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Marijuana Is Real Medicine
Dying to Get High: Marijuana as Medicine is an important and accessible book -- not heavy on academic jargon, but rather lively and engaging, like a true detective novel -- with a broad appeal to those interested in the medical potential of cannabis, an end to the drug war and grass roots activism. I asked the co-authors, Wendy Chapkis and Richard Webb, how working on the book changed them.
WENDY CHAPKIS: "I certainly was one of those people who thought that 'medical marijuana' was probably mostly a way for Americans to get around ridiculously punitive drug laws. It seemed like a reasonable strategy to me. But the very first time I walked into a WAMM [WoMen's Alliance for Medical Marijuana] membership meeting, looked around the room and saw people who were ghostly white and frail, people in wheelchairs, people huddled in small groups talking about a WAMM member who needed round the clock care, I realized that medical marijuana was no 'ruse.' These were very ill people. And, as I started doing interviews, the stories of the medicinal properties of pot blew me away.[more] Dying to Get High: Marijuana as Medicine is an important and accessible book -- not heavy on academic jargon, but rather lively and en... more -
Medical marijuana's eco boomtown
It's estimated that $143 million in medical marijuana sales have netted $11.4 million in state and local taxes annually, based on registered businesses, California State Board of Equalization spokesperson Anita Gore said. And those estimates are small compared to a 2006 report co-authored by California NORML state coordinator Dale Gieringer, which said that Californians consumed between $870 million and $2 billion worth of medical marijuana per year.[more] It's estimated that $143 million in medical marijuana sales have netted $11.4 million in state and local taxes annually, based on... more
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American Alliance for Medical Cannabis
Medical marijuana (cannabis) - Facts regarding medical marijuana (Cannabis) as medicine, laws for medicinal marijuana, patient resources, recipes.... Medical marijuana (cannabis) - Facts regarding medical marijuana (Cannabis) as medicine, laws for medicinal marijuana, patient resourc... more
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TIME 4 HEMP
Time 4 Hemp is all about information and education.
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Marijuana Uses - Dr. Lester Grinspoon's Marijuana Uses
Learn
There are no truths, only stories.
-Simon Ortiz, Acoma Pueblo poet
You and I are among the more than 70 million Americans who have used cannabis -- and possibly among the more than ten million who use it regularly. We know that people smoke marijuana not because they are driven by uncontrollable "Reefer Madness" craving, as some propaganda would lead us to believe, but because they have learned its value from experience. Yet almost all of the research, writing, political activity, and legislation devoted to marijuana has been concerned only with the question of whether it is harmful and how much harm it does. The only exception is the growing medical marijuana movement, but as encouraging as that movement is, it represents only one category of marijuana use. The rest are sometimes grouped under the general heading of "recreational", but that is hardly an adequate description of, say, marijuana's capacity to catalyze ideas and insights, heighten the appreciation of music and art, or deepen emotional and sexual intimacy.
These kinds of marijuana experiences, which I like to call "enhancement", are often misunderstood and under-appreciated -- not only by non-users, but even by some users, especially young people who are interested mainly in promoting sociability and fun. Most of marijuana's powers of enhancement are not as immediately available as its capacity to lift mood or improve appetite and the taste of food. Some learning may be required, and one way to learn is through other people's experience. Some colleagues and I hope to promote this kind of learning by assembling an anthology of accounts of cannabis enhancement experiences. It is our hope that these stories will ultimately provide the basis for a book. Toward that end, we seek to identify contributors who are willing to share their knowledge of the uses of cannabis.
Accounts judged to be useful will be posted on this web site as they are received. The longer ones will be presented as Essays and the shorter ones as Brief Accounts. Interesting comments received on any of these contributions to the web site will be presented at the end of the essay or brief account. Some contributors may wish to share their e-mail address. If and when the collection is of a quality and quantity which would justify publication as an anthology, a book proposal will be written.
A little about me. I am on the faculty (emeritus) of the Harvard Medical School in the Department of Psychiatry. I have been studying cannabis since 1967 and have published two books on the subject. In 1971 Marihuana Reconsidered was published by Harvard University Press. Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine, coauthored with James B. Bakalar, was published in 1993 by Yale University Press; the revised and expanded edition appeared in 1997. Other books include The Speed Culture: The Use and Abuse of Amphetamines in America, Cocaine: A Drug and its Social Evolution, Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered, and Psychedelic Reflections.
