Legalize Cannabis in Australia and End Prohibition

Cannabis to suppress tumor invasion

2011-12-31T13:56:00.000+11:00

Endocannabinoids as emerging suppressors of angiogenesis and tumor invasion (review).

Bifulco M, Laezza C, Gazzerro P, Pentimalli F.

Source

Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Salerno, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy. maubiful@unina.it

Abstract

The medicinal properties of extracts from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa have been known for centuries but only in the 90s membrane receptors for the Cannabis major principle were discovered in mammalian cells. Later on the endogenous ligands for the cannabinoid receptors were identified and the term 'endocannabinoid system' was coined to indicate the complex signaling system of cannabinoid receptors, endogenous ligands and the enzymes responsible for their biosynthesis and inactivation. The 'endocannabinoid system' is involved in a broad range of functions and in a growing number of pathological conditions. There is increasing evidence that endocannabinoids are able to inhibit cancer cell growth in culture as well as in animal models. Most work has focused on the role of endocannabinoids in regulating tumor cell growth and apoptosis and ongoing research is addressed to further dissect the precise mechanisms of cannabinoid antitumor action. However, endocannabinoids are now emerging as suppressors of angiogenesis and tumor spreading since they have been reported to inhibit angiogenesis, cell migration and metastasis in different types of cancer, pointing to a potential role of the endocannabinoid system as a target for a therapeutic approach of such malignant diseases. The potential use of cannabinoids to retard tumor growth and spreading is even more appealing considering that they show a good safety profile, regarding toxicity, and are already used in cancer patients as palliatives to stimulate appetite and to prevent devastating effects such as nausea, vomiting and pain.

PMID: 17342320 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17342320

Weed Wars : Discovery Channel

2011-12-16T13:39:00.000+11:00

Weed Wars

Oakland's Harborside Health Center is the nation's largest medicinal cannabis dispensary. Founder and executive director Steve DeAngelo has made twin missions of providing the best possible product to the patients who make up his client base, and educating the rest of the country about the regulation and taxation of those goods. WEED WARS takes an up close and personal look at the reality of running a controversial medicinal cannabis business.

I recommend watching this. Thanks to Chop for showing me Weed Wars it really is an eye opener and to all of the staff at Oakland's Harborside Health Center and to The Discovery Channel.
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/weed-wars/

Mullaways Medical Cannabis founder Tony Bower on channel 10's The Project

2011-11-26T08:54:00.000+11:00

Save Marty from Cancer

2011-11-17T15:30:00.000+11:00

Marty is fighting with stage 4 lung cancer that has metastasis to other part of her body. We are simply trying to round up funds to try any method and alternative treatments available to us out there and not just give up. Please help Marty by visiting their Facebook page and donating so that she can live.

Save Marty from Cancer

Medicinal Alchemy - Cannabis Concentrates Tutorial - Amber Glass, Budder, Shatter, Jolly, Honeycomb, Earwax Hashish- Dogon Sirius LLC

2011-11-14T07:26:00.000+11:00

Did You Know?
* Co2 & oxygen extraction techniques do not necessarily yield the best medical cannabis concentrates and extracts.
* Approx. 75% of BHO is composed of fats, waxes, lipids & solids which provide no medical use and can actually be carcinogenic.
* Most medical cannabis concentrates available are full of these same impurities.
* Most medical cannabis concentrates are not fully purged and contain residual solvents which may result in
harsh taste and unhealthy, adverse side effects.
* Approx. 75% of all dollars spent on cannabis concentrate medicine is wasted due to these very simple facts.
PLEASE VISIT:
Medicinal Alchemy - Cannabis Concentrates Tutorial - Amber Glass, Budder, Shatter, Jolly, Honeycomb, Earwax Hashish- Dogon Sirius LLC

Strong case for legal cannabis in Australia

2011-11-01T09:05:00.000+11:00

THERE are many Tasmanians who grow, use and even sell cannabis.

They should not in any way be considered to be acting criminally in doing so because when it comes to cannabis the law is truly an ass with a capital A.

Cannabis should be able to be grown by individuals and businesses. They should have the right to sell their product to manufacturers and distributors, and pharmacists ought to be able to dispense it.

If this happened, thousands of Tasmanians who suffer chronic pain would not have to fear jackbooted police officers raiding their backyards.

And the cannabis which is not used for medical purposes ought to be available to those who want to smoke it.

Just as we allow alcohol to be sold via bottle shops and hotels, and cigarettes through any number of retail outlets, we should allow Tasmanians the right to buy cannabis.

