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Pot for Pain Without the THC in the Toke
A researcher from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology has just published a study showing that a cannabinoid in marijuana called beta-caryophyllene, or (E)-BCP, could produce an excellent anti-inflammatory drug. The same substance is found in common ingredients such as oregano, basil, pepper and celery as well, but the concentration in marijuana is particularly, um, high. Generally, the cannabinoids in pot are associated with CB1 receptors found in the brain where they produce a psychotropic effect, but receptors in the rest of the body (CB2), if manipulated properly, could prove to alleviate the pain of those suffering from arthritis, Crohn’s disease and cirrhosis. A researcher from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology has just published a study showing that a cannabinoid in marijuana called ... more
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Medical Marijuana: Whole Plant Better Than Isolated Components in Pain Relief, Ita...
Scientists at the University of Milan have published a study finding that whole-plant marijuana extracts provide better relief for neuropathic pain than isolated components of the plant, like THC alone. The research is an intervention in the ongoing debate between medical marijuana supporters and herbal and alternative medicine advocates on one side and the US government, some politicians, and the pharmaceuticalized medicine industry on the other.
"The use of a standardized extract of Cannabis sativa... evoked a total relief of thermal hyperalgesia, in an experimental model of neuropathic pain,... ameliorating the effect of single cannabinoids," the investigators reported. "Collectively, these findings strongly support the idea that the combination of cannabinoid and non-cannabinoid compounds, as present in extracts, provide significant advantages... compared with pure cannabinoids alone."
Congressional drug warriors like Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) have long argued that marijuana is not a medicine and that any medicinal compounds in the plant should be isolated or synthesized, as is the case with Marinol, which contains one of the hundreds of cannabinoids found in the plant. The DEA takes a similar approach.
But this latest research only adds to the evidence that that position is mistaken.
Scientists at the University of Milan have published a study finding that whole-plant marijuana extracts provide better relief for neu... more -
Stephen Colbert welcomed Rapper Naz!
Stephen Colbert welcomed Rapper Naz and dedicated over half of his show to FOX's racismas as his guest on the Colbert Report .
Boxes with Petition Signatures telling FOX to stop their racist smears against the Obamas, that FOX refused to accept earlier in the day were stacked prominently on Colbert's set in place of his normal interview table and chairs--and he conducted the entire interview surrounded by petitions! Then, Nas performed his new song "Sly Fox," which is all about FOX's racism. Stephen Colbert welcomed Rapper Naz and dedicated over half of his show to FOX's racismas as his guest on the Colbert Report . ... more -
Nas & ColorOfChange.org Give 620,000 Petitions to Fox News
Big news! petition signatures telling FOX to stop their racist smears against the Obamas had a really exciting day on Wednesday. Here's what happened:
1:00 p.m. signatures were printed off at a New York City Kinko's along with 620,126 others--filling 19 big boxes. 2:00 p.m. The signatures were piled in front of FOX's national headquarters at 6th Avenue and 48th Street.
3:15 p.m. Hip hop star Nas (whose new album had just risen to #1 on the Billboard charts hours earlier) joined over 100 activists and delivered the petitions to FOX on behalf of ColorOfChange, MoveOn, and Brave New Films
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3:30 p.m. FOX refused to accept the petitions. (Sometimes, the truth hurts.)
4:00 p.m.--9:00 p.m. News of FOX's racism and the star-studded petition delivery made its way around the world--with stories in Rolling Stone, Billboard, USA Today, Associated Press, Reuters, India Express, Huffington Post, MTV, OpenLeft, and over 200 other places.
11:30 p.m. Stephen Colbert welcomed Nas as his guest on the Colbert Report and dedicated over half of his show to FOX's racism. The boxes containing our signatures were stacked prominently on Colbert's set in place of his normal interview table and chairs--and he conducted the entire interview surrounded by petitions! Then, Nas performed his new song "Sly Fox," which is all about FOX's racism.
12:00 a.m. Several MoveOn staffers, jaws dropped open, get on the phone and engage in several rounds of, "Wow!" :)
Since then, the news has kept spreading around the world. You sent a message to FOX, and that message was very much received!
