Tag: Medical cannabis

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Here’s How Marijuana Works Better Than Opiates To Control Pain

It’s all in the way human brains are hardwired. The following article first appeared in Cannabis Now:  One compelling argument for the legalization of medical marijuana is its ability to ameliorate intense pain. Currently available technologies have helped us gain understanding of cannabis, as well as its more-commonly-accepted opioid counterparts, and the affects they have on pain. In 2010, as an attempt to gain insight on pain’s function in the brain, Oxford University conducted a study using fMRI machines and the standard tricks of psychology. Volunteers were monitored during zaps of pain to their feet. Some areas, they were told, had the potential to be unsafe. In those spots, the volunteers reported their pain levels as being higher. In reality, all of it was safe. Interestingly, in the fMRI […] Read More

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2014: Medical Marijuana Patients Are Forced Back into Hiding in California

Bans on dispensaries and home cultivation are sweeping the Golden State. The following article first appeared in the East Bay Express:  The pain started for Randy Barrett when he was thirteen years old. He was whipping a three-wheeled motorcycle around the hills of Martinez, California. Back then, riding ATVs was “just part of life,” he said. “This was the Seventies and Eighties. We had dirt bikes; we had three-wheelers — the ones with a big old front rubber tire. I was driving around in the dirt and hit a patch of concrete in the road that caught the front tire and shot me forward.” Barrett’s chest bent around the handlebar and he “flew off and flipped and landed in someone’s front yard,” he said. He […] Read More

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The Surprising Truth About Driving While High

The human body does not process cannabis the way it processes alcohol. The following article first appeared in Cannabis Now Magazine:  As more and more states adopt medical and recreational marijuana policies, it seems the most feared outcome of legalization is that with the passage of laws that permit any sort of marijuana use, more impaired drivers will end up on the roads. In fact, during the Denver 4/20 celebrations last weekend, tourists learned just how easy it was to get a ticket for smoking cannabis in public because of these concerns. Under Amendment 64, establishments designed for cannabis consumption (akin to a bar or lounge where alcohol is served) are prohibited. Although loopholes have allowed some such clubs to exist (by charging a cover fee but not actually […] Read More

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The Latest Pot Myth, Smacked Down By Science

Why do prohibitionists keep pushing lies about legal weed? Those opposed to the legalization and regulation of marijuana for any purpose, including the plant’s therapeutic use when authorized by a physician, often allege that the adoption of such laws will result in a significant increase in pot use by young people. “The damage of marijuana—and these laws—is clear,” claims David Evans, executive director of the Drug Free Schools Coalition, in a recent open letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder and DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart. “Legalization of marijuana for ‘medical’ use and recreational use in those states has resulted in more marijuana use, particularly among young people.” Adds Kevin Sabet, co-founder of Project SAM and a former senior policy advisor at the White House Office of National Drug […] Read More

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2014: Obama Administration Doesn’t Need Congress to Loosen Marijuana Restrictions

Polls find up to 81% U.S. support for medical pot–it’s time we at least allow studies. Attorney General Eric Holder is trying to walk an increasingly fraught middle ground on cannabis policy. Attention has turned to the federal government on the issue of marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD, among many others. Schedule I drugs are deemed to be harmful and have no medical benefit. With 20 states plus Washington D.C. having a medical marijuana law on the books, and Maryland set to be the 17th state to decriminalize pot, it’s clear that many state legislatures disagree. Polls have found up to 81% national support for medical cannabis. Holder said he’d be “more than glad to work with Congress,” on […] Read More

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2014: Uh Oh: Politicians Formerly Against Medical Marijuana Now Singing Praises of Cannabidiol

Don’t sacrifice the plant for one of its healing compounds. State lawmakers who have steadfastly opposed the legalization of medical marijuana are suddenly singing the praises of cannabidiol. What gives? Lawmakers in a growing number of states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Utah, and Wisconsin, are saying no to medical cannabis but yes to cannabidiol, a naturally occurring compound in the plant. But is this new direction in the best interest of patients? Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is one of an estimated 100 unique, biologically active compounds present in the marijuana plant. First discovered in 1940 (though its specific chemical structure was not identified until 1963), CBD is the most studied cannabinoid after delta-9-THC. Like THC, the compound acts on the endogenous cannabinoid system to […] Read More

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2013: Medical Marijuana Strain Has Hundreds Of Parents Flocking To Colorado

CBS Denver Medical Marijuana Strain Has Hundreds Of Parents Flocking To Colorado Related articles Chief Black Kettle Except from MYTHS AND TALES OF THE JICARILLA APACHE INDIANS Crime in Denver Decreases After Pot Legalization Was a Mysterious Underground Structure Found On the Moon? Several Circular Objects Surrounded Plane 2006: The Marcia Burke Encounter Colorado floods ‘completely overwhelm’ search for oil and gas leaks

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2013: Medical Marijuana Can be a Much-Needed Miracle for Vets With PTSD

Staff Sargent Mike Whiter says prescription drugs are contributing to veteran suicides—and marijuana saves lives. After Staff Sargent Mike Whiter returned home from serving his country, he tried to kill himself three times. Whiter served in the US Marines for 11 years, including combat tours in Kosovo and Iraq. After his medical discharge, Whiter sought help from the Veterans Administration for his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as well as his physical injuries. “They put me on 36 different medications in 6 years,” recalls Whiter. “I was on methadone and morphine, benzos, klonopin, xanax, SSRIs…You name a drug, I’ve been on it. I couldn’t sleep, I was having nightmares, I couldn’t leave my house – I was afraid to leave my house.” Whiter believes that […] Read More

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1996: MARIJUANA – A Medicinal Marvel

Cannabis, or marijuana, has proven medical benefits and few, if any, toxic side-effects. Why, then, has it been a prohibited medicine for over fifty years? Dr Lester Grinspoon interviewed by Jana Ray © 1996 by Jana Ray For further information, contact: c/- B.C. Anti-Prohibition League PO Box 8179 Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 3R8 Canada Extracted from Nexus Magazine, Volume 3, #5 (August-September ’96). PO Box 30, Mapleton Qld 4560 Australia. nexus@peg.apc.org Telephone: +61 (0)7 5442 9280; Fax: +61 (0)7 5442 9381 From our web page at: http://www.peg.apc.org/~nexus/ Medicinal cannabis, also known as medical marijuana, is beginning to receive attention worldwide. Unfortunately, scare tactics and misinformation surrounding the international ‘war on drugs’ continue to dominate in the political and medical arenas, leaving many unwilling or unable to […] Read More

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2013: Bar Fight! The Booze Industry is Furious over Campaigns Saying Weed is Safer than Alcohol

Booze lobbyists are becoming more and more pissed off at marijuana advocates as legalization sweeps the country. Booze lobbyists are becoming more and more pissed off at marijuana as legalization sweeps the country, the National Journal reported. In the buildup to this weeks’ pot victory in Portland, Maine, the Marijuana Policy Project put up signs around the city which read: “I prefer marijuana over alcohol because it doesn’t make me rowdy or reckless,” and “I prefer marijuana over alcohol because it’s less harmful to my body.” In response, the alcohol lobby freaked out. Chris Thorne at the Beer Institute told National Journal that it’s a red herring to compare alcohol to pot.  “We believe it’s misleading to compare marijuana to beer,” he said, “Beer is distinctly different […] Read More