9-Year-Old Pot, Part II. While she doesn't believe marijuana is a cure for autism, it "allows J to participate more fully in life without the dangers and sometimes permanent side effects of pharmaceutical drugs." Dr. Grinspoon has seen positive results with a number of his autistic patients who are undergoing pot therapy. "I can confidently say to a parent that marijuana relieves some types of pain. It's not going to hurt them if you use it responsibly," Grinspoon says. Ingesting the drug works better because the effects can last up to eight hours. "A little goes a long way," says Earleywine, who reminds parents that the drug can take up to an hour and a half to kick in, "so wait a little while before administering any more."
While a growing number of distressed parents are turning to the herbal remedy, many moms with autistic kids are skeptical. "I feel it does more harm than good," says Trish, the mother of a 7-year-old boy with autism. "You are sedating the child, not treating the cause of the rage." Trish believes that medicating kids with pot is a cop-out. "Nobody said parenting was going to be easy, or that the solution to every problem is to get our children stoned."
The mainstream medical community shuns the subject, and the government refuses to fund any research that would legitimize marijuana use in treating autism or aggression disorders. "Marijuana is a very loaded subject," says Cara Natterson, M.D., a pediatrician and mother of two. "As a parent and as a pediatrician, I feel a responsibility to know that what I am putting into a child -- mine or someone else's -- is safe and tested."
The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes the legalization of marijuana, but does support further research into the potential medical benefits of cannabis. "We need to make sure the treatment is safe -- we haven't done that," Natterson adds. The doctor can sympathize with parents who desperately want to help their child. "But wanting to advocate for your child and making sure your child is safe are two different things," Natterson said.
Marie is confident that she has made the right choice when she sees J's transformation. "He doesn't look stoned. He just looks like a happy little boy."
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/can-marijuana-help-kids-autismAs the mother of an autistic child, Marie Myung-Ok Lee is navigating uncharted... more
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Marijuana has been smoked for its medicinal properties for centuries. Preclinical, clinical, and anecdotal reports suggest numerous potential medical uses for marijuana. Although the indications for some conditions have been well documented, less information is available about other potential medical uses.
Additional research is needed to further clarify the therapeutic value of cannabinoids and determine optimal routes of administration. Unfortunately, research expansion has been hindered by a complicated federal approval process, limited availability of research-grade marijuana, and the debate over legalization. ACP believes the science on medical marijuana should not be obscured or hindered by the debate surrounding the legalization of marijuana for general use. In this paper the College lays out a series of positions on research into, and the use of, marijuana as medicine.
http://cannabisasmedicine.com/sites/default/files/Medical%20Cannabis%20-%20Tending%20Buds%20-%20Great.jpegMarijuana has been smoked for its medicinal properties for centuries. Preclinical,... more
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The number of Canadians legally permitted to use pot as medicine has tripled in the past three years since the Conservatives took power.
At last official count by Health Canada this past June, 4,029 people were authorized to possess cannabis under Marijuana Medical Access Regulations, 2,841 were allowed to grow their own plants and 481 had special permission to grow it on behalf of another patient. That’s up from 1,273 who had permits in February 2006.
Ontario leads the legal pot pack with 1,631 licensed tokers, while 1,008 British Columbians have the right to light up. Manitoba, Alberta and New Brunswick have the fewest authorizations, and only 39 people have permits in Newfoundland.
Ottawa resident Russell Barth, who legally smokes pot to help relieve symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and fibromyalgia, is pleased authorized pot users are on the upward swing but believes the official tally represents a small fraction of those using marijuana for treatment. Many patients don’t bother to apply for a permit because of onerous paperwork or can’t find a doctor to sign their forms.
He said even when patients do have legal permission, they have trouble accessing quality, affordable pot. They also face hurdles transporting it and smoking it where they need it.
“It’s obscene. It’s systematic discrimination,” he said.
Health Canada grants permission to people who are suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, cancer, arthritis, epilepsy or HIV/AIDS.
Barth said Conservative Bill C-15, which cracks down on drug offences, including tougher penalties for marijuana trafficking, could impact legal medicinal users by making access more costly and less secure. Smaller growers and compassion clubs will fear being thrown in jail for long terms and will leave the market to organized criminals, he said.
Health Canada obtains its marijuana and seed supply from Prairie Plant Systems Incorporated, and licensed patients can buy their supply from the government or grow their own. But Barth called the federal supply “crap.”
Blair Longley, leader of the Marijuana Party of Canada, said marijuana should be legal for all Canadians who want to smoke it whether they are sick or in perfect health. But he sees the rising number of legal authorizations as a good sign more doctors are valuing its medicinal properties.
“When the program started, you had to almost prove you’d be dead in six months,” he said. “Now it’s more wide-based and easier to get for things like migraines and arthritis.”The number of Canadians legally permitted to use pot as medicine has tripled in the... more
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"Tim Lynch appeared on the CNN program Lou Dobbs Tonight last Thursday (Oct. 22) to discuss the medical marijuana issue and the drug war in general. There were two other guests: Peter Moskos from John Jay College and the organization Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and Barry McCaffrey, retired General of the U.S. Army and former “Drug Czar” under President Bill Clinton.