Big news! petition signatures telling FOX to stop their racist smears against the Obamas had a really exciting day on Wednesday. Here'... more -
Barack Obama's Speech in Berlin
Take a look at the Man's Video. Please notice the first minute of the talk so you can remember he was not speaking as a "President".
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Today, 62 Years Ago: Bikini Naval Nuclear Bomb.
The U.S. Navy detonated the first underwater atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll. This was one of two
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EPA to ban carbofuran
"Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the residues of the pesticide carbofuran that end up on our food and in our drinking water are too high, and may be unsafe. Thus, after first registering the chemical for agriculture use in 1969, and estimating that about 1 million pounds are used annually in the U.S., EPA is now proposing to cancel all uses of the pesticide.
EPA found in their review of the pesticide that the acute dietary risk from food alone is about 2.5-fold above acceptable levels for the general population, and almost 5-fold above acceptable levels for toddlers, the age group with the highest estimated dietary exposure.
The EPA is now proposing to also prevent carbofuran residues to contaminate imported sugarcane, rice, bananas, and coffee, something that EPA had earlier proposed to allow and NRDC and others had strenuously objected to." "Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the residues of the pesticide carbofuran that end up on our food a... more -
Obama's Speech from Berlin
Just look at these amazing pictures. He's in a European country and they're chanting "USA! USA! USA!".
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Chinese police in religious training ahead of Olympics
"SHENYANG, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Police in the Olympic football co-host city of Shenyang, northeast China, have been boning up on religions in a bid to understand foreigners and avoid insulting their feelings during the Games.
More than 5,000 police officers have learnt the origins, forms, taboos, and classic works of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism in class since the municipal public security bureau launched the campaign in March.
Besides theories and China's religious laws and policies, they also practiced etiquette and ways to solve emergency situations concerning religion affairs, said Yang Tao, training teacher.
"They enjoy the arrangement, saying the content was interesting and helpful," said Yang, professor with China Criminal Police University based in Shenyang.
"Such training could help them to better understand foreigners, make them feel confident in communications and effectively deal with emergencies while showing respect to foreigner's religious customs," he explained.
Religion was just a part of a comprehensive Olympic training scheme the bureau initiated since January.
More than 120 short-term courses on 19 subjects such as security check, foreign affairs management, oral English, media, anti-terror, and psychology, have attracted 7,000 participants over the past half year, according to Liu Xiujuan with the bureau's education and training department.
Experts, experienced police officers from Shenyang and Beijing were invited to give lectures.
"More than 10,000 policemen have received media training on English and techniques to communicate with reporters, and emotion control," said Liu Kejun, chief of the bureau's publicity department.
"China has pledged to aid the foreign media's coverage of the Olympics, and we must work better to create a favorable environment for reporters," said Liu. "
Interesting... "SHENYANG, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Police in the Olympic football co-host city of Shenyang, northeast China, have been boning up on religi... more -
Super fine hemp to rival traditional wool
A Western Australian farmer hopes to export super-fine 'baby hemp' that he claims gives merino wool a run for its money.
Kim Hough is growing hemp at a time of the year when it grows quicker and has longer fibres than conventional hemp, making it ideal for the premium textile market.
He says the export market is keen.
"A lot of people get the wrong idea that hemp is coarse like your bags and things," he says.
"Now hemp has been refined to an extraordinary degree and now we're looking at super-fine fibres with the baby hemp.
"Japan is the place we're looking at at the moment but also China is looking at more high quality fibre." A Western Australian farmer hopes to export super-fine 'baby hemp' that he claims gives merino wool a run for its money. ... more -
Paralyzed man sues Chicago cops, says they hit him
CHICAGO --
A paralyzed man sued the City of Chicago and seven policemen Thursday, claiming they dragged him from a car and beat him unconscious when he was too slow to obey an order to get out.
Daniel Casares charged that the seven officers engaged in excessive use of force and battery. He asked for unspecified damages from the city.
The officers stopped a car in which Casares was riding on the city's southeast side Oct. 9, 2006, on the suspicion that the driver - Casares' brother - was using marijuana. They asked Daniel Casares to get out and when he didn't do so immediately they dragged him out, the lawsuit said.
Some or all of the officers allegedly continued to kick Casares while he was on the ground, according to the complaint.
Casares was convicted after a bench trial of battery and resisting arrest for charges that came from the stop. He received court supervision and is appealing his conviction.