I have posted as the first essay on the web site "A Cannabis Odyssey", an essay about my personal involvement with this issue. I identify myself as a cannabis user, but contributors who wish to remain anonymous can; some may want to use a pseudonym.
Most contributors will know what they want to write and how to go about it. However, for those who are in doubt, I suggest you read a few of the essays to get a sense of some of the ways these ideas can be presented. I hope you will be interested in submitting a contribution.
Cordially,
Lester Grinspoon, M.D.
PS: Please click here to learn more about medical uses of marijuana. Learn There are no truths, only stories. -Simon Ortiz, Acoma Pueblo poet ... more -
Maripharm
History of Medical Cannabis
Cannabis was a part of the American pharmacopoeia until 1942 and is currently available by prescription in the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, and Italy in its whole plant form.
In 1937, the U.S. passed the first federal law against cannabis, despite the objections of the American Medical Association (AMA). Dr. William C. Woodward, testifying on behalf of the AMA, told Congress that, "The American Medical Association knows of no evidence that marijuana is a dangerous drug" and warned that a prohibition "loses sight of the fact that future investigation may show that there are substantial medical uses for Cannabis."
Ironically, the U.S. federal government currently grows and provides cannabis for a small number of patients. In 1976 the federal government created the Investigational New Drug (IND) compassionate access research program to allow patients to receive up to nine pounds of cannabis from the government each year. Today, five surviving patients still receive medical cannabis from the federal government, paid for by federal tax dollars.
In 1988, the DEA's Chief Administrative Law Judge, Francis L. Young, ruled after extensive hearings that, "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known... It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for the DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance..." Yet the DEA refused to implement this ruling based on a procedural technicality and resists rescheduling to this day.
In 1989, the FDA was flooded with new applications from people with HIV/AIDS. In June 1991, the Public Health Service announced that the program would be suspended because it undermined federal prohibition. Despite this successful medical program and centuries of documented safe use, cannabis is still classified in America as a Schedule I substanceâ€"indicating a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical value. Healthcare advocates have tried to resolve this contradiction through legal and administrative channels to no avail.
In 1996, patients and advocates turned to the state level for access, passing voter initiatives in California and Arizona that allowed for legal use of cannabis with a doctor's recommendation. These victories were followed by the passage of similar initiatives in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Maine, Montana, Nevada, and Washington D.C. The legislatures of Hawaii, Rhode Island, Maryland and Vermont have also acted on behalf of their citizens, and every legislative session sees more bills introduced at the state level across the country.
In 1997, The Office of National Drug Control Policy commissioned the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to conduct a comprehensive study of the medical efficacy of cannabis therapeutics. The IOM concluded that cannabis is a safe and effective medicine, patients should have access, and the government should expand avenues for research and drug development. The federal government has completely ignored its findings and refused to act on its recommendations.
Despite the federal barriers to research, hundreds of peer-reviewed studies have been published worldwide since the IOM report. While there is still much to learn, the medical potential is indisputable for a variety of symptoms and conditions.
In 1997, the Federal government began a campaign to arrest and prosecute medical cannabis patients and their providers. These raids resulted in two Supreme Court Cases, OCBC and Gonzales v. Raich. In each of these cases the Justices found that the Federal law and state law can exist in conflict and that the federal government could continue their campaign against medical cannabis patients if they so choose. However, the Justices questioned "the wisdom' of going after patients and their providers and called on Congress to change the current laws to allow for medical use. History of Medical Cannabis ... more -
Role seen for cannabis in helping to alleviate allergic skin disease
Administering a substance found in the cannabis plant can help the body?s natural protective system alleviate an allergic skin disease (allergic contact dermatitis), an international group of researchers from Germany, Israel, Italy, Switzerland and the U.S. has found.Allergic contact dermatitis is caused by reaction to something that directly contacts the skin. Many different substances (allergens) can cause allergic contact dermatitis. Usually these substances cause no trouble for most people, but if the skin is sensitive or allergic to the substance, any exposure will produce a rash, which may become very severe. Allergic contact dermatitis affects about 5 percent of men and 11percent of women in industrialized countries and is one of the leading causes for occupational diseases.