The anti-cannabis brigade, which these days consists of gutless politicians fearful of right-wing media and interest group reactions, and a few police officers stuck in the dark ages on drugs, could not complain about the establishment of a regulated cannabis market. Such a market is a means of ensuring product quality control and taxation.

The California Medical Association, the doctors' union in that state, has recently published a paper on cannabis regulation. The paper's observations are applicable to Tasmania. For example, the comment that "unregulated cannabis continues to be easily accessible, often at low cost", despite the prohibition policies of government is something that we can safely say is the case in Tasmania.

The CMA notes that cannabis can be effective in the treatment of pain, nausea, anorexia and other conditions but it also observes that in the current unregulated market, which politicians sanction in places like Tasmania, the quality and supply issues are variable so that cannabis can cause addiction, memory loss, psychotic disorders and reproductive risks.

Because cannabis is illegal, medical researchers have great difficulty in working on programs to help enhance the positive effects of cannabis on users.

Politicians in Tasmania and other jurisdictions that refuse to allow cannabis to be classified as a drug like alcohol are, in the words of the CMA, perpetuating "the effective prohibition of clinical research on the properties of cannabis and [preventing] the development of state and national standards governing the cultivation, manufacture, and labelling of cannabis products, similar to those governing food, tobacco and alcohol products".

The research that is being carried out is producing promising results. The Daily Mail reported on October 7 that a team from Temple University in Philadelphia have released results of research demonstrating that cannabis stops nerve pain caused by a drug used in chemotherapy.

In fact it is downright bizarre that governments allow tobacco to be sold but not cannabis.

Scott Shane, of Case Western Reserve University, argues not "only does the government's approach make it difficult for people who need physician-prescribed marijuana to get the treatments they need, imposing pain and hardship, but the approach is also backwards. The government supports the sale of cigarettes, which cause cancer, but discourages the sale of medical marijuana, which is used to manage the side effects of the chemotherapy that these cancer patients must endure".

This state of affairs cannot be justified on health or broader public policy grounds. Further, there is an economic opportunity going begging because of the policy of prohibition.

There is an Australian market for cannabis as a recreational drug and as a drug of value in alleviation of pain.

Instead of spending millions of dollars in laughable prosecutions of people who grow, use and sell cannabis, why not use that money to regulate the market?

We do it with alcohol and, in fact, with all food and beverages -- despite the fact that alcohol and some foods cause us damage to our health if used inappropriately. Why should cannabis be treated any differently?

Tasmania, with its ample supply of land and water, is an ideal place for the growth of a legal and regulated cannabis industry.

We grow poppies in this state for the pharmaceutical industry and have done successfully for a number of years, despite security risks.

Why don't we do the same with cannabis when it so clearly is in the community's interests to stop prohibition and allow for the production and sale of a socially useful product?

The refusal by policy makers and law enforcement agencies to allow for the development of a legal cannabis market is based on prejudice and stupidity.

It makes no scientific sense and it condemns millions of people to a life lived in pain. Tasmania should become the first Australian jurisdiction to end this nonsense.

Source:

http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2011/10/31/273121_opinion.html

Cannabis Science Releases First Cannabis-Extract-Based Formulation Available Now at Cannabis Therapeutics

2011-10-28T21:57:00.000+11:00

Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTCBB: CBIS), a pioneering US biotech company developing pharmaceutical cannabis products, is pleased to announce the successful release of the first Cannabis Science brand formulation. The Company has been receiving a constant flow of inquires via its website, emails, and telephone calls for cannabis-extract based medicines. For example, cancer patients seeking extract-based formulations for topical or internal use have frequently contacted Cannabis Science. Manufacturing and packaging has been completed and is now available through Cannabis Therapeutics for patient usage.

Cannabis Therapeutics
www.cannabistherapeutics.net
907 E Fillmore St.
Colorado Springs, CO 80907
(719) 633-7124

In light of the accumulating anecdotal reports of the successful cancer treatments with cannabis extracts, the Company will continue to keep patients updated on current peer-reviewed scientific literature supporting the historical and modern use of cannabis to treat "tumors”. Unlike conventional treatment, cannabis medicines have an outstanding safety profile allowing patients in states with medical marijuana laws to safely make informed decisions to legally self-administration of various cannabis-based preparations.