A spokeswoman for the city law department, Jenny Hoyle, said she hadn't seen the complaint and therefore would not be able to comment.
"They are allegations and have to be proved in court," she said. "Once we get served with the complaint and review it we can respond."
Casares attorney Blake Horwitz said the officers approached the car with guns drawn and yelled at Casares, who was in the passenger seat, to get out. He said Casares had been a quadriplegic as a result of a car accident for four years before the incident.
The lawsuit was assigned to U.S. District Judge George Lindberg. CHICAGO -- ... more -
Guard caught with ganja in remand centre
A security guard stationed at the Horizon Remand Centre who was caught attempting to smuggle marijuana inside the facility, was sentenced when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.
Devon Thomas pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and trafficking marijuana into a penal institution before Resident Magistrate Glen Brown.
The court was told that security officials at the institution observed Thomas behaving in a manner that aroused their suspicions. He was searched and a bag containing a smaller transparent bag with matter resembling marijuana was found.
He reportedly told the guards that he had been asked to deliver the bag and did not check to see what its contents were.
He was ordered to pay $200 or serve seven days for possession, and $500 or 30 days for trafficking the contraband. A security guard stationed at the Horizon Remand Centre who was caught attempting to smuggle marijuana inside the facility, was sente... more -
Obama Abandons Troops
Obama is not what who think he is!
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Prophetic Piece: The Oil Endgame, October 2002
In short, "The Oil Endgame" is the end of the world as we know it.
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Ad Watch: Pro-drilling group airs ads against Udall
It is difficult to track down the group's origins, and it's donors. "A pro-drilling group called the American Energy Alliance is airing ads on both 770 KKOB-AM and 1350 KABQ-AM attacking Tom Udall's stance on drilling.""A pro-drilling group called the American Energy Alliance is airing ads on both 770 KKOB-AM and 1350 KABQ-AM attacking Tom Udall's stance on drilling.
"Both radio stations are owned by Clear Channel Communications Inc. which also owns popular music FM stations. KKOB is by far the most popular radio station in the Albuquerque media market, with a 9.4 share in the winter of 2008, according to Arbitron numbers. KABQ, a local Air America radio affiliate, has a 2.1 share."
"One must go back to 1993 to find more information on the group, this time from Time magazine:
In April [the National Association of Manufacturers's Jerry] Jasinowski's group got together with the American Petroleum Institute, 1,600 large companies, small businesses and farmers to form the American Energy Alliance (AEA), a group designed solely to defeat the BTU tax. The coalition paid more than $1 million to Burson-Marsteller, a public relations firm, to deploy nearly 45 staff members in 23 states during the past two months. Burson's goal was to drum up as much grass-roots outrage about the BTU tax as possible and direct it at the swing Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee."
"In the mid-'90s, at least, the group was a group funded by oil companies. David Halvarg wrote an article in The Nation that described the group's strategy as "'the Tobacco Institute strategy' of alleging scientific uncertainty."
"More energy means lower prices for families, Congressman Udall says we’re not going to drill our way out of this problem, but Congressman shouldn’t drilling at least be part of the solution," the ad asks. The ad also claims Udall has voted against drilling "a whopping 34 times."'
Personally I am proud of the fact that Tom Udall has voted against "Big Oil" interest. They are a very arrogant bunch. I trust that their arrogance shows so glaringly that their power will fade all that more quickly!
BTW, I come out of the oil patch in Texas, and my family has made its living from "Big Oil." That does not mean a thing when "times, they are a change n." Just because we have been hurting ourselves for years and years does not mean that we must keep doing so. For our health our addiction to oil, like our addiction to cigarettes, must change. Just because we "always did it that way" does not make it the best choice, and it never has...
It is difficult to track down the group's origins, and it's donors. "A pro-drilling group called the American Energy Alliance is airi... more -
State troopers battle big gas bills - Life- msnbc.com
HELENA, Mont. - In big, wide-open Montana, a state trooper might have to drive more than 100 miles to answer an emergency call and routinely puts several hundred miles on the odometer in a day.
With gasoline at $4 a gallon, all that driving is tearing up the Highway Patrol's budget.
