Tag: Cannabis (drug)

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Marijuana Kills Cancer Cells, Admits the U.S. National Cancer Institute

Why is it still ‘a drug with no medicinal purpose?’ by Barbara Minton, Natural Society National legalization of marijuana may be drawing a smidgeon closer. The National Cancer Institute (NCI), one of the federal government sponsored agencies, has just updated the FAQs on its website to include recent studies on marijuana showing that it can and has killed cancer cells. These are the findings of studies NCI have included:      Cannabinoids may inhibit tumor growth by causing cell death, blocking cell growth, and blocking the development of blood vessels needed by tumors to grow. Laboratory and animal studies have shown that cannabinoids may be able to kill cancer cells while protecting normal cells.     Cannabinoids may protect against inflammation of the colon and may have […] Read More

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How Tobacco Seems to Block Memory Loss for Pot Smokers

A study of marijuana users who also smoke tobacco finds surprising differences in memory function. About 70% of pot smokers also use tobacco, and that sizeable population has typically been excluded from marijuana studies because researchers are, well, studying marijuana—not tobacco, and not marijuana and tobacco. But a new study from the University of Texas looks at pot smokers who also smoke cigarettes and it finds significant differences between those who smoke both and those who only smoke pot. Researchers at the university’s Center for Brain Health were looking specifically at the size of the hippocampus—a brain region responsible for memory and learning—and found that while both cigarette smokers and pot smokers had smaller hippocampal brain volumes than non-smokers, people who smoked both showed signs of […] Read More

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Why the World’s Remaining Hunter-Gatherer Societies Are Some of the Biggest Pot Smokers

Was it the medicinal qualities that originally inspired humans to light up, instead of the urge to get high? What if it were marijuana’s medicinal qualities that originally inspired humans to light up, instead of the urge to get high? That’s the theory of some Washington State bioanthropologists just back from studying one of the world’s last hunter-gatherer societies—nomadic Africans in the Congo Basin who also happen to be among the world’s biggest pot smokers. What’s clear is that the Aka people are managing to keep at bay an otherwise deadly infestation of intestinal worms entirely through diligent application of cannabis. They are not doing it on purpose, however. The Aka, also known as Pygmies, enjoy weed because of what it does to their heads, not […] Read More

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Feds Admit Medical Pot Works on Brain Tumors — but They’re Going After Users Anyway

“The Justice Department is ignoring the will of the voters, defying Congress, and breaking the law” In a report issued by a U.S. government-funded research group tasked with studying drug abuse and addiction, researchers are admitting that marijuana is useful in killing off specific types of brain tumors. The report — coming from a government-backed group with annual budget of over $1 billion — arrives at an awkward time for the administration following an announcement by the Department of Justice this week that it will continue to prosecute medical marjiuana cases against individuals in defiance of Congress. According to the Daily Caller, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) issued a revised report for the month of April, stating, “recent animal studies have shown that marijuana […] Read More

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Federal Judge Considers Declaring Marijuana ‘Schedule I’ Status Unconstitutional

A federal judge in Sacramento, California just heard closing arguments in a case that challenges the constitutionality of the federal government’s Schedule I classification for marijuana. The motion points out that a true schedule I substance is defined by a substance having a “high potential for abuse.” It also mandates that the substance have “no currently accepted medical use,” as well as “a lack of accepted safety… under medical supervision.” But all of that is completely untrue of marijuana. Thus, the motion argues that the status restricting the plant is unconstitutional. This marks the first time that a federal court has heard evidence like this since the early 1970s.  The case is United States v. Pickard, et. al., No. 2:11-CR-0449-KJM, and the legal briefs for it are all available online here. So what is the federal […] Read More

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Politicians Across the US Are Pushing Medical Marijuana Smoking Bans — Here’s Why They Are Dead Wrong

Another knee-jerk bad idea. State lawmakers are moving ahead with legislative efforts to allow for the limited use of medical ‘cannabis’ while simultaneously forbidding anyone from either inhaling the herb or possessing its flowers Many medical marijuana advocates cheered the news this week that members of the Utah Senate gave preliminary approval to legislation to permit the use of medical cannabis preparations for qualified patients. No doubt the vote marked a significant change in attitude for lawmakers in the heavily Mormon state. But while the vote marked a ‘first’ for Utah, lawmakers’ decision to prohibit patients from legally possessing, inhaling, or vaporizing actual cannabis is part of a growing, and problematic, national trend. While no state legislature has approved a law permitting medi-pot patients to […] Read More

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Life In Prison For $20 of Weed

  A homeless man in Louisiana has now become the prime example of the failed drug war. His case demonstrates just how the so-called “War on Drugs” is really just a “War on Us.” Fate Vincent Winslow, is a 41-year-old homeless African American man, who was down on his luck, homeless and hungry. On September 5th, 2008, Abby Haglage of The Daily Beast, reports that he, along with a man he called “Perdue,” became the targets of a police sting operation. An undercover cop approached the two, pretending to look for marijuana and a prostitute. Perdue was not arrested, but Winslow was… Why? Because he was desperate to eat and he offered a way to make a quick $5. Haglage reports the exchange as follows: […] Read More

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Pot is 114 Times Safer Than Booze, Says Study

New research finds pot is the least deadly among recreational drugs by far. A new report, by the journal Scientific Reports, finds that marijuana is far safer than other recreational drugs, including and especially alcohol. Pot may be as much as 114 times safer than booze, say the researchers. The study also maintains that past research into alcohol has systematically underestimated the risks associated with its use. The study sought to quantify the risk of death associated with the use of common recreational drugs. Alcohol, they found, was the deadliest substance, followed by heroin and cocaine. The safest drug was marijuana; it was also the only drug in the study that had a low mortality risk for users. Unlike other studies into drug toxicity, the […] Read More

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New York’s Pot Arrests Haven’t Slowed Down and Are As Racist as Ever [VIDEO]

New York is on track to arrest 28,600 people for pot possession this year, most of them minorities. New York’s new Democratic mayor Bill de Blasio ran a significant portion of his election campaign on his promise to end the racialized policing practices of his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg. Law enforcement practices under Bloomberg, and Rudolph Giuliani before him, disproportionately targeted poor communities of color and led to the arrests of tens of thousands of people per year for carrying tiny amounts of marijuana. Sadly, the city is currently on track to hit 28,600 marijuana possession arrests under the new de Blasio administration—on par with the average arrests during the Giuliani years. And similar to stats from Bloomberg’s time in office, minorities account for 86 percent of […] Read More

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The Drug War Fuels Mass Deportation of Nonviolent Migrants

250,000 people have been deported for drug offenses in the last 6 years. The drug war has increasingly become a war against migrant communities. It fuels racial profiling, border militarization, violence against immigrants, intrusive government surveillance and, especially, widespread detentions and deportations. Media and politicians have tried to convince us that everyone who gets deported is a violent criminal, a terrorist or a drug kingpin. But a newly released, first-of-its-kind report shatters that notion, showing instead that the majority (some two-thirds) of those deported last year were guilty of minor, nonviolent offenses – including thousands deported for nothing more than possessing small quantities of drugs, typically marijuana. The report, an analysis of federal immigration data conducted by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, […] Read More