The first Cannabis Science Brand extract-based formulation is comprised of high quality oil packaged in oral dispensing syringes for patient self-administration for treatment. This is a critical milestone for the Company in bringing its first formulation to market. Other formulations will be made available soon to medical marijuana patients in Colorado through the Company’s vetted dispensaries. The Company’s intent is to work with specially appointed legal providers and laboratories to expand the availability of its formulations across the United States where legally available.
Cannabis Science, Inc. is at the forefront of pharmaceutical grade medical marijuana research and development. The first formulations will address the needs of patients choosing to use concentrated cannabis extracts to treat their ailments. Eventually, all Americans will have access to a safe and effective FDA approved medicine regardless of which state they live in. To maintain that marijuana is a dangerous, addictive drug with no medical value is scientifically absurd. Cannabis medicines, with no effective lethal dose, are far safer than aspirin, acetaminophen, and most other OTC drugs that kill thousands of Americans every year.
The Company works with world authorities on phytocannabinoid science targeting critical illnesses, and adheres to scientific methodologies to develop, produce and commercialize phytocannabinoid-based pharmaceutical products. In sum, we are dedicated to the creation of cannabis-based medicines, both with and without psychoactive properties, to treat disease and the symptoms of disease, as well as for general health maintenance.
Forward Looking Statements; This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing works such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements may not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based drugs. Cannabis Science, Inc. does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements.

Source: http://www.bradenton.com/2011/10/27/3603065/cannabis-science-releases-first.html#ixzz1c4ZFy6W4

Cannabis an illegal Cancer Cure = Genocide!

2011-10-13T07:53:00.000+11:00

Reposted due to earlier error

Are the figures for schizophrenia going up, as those for cannabis users certainly are. ABC NEWS

2011-10-10T16:59:00.000+11:00

Robyn Williams: A few weeks ago in this program we kicked off a row about dope, Cannabis actually. Does it trigger psychosis or even schizophrenia in heavy users? And are the figures for schizophrenia going up, as those for cannabis users certainly are.

Well, you'd think that's a straightforward question, but no, we found there's disagreement about statistics and their significance.

The same can be heard in the Health Report nearly every week. Yes, avoid coffee or fructose, or cholesterol, or red meat because the stats are worrying. And then Norman Swan talks to ten professors about how the significance of the figures may be in doubt.

So, what do we do? Give up? Well no, instead listen to Professor Geoff Cumming of La Trobe University in Melbourne, who has a book on The New Statistics.

Listen or read full article at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/ockhamsrazor/stories/2011/3333636.htm

Cannabis Science Brand Products To Be Released October 2011 - Successful Cancer Treatments With Cannabis Extracts

2011-09-27T08:44:00.000+10:00

DENVER, Sep 26, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Cannabis Science, Inc. CBIS , a pioneering US biotech company developing pharmaceutical cannabis products, is pleased to announce shareholder guidance on the upcoming release of the first Cannabis Science brand of products. Cannabis extract-based products will initially be made available to licensed medical marijuana patients in Colorado. The Company is excited to announce that its proprietary brand of pharmaceutical products is nearing commercialization.

It is expected that in October 2011, Cannabis Science will contract the production and manufacturing of its branded products for distribution and sale through selected Colorado State licensed dispensaries. The first products will address the needs of patients choosing to use concentrated cannabis extracts to treat their ailments. For example, Cannabis Science has frequently been contacted by cancer patients seeking extract-based formulations for topical or internal use. Cannabis Science is responding to these patient requests for quality products. In the very near future, Cannabis Science will announce details of availability.

In light of the accumulating anecdotal reports of the successful cancer treatments with cannabis extracts, the Company will continue to keep patients updated on current peer-reviewed scientific literature supporting the historical and modern use of cannabis to treat "tumors". Unlike conventional methods, cannabis medicines have an outstanding safety profile allowing patients in states with medical marijuana laws to safely make informed decisions to legally self-administration of various cannabis-based preparations.

Dr. Robert Melamede Ph.D., Cannabis Science president & CEO, stated, "Based on our continued commitment to educate people about the medical value of cannabis, and increasing shareholder value with revenues, releasing these products is a natural progression for us as the world has it's cannabis awakening. Cannabis Science believes everyone has the right to fair and equal access to cannabis-based treatments worldwide.

We believe marijuana prohibition is unconstitutional. It denies people Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Additionally, furthermore, the current legal status violates the equal protection clause. People have legal access to cannabis-based medicines in some states, while others are criminal for using their medicine. Cannabis Science will remedy this situation through educating the masses and by taking our cannabis-based products through the FDA process for nationwide distribution. Eventually, all Americans will have access to a safe and effective FDA approved medicine regardless of which state they live in. To maintain that marijuana is a dangerous, addictive drug with no medical value is scientifically absurd. Cannabis medicines, with no effective lethal dose, are far safer than aspirin, acetaminophen, and most other OTC drugs that kill thousands of Americans every year.

About Cannabis Science, Inc.