It is the same story elsewhere around the country, especially in big, sparsely populated Western states with vast stretches of highway. State police agencies nationwide are scrambling to reduce gasoline use and find the money to cover their costs. Some are beginning to worry that they will have to cut back on hiring officers.
For the Highway Patrol in Montana — the fourth-largest state in area, at 147,000 square miles — the options are limited.
The Highway Patrol considered buying more V6 Chevrolet Impala cruisers to save gasoline, but initial tests showed the Impalas get about the same mileage as the department's V8 Ford Crown Victorias, or a little above 15 miles per gallon.
Switching to hybrid vehicles is out of the question, since there is no hope of chasing down bad guys in one, police say.
"They're gutless," said the head of the Highway Patrol, Col. Paul Grimstad, who oversees some 200 state troopers and happens to own a hybrid. "The one I have gets awesome gas mileage and runs good. But if you floor the thing, it doesn't have the performance. Not even close."
That has left him looking at the possibility of buying motorcycles. But Montana's harsh winter would prevent year-round use. HELENA, Mont. - In big, wide-open Montana, a state trooper might have to drive more than 100 miles to answer an emergency call and rou... more -
Another defeat for UK Labour Party
The SNP has pulled off a stunning by-election victory by winning Glasgow East, one of Labour's safest seats. The Nationalists overturned a Labour majority of 13,507 to win by only 365 votes with a swing of 22.54%.
The result was declared at Glasgow's Tollcross Leisure Centre in the early hours of Friday, after a re-count was requested by Labour, which won 10,912 votes in the contest.
Defeated Labour candidate Margaret Curran said she did not regret standing in the by-election, but added: "I regret that I did not win this for Labour tonight.
The SNP has pulled off a stunning by-election victory by winning Glasgow East, one of Labour's safest seats. The Nationalists overturn... more -
Fentanyl Kills Over 1,000 in 2 years
The "illegal" version of fentanyl was purchased from a pharmacy and then crushed up into heroin and other opioid narcotics to enhance their effects. They're using a clever word play to make it sound like it wasn't their drug that killed these people, but an "illegal" version.
More than 1,000 people died over two years from an illegal version of the painkiller fentanyl, the government reported Thursday in its first national tally of those deaths.
The wave of fentanyl overdoses first came to light in Chicago in 2005, and by 2006 more clusters were identified in Philadelphia, Detroit and other cities.
Hundreds of deaths from the drug were gradually reported, often episodically in local newspapers. Thursday's report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the toll at 1,013 deaths from early April 2005 through late March 2007.
"This was really an epidemic," said Dr. Steven Marcus, the executive director of New Jersey's poison control center and a co-author of the new report.
Some deaths from illegal fentanyl still occur, but the worst of the outbreak seems to have ended after authorities shut down a fentanyl-making operation in Toluca, Mexico, in May 2006, said Dr. T. Stephen Jones, the study's lead author.
"It almost disappeared entirely. The shutting down of the Toluca facility was probably a major factor," said Jones, a consultant retired from the CDC.
The new report is being published this week in a CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Fentanyl is a prescription painkiller, often prescribed for cancer patients and administered through a patch. But it also is a powerful, euphoria-inducing narcotic, 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin.
Illegally made versions of the drug are sold as a powder, often mixed with cocaine or heroin, and sometimes used as a heroin replacement. It's possible some heroin addicts are unaware fentanyl is part of their injection, some experts say.
Smaller outbreaks of fentanyl-associated deaths in addicts have been reported before, including the "China White" outbreak of the 1980s, famed for being so deadly that drug users dropped dead with needles still in their arms.
The latest outbreak was first noted in Chicago. Patients who recovered from overdoses said they had been given free heroin in orange and pink plastic bags by new drug dealers trying to attract more customers.
The Chicago cases are summarized in the July issue of Clinical Toxicology.
It wasn't until a cluster of overdoses seen in Camden, N.J., emergency rooms in April 2006 that federal officials were notified of the problem, by Marcus.
The resulting investigation was unusual, because some health officials have been reluctant to spend time and energy investigating deaths related to illicit drugs, Marcus said.
"The response when I deal with public health officials is; 'Drug abuse is a dangerous habit, and drug abusers know it's a dangerous habit, so why are we making a big deal out of it?'" he said.