An article describing the work of the international research group, led by Dr Andreas Zimmer from the University of Bonn, was published recently in the journal Science. The article deals with alleviating allergic skin disease through what is called the endocannabinoid system. Among the members of the group is Prof. Raphael Mechoulam of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem School of Pharmacy.
In earlier work, Prof. Mechoulam?s research group at the Hebrew University isolated two naturally occurring cannabinoid (cannabis-like) components ? one from the brain, named anandamide (from the word ananda, meaning supreme joy in Sanskrit), and another from the intestines named 2-AG. These two cannabinoids, plus their receptors and various enzymes that are involved in the cannnabinoids? syntheses and degradations, comprise the endocannabinoid system. These materials have similar effects to those of the active components in hashish and marijuana, produced from the cannabis plant.
Research by groups throughout the world has since shown that the endocannabinoid system is involved in many physiological processes, including the protective reaction of the mammalian body to a long list of neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
In the article in Science, the researchers detail how the endocannabinoid system serves as a major regulator of cutaneous (skin) contact hypersensitivity (CHS) in a mouse model. In this model, they showed, for example, that mice lacking cannabinoid receptors display exacerbated inflammatory skin responses to an allergen.
Because the data indicate that enhanced activation of the endocannabinoid system may function to dampen the CHS response, the researchers administered cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a constituent derived from the cannabis plant, to the experimental animals. They findings showed that the THC significantly decreased the allergic reaction in comparison to untreated mice.
In order to better understand the molecular mechanism that may contribute to the increased CHS in cannabinoid-receptor deficient mice, the researchers performed a series of experiments which showed that mouse skin cells produce a specific chemical (a chemokine) which is involved in the annoying disease reaction. Activation of the endocannabinoid system in the skin upon exposure to a contact allergen lowers the allergic responses through modulating the production of this chemokine.
The results thus clearly show a protective role for the endocannabinoid system in contact allergy in the skin and suggest that development of cannabinoid compounds based on elements produced from the cannabis plant could enhance therapeutic treatment for humans.
Downloadable File: cannabis.doc
http://www.huji.ac.il/cgi-bin/dovrut/dovrut_search_eng.... Administering a substance found in the cannabis plant can help the body?s natural protective system alleviate an allergic skin disease... more -
Psychotropic plants made Moses hear ‘voices’ at Mt Sinai
By Ofri Ilani, Haaretz Correspondent
“And all the people perceived the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the horn, and the mountain smoking.” Thus the book of Exodus describes the impressive moment of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
The “perceiving of the voices” has been interpreted endlessly since these words were first written. When Professor Benny Shanon, professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reads the verse, he recalls a powerful hallucinatory experience he had when he visited the Amazon and drank a potion made from a plant called ayahuasca.
“One of the things that happens when you drink the potion is a visual experience created via sounds,” he says.Shanon presents a provocative theory in an article published this week in the philosophy journal Time and Mind. The religious ceremonies of the Israelites included the use of psychotropic materials that can found in the Negev and Sinai, he says.
“I have no direct proof of this interpretation,” and such proof cannot be expected, he says. However, “it seems logical that something was altered in people’s consciousness. There are other stories in the Bible that mention the use of plants: for example, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden.”
Shanon, former head of the Hebrew University psychology department, said his first experience with ayahuasca was in 1991 when he was invited to a religious ceremony in the northern Amazon in 1991 in Brazil.
“I experienced visions that had spiritual-religious connotations,” he says.
Since that time, he has used it hundreds of times, and has published a book about the plant.
“Hypotheses have been around for 20 years connecting the beginning of religions with psychoactive materials,” Shanon says. He believes the Israelites used two plants in Sinai and the Negev: one of them is wild rue, a hallucinogen used by the Bedoin to this day. However this plant is not identified with any plant mentioned in the Bible.
The acacia tree also has psychedelic properties, Shanon says, which the Israelites could have used. The acacia is mentioned frequently in the Bible, and was the type of wood of which the Ark of the Covenant was made. According to Shanon, he drank a potion prepared from a species of acacia while he was in South America, which caused similar experiences to those produced by the ayahuasca.