Cannabis Science, Inc. is at the forefront of pharmaceutical grade medical marijuana research and development. The Company works with world authorities on phytocannabinoid science targeting critical illnesses, and adheres to scientific methodologies to develop, produce and commercialize phytocannabinoid-based pharmaceutical products. In sum, we are dedicated to the creation of cannabis-based medicines, both with and without psychoactive properties, to treat disease and the symptoms of disease, as well as for general health maintenance.

Forward Looking Statements; This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing works such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements may not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based drugs. Cannabis Science, Inc. does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Cannabis Science, Inc.

Cannabis Science Inc.
Robert Kane
Investor Relations Management
info@cannabisscience.com

The Fountain of Youth: Researchers Identify Mechanism That Seems to Protect Brain from Aging

2011-09-25T08:04:00.000+10:00

copyright University of Bonn

Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Mainz have discovered a mechanism that seems to protect the brain from aging. In experiments with mice, they switched off the cannabinoid-1 receptor. As a consequence, the animals showed signs of degeneration -- as seen in people with dementia -- much faster.

The research results are presented in a current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Humans are getting older and older, and the number of people with dementia is increasing. The factors controlling degeneration of the brain are still mostly unknown. However, researchers assume that factors such as stress, accumulation of toxic waste products as well as inflammation accelerate aging. But, vice versa, there are also mechanisms that can -- like a bodyguard -- protect the brain from degenerating, or repair defective structures.

Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Mainz have now discovered a hitherto unknown function of the cannabinoid-1 receptor (CB1). A receptor is a protein that can bind to other substances, triggering a chain of signals. Cannabinoids such as THC -- the active agent in cannabis sativa -- and endocannabinoids formed by the body bind to the CB1 receptors. The existence of this receptor is also the reason for the intoxicating effect of hashish and marijuana.

Not only does the CB1 receptor have an addictive potential, but it also plays a role in the degeneration of the brain. "If we switch off the receptor using gene technology, mouse brains age much faster," said Önder Albayram, principal author of the publication and a doctoral student on the team of Professor Dr. Andreas Zimmer from the Institut für Molekulare Psychiatrie at the University of Bonn. "This means that the CB1 signal system has a protective effect for nerve cells."

Mice prove their brain power in a pool

The researchers studied mice in different age categories -- young six week old animals, middle-aged ones at five months, and those of an advanced age at 12 months. The animals had to master various tasks -- first, they had to find a submerged platform in the pool. Once the mice knew its location, the platform was moved, and the animals had to find it again. This was how the researchers tested how well the rodents learned and remembered.

The animals in which the CB1 receptor had been switched off (the knock-out mice) clearly differed from their kind. "The knock-out mice showed clearly diminished learning and memory capacity," said Privatdozent Dr. Andras Bilkei-Gorzo from Professor Zimmer's team, who led the study. So, animals that did not have the receptor were less successful in their search for the platform. "In addition, they showed a clear loss of nerve cells in the hippocampus," he explained further. This part of the brain is the central area for forming and storing information. In addition, the researchers found inflammation processes in the brain. As the mice advanced in age, the degenerative processes became increasingly noticeable.

Amazing parallels with the human brain

The animals with the intact CB1 receptor, to the contrary, did clearly better with regard to their learning and memory capabilities, as well as the health of their nerve cells. "The root cause of aging is one of the secrets of life," commented Albayram. This study has begun to open the door to solving this enigma. The processes in the mouse brains have a surprising number of parallels with age-related changes in human brains. So, the endocannabinoid system may also present a protective mechanism in the aging of the human brain.

The principal author cautioned, "This will require additional research." The scientists would like to better understand the mechanism by which CB1 receptors protect the brain from inflammation processes. And based on these signal chains, it might then be possible to develop substances for new therapies. ScienceDaily (July 13, 2011) — http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110712093856.htm

US National Cancer Institute Updates, Confirm Successful Cancer Treatments with Medical Cannabis - Encod.org

2011-09-23T15:22:00.001+10:00

Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTCBB:CBIS), a pioneering US biotech company developing pharmaceutical cannabis products, is pleased to report a government released update on cancer treatments using medical cannabis (marijuana)

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional and cancer.gov, updated March 17, 2011, summarizing how the treatment of cancer with cannabinoids goes beyond the simple treatment of symptoms and side effects by exhibiting possible direct anti tumor activities.

“In the practice of integrative oncology, the health care provider may recommend medicinal Cannabis not only for symptom management but also for its possible direct antitumor effect.”