I was really astonished by the doubletalk coming from McCaffrey. "
In the article, Tim Lynch explain two of the worst examples so you can come to your own conclusions about this guy."Tim Lynch appeared on the CNN program Lou Dobbs Tonight last Thursday (Oct. 22) to... more
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Real estate brokers say that Colorado's medical-marijuana law has sparked a land rush, as entrepreneurs lured by a growing number of licensed users search for properties for growing or selling pot.
In a down real estate market, landlords who might otherwise wait for more conventional tenants are snapping at the opportunity presented by medical-marijuana dispensaries, said Darrin Revious, a broker with Shames Makovsky Realty.Real estate brokers say that Colorado's medical-marijuana law has sparked a land rush,... more
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Comparison with other smoking methods
Diagram of a bong in operation.
The rationale behind the use of a bong is the claim that the cooling effect of the water helps to reduce the chance of burning the mouth, airways, and lungs, thus many claim that using a bong to smoke is safer. The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways.[5] Thus the mechanics of a bong function similarly to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. This "filtration" can lead to the belief that bongs are less damaging than other smoking methods.
However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect".[6] In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. An inhalation machine, adjusted to mimic the puff length of cannabis smokers, drew smoke through a standard bong, a small portable bong with a folding stem, a bong with a motorized paddle that thoroughly mixes the smoke with the water, and two different types of vaporizers. Comparisons to traditional non-filtered smoking methods were not included in these experiments.
MAPS[7] also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area.
Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area."[7] This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.Comparison with other smoking methods
Diagram of a bong in operation.
The... more
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The best solution to our environmental problems is to end prohibition. There is no other viable option short of the immediate end to military conflict that will have the same positive impact on the ecosystem.
Our first step towards a sustainable existence should begin with cannabis. Its assimilation into our civilization is the safest, simplest, most efficient immediate solution that we can implement in time to prevent an ecological catastrophe.
Cannabis is a plant, and its use is as old as civilization itself. It has thousands of immediate and potential applications. Its cultivation rejuvenates the soil, it can replace wood products, it’s medicinal, and it can be used as building material, textiles, paint, plastic, fuel, paper, food and body care. It is one of the most important bounties of nature. It’s a plant that we were meant to use.
So what’s the hold up? The short answer is America’s “War on Drugs”. The United States started a legislative war on this plant genus almost a century ago and they do not want to give up the fight.
The war on drugs is not a war between nations; it’s a corporate war on people, irrelevant of their nationality or ethnicity. It is a war against citizens of the United States and those of other nations. It’s a war without borders. It has gone through multiple mutations and over the last few decades grown into the monstrosity that it is today. It is a one sided war declared by nations on their citizens. A conflict not reciprocated by the citizens. It is a war that is sustained entirely do to ignorance, fear, and greed.
If there is such a thing as a just war, then the war on drugs is on the other end of the spectrum. It is the most unjust war that has ever been. It is a war exclusively waged for money. Every other war throughout history has had at least one other fathomable pretence. The war on drugs doesn’t.
The irony is that this war and the destruction that it unleashes can be brought to an end within an instant, if it was so desired. All that is required is to end prohibition, to repeal one law.
We know that the end to prohibition will have positive effects for our society because precedent for this has already been set. When prohibition of alcohol ended, so did most of the violence associated with gang warfare, as did much of the corruption in government. When prohibition ended, precious resources were made available again and a major source of revenue and employment was established through the sale of alcohol and its associated paraphernalia.
These same results have also been observed in Portugal’s experiment with drug decriminalization. The United Nations has also confirmed these findings in its annual report on the state of global drug policy, and many countries have been paying-heed and following Portugal’s example. Decriminalization is sweeping through major parts of Latin America as well as numerous municipalities and States within the United States of America.
The only reason that America’s Federal “War on Drugs” still continues to this day is because its so-called adversaries, criminal organizations and certain sectors of government, don’t want it to end since its continuation guarantees them flow of funds.
All of the above is common knowledge to anyone who has remotely researched this topic, or for that matter, even thought about it. After all, who in their right mind would ever approve of a war on nature, a war on a plant, a war on a plant that’s not even poisonous, a war on a plant that is actually beneficial for us, our society, and the ecosystem? You would have to be deranged to do such a thing. But this is exactly what we have done. We have been waging a war on a plant for almost a century. We have been waging a war on cannabis that spans the globe, costs trillions of dollars, destroys millions of lives, and consumes precious resources.
On the behest of certain corporations and a small minority that profit from prohibition, we have been CONTINUED>>>The best solution to our environmental problems is to end prohibition. There is no... more
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You don't label a person confined to a wheel chair as "lazy", hence you don't label some one who smokes marijuana for medical reasons as a "stoner". For a while the Federal Government did not see it that way during the Bush Administration. but thankfully it has all ended.You don't label a person confined to a wheel chair as "lazy", hence you don't label... more
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