Shanon also sees signs of a hallucinogenic vision in the story of the burning bush. “Moses ‘looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed,’” Shanon quotes from Exodus 3:2. Time passes differently when under the influence of the plant, he notes. “That’s why Moses thought the bush was not consumed. It should have been burned in the time he thought had passed. And in that time, he heard God speaking to him.”
“But not everyone who uses a plant like this brings the Torah,” Shanon concedes. “For that, you have to be Moses.” By Ofri Ilani, Haaretz Correspondent ... more -
Why not regulate marijuana like alcohol?
* Marijuana is far safer than alcohol because it does not stimulate aggressiveness and is not nearly as addictive. 1
* To save $7.7 billion in enforcement costs. 2
* To produce $6.2 billion in tax revenue (which could be used to pay for education, treatment and prevention for all drugs.) 2
* To deprive cartels and gangs of a major source of revenue. 3
* To significantly enhance the effectiveness of our police and courts. (Current annual marijuana arrests exceed 700,000 per year.) 4
* To separate marijuana from far more dangerous illegal drugs, ending the "gateway" to drug dealers we now have. 5
* To reduce hypocrisy and make drug education more credible and effective. 6
* To end prisons doing far more damage to users than the drug itself. 7
* To end the breaking of the law by otherwise law abiding citizens, especially the more than 900,000 children under 18 years old who buy and resell marijuana. 8
* To remove major barriers to research for medical use. 9
* To reduce violence in general and safeguard law enforcers. 10
And because it would not
have been banned at all but for
a political scoundrel! 11
("... Anslinger's campaign may have been just a tool in the beginning, but fueled with this kind of racial tinder, it quickly got out of hand. The Treasury Department was barraged with cries for help from civic leaders: 'I wish I could show you what a small marijuana cigarette can do to one of our degenerate Spanish-speaking residents ...'") (To be continued next month)
Common Sense for Drug Policy
www.CommonSenseDrugPolicy.org, www.DrugWarFacts.org
www.AddictInTheFamily.org, www.DrugWarDistortions.org
H. Michael Gray, Chair; Robert E. Field, Co-Chair
info@csdp.org * Marijuana is far safer than alcohol because it does not stimulate aggressiveness and is not nearly as addictive. 1 ... more -
Cannabis Cancer Cure Proven - video
After a serious head injury in 1997, Rick Simpson sought relief from his medical condition through the use of medicinal hemp oil, (which differs greatly from hemp seed oil which contains none of the "active" THC compound).
When Rick discovered that the hemp oil (with its high concentration of T.H.C.) cured cancers and other illnesses, he tried to share it with as many people as he could free of charge. After a serious head injury in 1997, Rick Simpson sought relief from his medical condition through the use of medicinal hemp oil, (whi... more -
The Cannabis Consumers Campaign
The goal of the Cannabis Consumers Campaign is to create public policy changes by: 1) dispelling the myths and negative stereotypes that perpetuate marijuana prohibition and all its harsh consequences and 2) providing a more positive and accurate image of adults who consume cannabis. By coming out of the closet, we demonstrate to the general public, the media, and our political leaders that pot smokers are good, responsible, contributing members of society who deserve equal status and treatment before the law and in society as a whole. Come on out with us, Stop being afraid. The goal of the Cannabis Consumers Campaign is to create public policy changes by: 1) dispelling the myths and negative stereotypes th... more
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Cannabis Myth's Debunked
We hear a lot in press regarding cannabis and its effects on the human body.
"In the red corner" we have the hardened cannabis users who won't be told anything different. They've used cannabis for many years, with seemingly little or no ill-effect. They smoke pot, and they like it a lot, and nothing the government is going to say is going to change that.
Meanwhile in "the blue corner", we have the anti-cannabis brigade, with their tales of cannabis woe. Stories as published by the popular press, such as the Daily Mail for instance, who's editor Paul Dacre has made cannabis his own personal mission-in-life.
If this group is to be believed, cannabis is the root cause of a multitude of ailments including international terrorism. Regardless of the fact cannabis is now a prescribed drug in many global regions, politicians (and news editors) in Europe are still loath to even reference the fact this practice takes place. But it does!
They prefer instead, to concentrate on the 'party line', whichever party they are loyal too. And not giving cannabis a shred of credibility for being a truly beneficial plant which has never killed a single person.