This summary contains the following key information:

Cannabis has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years prior to its current status as an illegal substance.
Chemical components of Cannabis, called cannabinoids, activate specific receptors found throughout the body to produce pharmacologic effects, particularly in the central nervous system and the immune system.
Cannabinoids may have benefits in the treatment of cancer-related side effects.
The potential benefits of medicinal Cannabis for people living with cancer include antiemetic effects, appetite stimulation, pain relief, and improved sleep.
Though no relevant surveys of practice patterns exist, it appears that physicians caring for cancer patients who prescribe medicinal Cannabis predominantly do so for symptom management.
Unlike other commonly used drugs, cannabinoids are stored in adipose tissue and excreted at a low rate (half-life 1–3 days).
Even abrupt cessation of cannabinoid intake is not associated with rapid declines in plasma concentrations that would precipitate severe or abrupt withdrawal symptoms or drug cravings.

Robert Melamede, Ph.D., Cannabis Science’s CEO stated, “As we’ve previously reported, one of the most interesting findings that has emerged since the discovery of the endocannabinoid system (marijuana like compounds produced by humans, and all vertebrates) is that cannabinoids have profound cancer-killing and anti-metastatic properties. There is strong scientific support, demonstrated in tissue culture and animal studies, of the potent cancer killing properties of cannabinoids for such deadly cancers as glioma, lung cancer, breast and prostate cancer, leukemias and lymphomas, and as well as skin cancers.

Currently the federal government prohibitionist position on cannabis is hindering the medical community by delaying vitally important clinical cannabis research. I was quite elated when I recently saw that the NCI posted on their webpage “In the practice of integrative oncology, the health care provider may recommend medicinal Cannabis not only for symptom management but also for its possible direct antitumor effect.” I foolishly thought that finally there would be official recognition of the modern peer reviewed science that shows the cancer killing properties of cannabinoids. Sadly, this statement was removed, without comment, within hours of its posting.”

Dr. Melamede goes on to say “Clinical trials are desperately needed. Cannabis Science is actively working on arrangements that will allow us to perform the necessary clinical trials to verify, or not, the numerous anecdotal reports demonstrating what appears to be cancer cures. These observations are occurring with greater frequency since numerous states have legalized the medical use of cannabis. Cannabis in various forms has been used by different cultures for thousands of years as a viable medicine for numerous ailments. In fact, some biblical translations even indicate that cannabis (keneh bosem) was a component of the “Holy Anointing Oil.” Current cannabis science simply provides evidence that supports the widespread historical use of oral, cannabis-based medicines that was driven by it’s success in treating illnesses.”

Published on Thursday 1 September 2011 00:19, by Martin Steldinger . Modified on Thursday 1 September 2011 00:18
http://www.encod.org/info/US-National-Cancer-Institute.html#.TnwWQPXEvbJ.blogger

Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says

2011-09-16T17:22:00.001+10:00

Leading cannabis researcher calls for legalisation with controls similar to alcohol and tobacco.

Cannabis is no more dangerous than tobacco or alcohol, according to Professor Pertwee.

Cannabis for recreational use should be available in shops under similar restrictions to those used to control the sale of alcohol and tobacco, according to Britain's leading expert on the drug.

Under one scenario, people would be able to apply for a licence to buy cannabis products once they reach the age of 21, provided they have the approval of a doctor, he said.

The drug would be regulated by a body that ensures the quality and safety of the products before they go on sale.

A rethink of the laws surrounding cannabis and related products was necessary to take cannabis out of the hands of criminals, said Roger Pertwee, professor of neuropharmacology at Aberdeen University.

In the 1970s, Pertwee co-discovered THC, the active ingredient in cannabis.

Speaking ahead of a talk this week at the British Science Festival in Birmingham, Pertwee said: "In my view, we don't have an ideal solution yet to deal with recreational cannabis. We should consider licensing and marketing cannabis and cannabis products just as we do alcohol and tobacco.

"At the moment, cannabis is in the hands of criminals, and that's crazy. We're allowed to take alcohol, we're allowed to smoke cigarettes. Cannabis, if it's handled properly, is probably not going to be any more dangerous than that."

The government upgraded cannabis to a class B drug late last year against the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. The council's chairman, Professor David Nutt, was sacked after criticising the government's drugs policy, a move that prompted five others to resign in protest.

Possession of class B drugs, which include amphetamines, such as speed and barbiturates, carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison plus a fine. Dealing the drugs can lead to a 14-year prison sentence. The most recent Home Office figures show there are 158,000 convictions for cannabis possession a year.

Pertwee said he wanted to reopen the debate on cannabis, saying he favoured legalisation if the drug was well regulated. He added that healthier alternatives to smoking cannabis were available.

Outlawing the drug forced users to either grow it illicitly or buy it from an illegal dealer. "They have no idea what the composition is, what has been added to it, and they are at risk of being invited to take other drugs," he said.