The report distinguished deaths due to illegally made fentanyl from those due to illicit use of the pharmaceutical product. Medical examiners cannot tell the difference from what's seen in an autopsy, so investigators relied on drugs found at the scene and other information to separate the two.
Also, the investigators did not count cases in every city. The tally covers only two states — New Jersey and Delaware — and the cities of Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and St. Louis.
National health statistics show the death rate from unintentional drug poisonings — most of them illicit drug overdoses — roughly doubled from 1999 to 2005.
You can do further research by clicking these links:
http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr&...
http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.tandf.co.uk/jour...
The "illegal" version of fentanyl was purchased from a pharmacy and then crushed up into heroin and other opioid narcotics to enhance ... more -
Creators of Scrabble knockoff on Facebook sued
NEW YORK (AP) -- T-R-O-U-B-L-E could loom for a Scrabble knockoff that has become one of the most popular activities on Facebook.
Hasbro Inc., the company that owns the word game's North American rights, sued the creators of the Scrabulous program on Thursday, less than two weeks after the release of an authorized version of Scrabble for Facebook.
Hasbro said in its lawsuit that Scrabulous violates its copyright and trademarks. Separately, Hasbro asked Facebook to block the game.
In the year since Facebook began letting outside developers write Web programs that Facebook members can plug into their personal profile pages, Scrabulous has attracted some half-million daily users, despite efforts by Scrabble's owners to end it.
Video game maker Electronic Arts Inc. released an official version for American and Canadian Facebook users last week as part of a broader, year-old licensing deal with Hasbro, yet Facebook users have continued to spend countless hours on the unauthorized Scrabulous.
Now, Hasbro is trying to stop Scrabulous completely and collect unspecified damages. NEW YORK (AP) -- T-R-O-U-B-L-E could loom for a Scrabble knockoff that has become one of the most popular activities on Facebook. ... more -
What's the Matter With Chicago? and Seattle and New York and Boston...?
Seattle has always had an identity conflict. Gay bathhouses are allowed, street protests are legendary, and marijuana is, by voter initiative, the police department’s lowest enforcement priority. Each summer a two-day event called Hempfest draws some 150,000 people who openly smoke weed in a city park with the blessings of the cops and the local government, which regards the festival as protected speech.
Yet Seattle has long had an unhealthy strain of nannyism as well. Washington was one of the first states to prohibit alcohol in the last century, and the city’s restrictions on strip clubs and card rooms are legendary. In the last five years, the nanny impulse has gone into hyperdrive.
In 2003 Seattle banned sales of high-alcohol beers and fortified wines in a part of town popular with the homeless and street drunks. Three years later, a city report found that the ban hadn’t reduced petty crime and street drinking. Yet Mayor Greg Nickels and the Seattle City Council slammed through another ordinance expanding the so-called “alcohol impact area” to several other neighborhoods. It’s a measure of just how contradictory paternalism gets in Seattle that you can still walk into a bar in these neighborhoods and buy locally crafted microbrews with even higher alcohol content, albeit at a much steeper price than a 40-ouncer.
In 2005 a state ballot initiative banned smoking in all public places. Unlike similar prohibitions in other cities, there are no exemptions for tobacco stores, cigar bars, or private clubs. As if that weren’t enough, the Washington State Clean Indoor Air Act bans smoking within 25 feet of the doors, windows (closed or open), and ventilation systems of any public building. In parts of Seattle, smokers literally have to stand in the middle of the street to comply with the law.
Ironically, many Seattleites who smoke pot voted for the smoking ban. Perhaps they didn’t look too closely at the language of the law, which prohibits “smoking,” not tobacco.
The city’s deep embrace of environmentalism and “sustainability” rhetoric also has a nanny odor to it. This year, for example, Mayor Nickels pushed the state legislature to enact an excise tax on cars based on their fuel efficiency. (For a change, the idea met with a significant public backlash and died.) But one enviro law did expand local freedom a bit. City Council Member Richard Conlin last year proposed that the city license pygmy goats as pets, partly so that residents can process their yard waste in a more eco-friendly manner. The proposal became law by a unanimous vote.
—Philip Dawdy Seattle has always had an identity conflict. Gay bathhouses are allowed, street protests are legendary, and marijuana is, by voter ini... more
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