We're not hear to sway you one way or another, but here are some interesting facts which you may enjoy reading. Rest assured there are no lies here. No spin doctoring. Just facts, whether you like them or not.
Follow the link for the full story We hear a lot in press regarding cannabis and its effects on the human body. ... more -
Cannabis less dangerous, less addictive than Starbucks lattes
Dr. Phillip Leveque has spent his life as a Combat Infantryman, Physician, Toxicologist and Pharmacologist.
http://pr.cannazine.co.uk : The argument for the use of raw cannabis as a medical drug has been rumbling on for literally decades, but successive governments have stuck by their guns, preferring to arrest and incarcerate legitimate cannabis using patients who may be suffering from a multitude of illnesses. Ailments which doctors in other countries such as Holland, the US, Germany, Belgium and Portugal to name only 5, are only to happy to sign a prescription allowing the patient to use cannabis to relieve their condition and symptoms.
Dr Phillip "Dogface" Leveque
According to a practicing physician based in Oregon in the US, a state which legalised cannabis use for medicinal purposes over 9 years ago, "marijuana is less dangerous and addictive than a latte from Starbucks". Which flies in the face of so called "medical experts" and their opinions here in the UK. So who's right and who's telling lies?
Follow link for full story Dr. Phillip Leveque has spent his life as a Combat Infantryman, Physician, Toxicologist and Pharmacologist. ... more -
Medical marijuana extract good for Alzheimer's disease: on International CNN...
This would never show in United State's CNN... I have a feeling this is British which they are in favor of medical marijuana. This proves that the American government LIES
(lmao ) Posted comment on CNN International:
I agree with this comment... that this type of solution is left out of the US media.
No profits for pharmaceuticals...so sad for them. This would never show in United State's CNN... I have a feeling this is British which they are in favor of medical marijuana. Thi... more -
Oaksterdam University: Higher Education...In Cannibo Veritas
"The school prepares people for jobs in California's thriving medical marijuana industry. For $200 and the cost of two required textbooks, students learn how to cultivate and cook with cannabis, study which strains of pot are best for certain ailments, and are instructed in the legalities of a business that is against the law in the eyes of the federal government.
'My basic idea is to try to professionalize the industry and have it taken seriously as a real industry, just like beer and distilling hard alcohol,' said Richard Lee, 45, an activist and pot-dispensary owner who founded the school in a downtown storefront last fall."
Is there any financial aid available? "The school prepares people for jobs in California's thriving medical marijuana industry. For $200 and the cost of two requi... more -
Hillary inhaled on Willie Nelson's bus?
I was just watching real time with Bill Maher and he was interviewing Merle Haggard about the release of his new album during the discussion Bill asks Merle about a song that he wrote for Hilary called "let's put a woman in charge", http://www.newwest.net/city/article/merle_haggard_on_hi... Merle responds that he wrote the song and that Hilary played it at a few of her fund raising events where it was well received. So Hillary's people took the song to Nashville and got a bunch of other songwriters involved to write all these different songs about Hillary. Anyway, Merle didn't look none too pleased about that saying "What is that all about?" While he shrugged his shoulders and looked besmiffed.
Then the discussion turned to Merle once being against Marijuana and Bill asked him if he had changed his mind about that saying "you wrote that in Muscogee we don't smoke marijuana." Merle replies that he no longer spends time in Muscogee" which draws some laughs because of Merle's smile, and then Bill asks him about Willie Nelson, and Merle responds that "Willie never goes to Muscogee" which draws more laughs. Then Merle says "Hillary arrived with Willie on his bus" which draws even more laughs and even some gasps of shock then cheers when Merle says "And she inhaled!" and he cracks the biggest smirk you ever saw. Then there was this awkward silence between Bill and Merle as if to suggest that Hillary smoked weed with Willie.
It was Hillar-ious..... I was just watching real time with Bill Maher and he was interviewing Merle Haggard about the release of his new album during the disc... more -
Smoking medical weed while off-duty in CA could cost some their jobs...
Presently, the skies outside are grey and stormy, much like the medical marijuana debate.
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D.E.A. A-OK
This pod explores the issue of medical marijuana in California, through the eyes of a dispensary owner.
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related topics
Medical Cannabis
Contributors (87)
Medical Cannabis