Attempts to relax the ban on cannabis have been countered by concerns that it can cause schizophrenia in a minority of people who are susceptible to the condition. Pertwee said it might be possible for doctors to assess people's backgrounds and risk of mental health problems before allowing them to buy a cannabis licence.

"You would need a minimum age of 21, but I would go further: that you have to have a licence. You have to have a car licence, you have to have a dog licence; why not a cannabis licence, so you can only take it if it's medically safe for you to do so?" he said.

Nutt, who is a professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, said: "I welcome this attempt by the UK's leading expert on cannabis to bring rationality to the debate on its legal status.

"As cannabis is clearly less harmful than alcohol, criminalisation of people who prefer this drug is illogical and unjust. We need a new regulatory approach to cannabis. The Dutch coffee-shop model is one that has been proven to work but some of Professor Pertwee's new suggestions may well have extra benefits and should be actively debated."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/sep/14/cannabis-licence-legalisation-pertwee

THC and cannabinoids are antioxidants

2011-09-15T07:39:00.000+10:00

I was looking around on pubmed.com and was somewhat surprised to find out that THC and cannabidiol, the primary cannabis cannabinoids, are powerful neuroprotective antioxidants. I also stumbled upon an article that describes how cannabidiol is a medication-strength antipsychotic, and counteracts the anxiety or paranoia that can be caused by THC.

THC and cannabidiol are powerful anti-inflammatory antioxidants. A 2007 scientific article written in part by the National Institutes of Health states that “cannabinoid, as components of the Cannabis sativa (marijuana) plant, are known to exert potent anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and analgesic effects...” “Cannabidiol, one of the most abundant cannabinoids of Cannabis sativa with reported antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects is well tolerated without side effects when chronically administered to humans...” The study concluded that cannabidiol can help to protect against diabetic comlications and atherosclerosis and that “this is particularly engouraging in light of the excellent safety and tolerability profile of cannabidiol in humans”. Pubmed ID 17384130
Another study, titled “Cannabidiol and THC are neuroprotective antioxidants” found that “cannabidiol protected neurons to a greater extent than either of the dietary antioxidants, alpha-tocopherol or ascorbate (vitamin C).” And that the antioxidant effects seen in the studied cannabinoids is “a common property of classical cannabinoid structures”. “The psychoactive principle of Cannabis, THC, also blocked glutamate neurotoxicity with similar potency to cannabidiol.” Pubmed ID 9653176
An additional study, “Comparison of cannabidiol, antioxidants, and diuretics in reversing binge ethanol-induced neurotoxicity” showed that cannabidiol can indeed protect neurons from alcohol-induced damage. Pubmed ID 15878999
Another 2007 study found that THC inhibits lung cancer cell growth, migration, and metastasis. Pubmed ID 17621270
There is also the argument that cannabis causes psychosis. While pure THC has been shown to cause acute psychosis, cannabidiol is a powerful antipsychotic and negates the negative effects of THC, as stated by the 2006 article “Cannabidiol, a Cannabis sativa constituent, as an antipsychotic drug”. Pubmed ID 16612464

by Sombrero

http://boards.cannabis.com/medicinal-cannabis-health/127362-thc-cannabinoids-antioxidants.html

Medical Cannabis to treat Autism

2011-09-12T06:42:00.002+10:00

HYDROPONIC OR ORGANIC What's the difference?

2011-09-09T10:38:00.000+10:00

I am sick of seeing uneducated people telling me Hydroponics is bad. Im here to show you it is NOT bad just different.

HYDROPONIC OR ORGANIC What's the difference? by Roger H. Thayer

I'd like to have a dollar for each time I've been asked, "Is it organic?", since I started in the hydroponics business in 1972, I'd be rich! Is hydroponics organic? Is it chemical? What are the similarities and the differences? These questions have never really been answered to the satisfaction of most people as evidenced by the fact that I am asked the same questions today as often as I was nearly 20 years ago. Many people are confused by the word "organic" as it means different things to different people.

To the farmer, the word organic means no pesticides or herbicides. No potentially toxic or hazardous materials are to be used on crops to control bugs, weeds and diseases. To the gardener, the word usually means all of these things, plus that no unnatural or manmade chemicals are to be used. Only "organic" fertilizers and natural controls. They must: be made by nature, not by man.

To the chemist, on the other hand, the word "organic" means something totally different. In chemistry there are two distinct branches: inorganic and organic chemistry. Inorganic chemistry deals with non-living materials.

Organic chemistry focuses on the carbon and carbon containing compounds, typically associated with life. Biologists and botanists, and others who deal with the life sciences, are stuck in the middle. When they deal with chemists and other scientists, they have to adhere to the chemical definition of organic. When they talk to the farmer or gardener, they have to talk in different terms. To them, organic means "natural," not carbon based. They can say one thing, but really mean something else.

There is really no difference between an atom, mineral or the element itself. What matters is whether or not they are in a form that is non-harmful and that can used by plants. If so, they are beneficial whether natural or manmade. Plants do not take up carbon at the roots, they get all they need from the CO₂ in the air, so the term "organic gardening" is confusing. The same minerals are needed in either hydroponic or organic growing. These minerals are provided to plants in the organic garden as they are released from organic matter by the action of microbes, worms and bacteria. In hydroponics, these same elements are provided by water soluble mineral salts.

In hydroponics, mineral elements are provided by the use of mineral salts. These may be either naturally derived of manmade, but most have been purified and processed so that they are water soluble and in a form that can be used by plants. Many start out as mined minerals or naturally concentrated deposits that are dissolved and processed into compounds with a definite molecular structure and composition. In the refining process, these mineral salts are usually purified to remove heavy metal contaminants and toxic substances that could harm plants or people. Since the chemical composition is precisely known, different mineral salts can be combined to form a balanced hydroponic nutrient. When dissolved in the proper proportions with a good quality water, a hydroponic nutrient solution can provide all of the mineral elements needed for plant growth without soil. By its nature, the hydroponic methods eliminates much of the uncertainty and guesswork found in organic growing. Some adjustments are normally made for proper pH, controlling nutrient concentrations (parts per million) and to maintain balance between the nutrients provided. These are usually easy adjustments and within the control of the grower. In a well-built hydroponic installation, all conditions are controllable so optimum plant growth can be achieved, even surpassing nature.

But is it organic? Can a hydroponic plant nutrient be classified as organic? Probably not, unless you go back to the chemical definition of the word, that is a substance that contains carbon. By this definition, many "chemical" nutrient formulas would be considered organic. These include the chelated trace elements as well as urea, which contains carbon in the form (NH₂)CO₂. It is also possible to define a hydroponic nutrient solution as organic by drawing on the definition many people use that organic is "natural".

Most of the mineral elements used in hydroponics start out as mined rock or mineral deposits which are as natural as the earth itself. The important point is that it is not the elements that are different in organic and hydroponic growing, it is how these elements are obtained and delivered to the plant.

Pros and cons. There are definite advantages and disadvantages to both organic and hydroponic growing. land is still available for conventional agriculture. With proper techniques and care, organic growing can yield good, nutritious crops on a large scale with minimal expense, although it can be labor intensive. Organic growing has an element of uncertainty, as already mentioned, but with care and knowledge, that can be kept to a minimum. Still, optimal mineral and element composition is going to involve guesswork unless expensive chemical soil analysis is routinely done and soil amendments are used to correct deficiencies. Most of the amendments used in modern agriculture happen to be the exact same mineral salts that are used in most hydroponic nutrient formulas. The advantages of hydroponic growing are increased yield through complete nutritional and environmental control, the absence of competing weeds and soil-borne diseases, increased crop density and reduced water consumption. With recycling systems, hydroponics uses one-tenth the amount of water used by irrigated agriculture. Growing media are easily sterilized and conditions can be altered quickly to suit specific crops or the growth stage of a particular crop, such as during flowering or fruit production.

The main disadvantage is the initial set-up cost. The cost of a good installation is fairly high, but if quality materials are used that cost can be spread out over many years. What about using hydroponic nutrients in an organic or soil garden! There are many advantages to this kind of hybrid application, combining organic compost with hydroponic nutrients similar to Mittleider Gardening. Care must be taken not to overdose the plants with such a system. If a full-strength chicken manure is used with a full-strength hydroponic solution the plants can be burned. Handled properly the system could eliminate mineral deficiencies. Plants grow faster and healthier as long as pH, drainage and water/nutrient retention are adequate. Because the plants are healthier they are able to ward off insects and diseases, further enhancing yield.

Hydroponics University

Hydro-U is a service of Simply Hydroponics and Organics On-line as part of our consumer education program. We welcome your feedback. Your input is what makes this site work. Please contact us with any questions or ideas.

http://www.simplyhydro.com/hydvsorg.htm

If the truth won't do, then something is wrong!

2011-09-08T19:58:00.000+10:00

Those were the furious words of my Grandfather to my Mother. I had walked in from joyfully stuffing my face with red raspberries in the garden, straight into "war zone"! My gentle Grandfather in a fury, his hand raised! Mom was just beginning to shrink back away from him. They saw me and quickly sent me away. But it was too late, the scene and the words were seared into my 5-year-old brain. That was over 55 years ago, but I still remember it clearly. My Grandfather was a Minister, one very short step away from God in my young mind. It was one of those life changing moments. It is still rare for me to tell a lie. I never found out what my Mother's lie was.

As I child, I suffered a traumatic head injury. Another child tried to murder me with a hammer. I was left with frequent migraines. At 19, like many rebellious teens, I tried cannabis. It took about a year for me to make the connection between using cannabis and the absence of my normally frequent migraines. I have used cannabis ever since.

I am an avid reader. While perusing an old book on herbal medicine, I read how the little old ladies of Mexico made and used a cannabis/tequila rub on their arthritic hands. Then I met Joey, an epileptic musician. He told me another interesting fact - when he had pot he could cut his medication in half! On a camping trip years later, I smelled an unmistakable odour. Following my nose, I was totally shocked to find a grandmotherly lady in her 70s puffing away on a delicate oriental pipe. "Parkinson's. And the pot's way cheaper than the pills!" Her nephew kept her well supplied, she said. We had a nice chat about various medical uses of cannabis.

Epilepsy, Parkinson's, Arthritis, and my Migraines! What else was it good for? Yet every news article on cannabis that I saw, claimed one new horror after another. Men grew breasts and were impotent. Women became sterile, or miscarried. It made you crazy and murderous. Made you lazy and do nothing. It caused cancer and heart attacks...What I had learned on my own and from others and what I was being told in the press were so different!

What was the truth? I began researching. I printed the first studies up and kept them in a notebook, just as a personal reference. The notebook quickly filled. I started a Word file of the URLs and on July 30 2007, I posted it. It continues to grow.

Here's some of what I have found. All I've done is copy the URLs, then put them all in some semblance order for everyone to use as a reference. Please feel free to share this list with anyone who could benefit from it.
By Dragonfan Owner of http://grannystormcrowslist.webs.com

You can find the full list here:

http://grannystormcrowslist.webs.com

Read this and most importantly share this with everyone you can

To The Cancer Council Australia - Cannabis Cures Cancer

2011-09-08T17:21:00.001+10:00

Hi my name is Michael Davies I am a 31 year old Married father of 5. It has come to my attention that the Cancer Council with all its money to spend ($61million in NSW over 5 years) managed to miss the fact that Cannabis has been curing peoples cancers all over the world. I have vast amounts of information on the matter and have compiled this info here: www.thecureforcanceraustralia.com and www.legalizecannabisaustralia.blogspot.com

I have also shared this info on your facebook page http://www.facebook.com/cancercouncilaustralia

Here is a list of studies:

Cancer Studies:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20053780
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16728591
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21566064
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18833429
Tumor Studies:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18035205
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14617682
Clinical Trials:
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=cannabidiol
http://www.cannabis-med.org/studies/ww_en_db_study_search.php

Sourced from: http://www.medicalmarijuanainc.com

I also have studies showing that there is no link between cannabis and psychosis.
A STUDY by North Staffordshire academics has rejected a link between smoking cannabis and an increase in mental illness.
The research found there were no rises in cases of schizophrenia or psychoses diagnosed in the UK over nine years, during which the use of the drug had grown substantially.
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk.

There is a company in Australia supplying their Cannabis tincture Mullaways Medical Cannabis Pty Ltd

Mullaway's Research has already led to groundbreaking Science in the field of Medical Cannabis and results of this Research will soon be Published. The Research opens the way for effective Medical Cannabis Dosage. Based on safe levels of Cannabis/THC consumption Mullaway's has developed easy to use Tables showing the SAFE allowable use of Cannabis.

This is a major breakthrough for Medical Cannabis. SAFE Cannabis Treatment Plans (for Cancer Patients for example) can now be worked out to help with the disease or symptoms. Tolerance levels can be adjusted so the Psychotropic Effect is not over whelming but manageable or pleasurable.

Mullaway's Research has removed the demon from the Psychotropic Effect and shows that it is a most valuable Medical Tool. The Research highlights the Psychotropic Effect is very much a pleasurable experience under most circumstances and even if large doses of Cannabis are required for a particular Treatment this can be easily managed.

Mullaway's Research has made it possible to for the first time to; Design, Cultivate, Trial and Evaluate Cannabis Treatments using SAFE Doses of Cannabis/THC. While the rest of the Medical Cannabis Research world tries to genetically engineer Cannabis without any THC or tries to produce a rich Blend of Cannabinoids/THC from low THC Cannabis Mullaway's Research has already produced the Jewel in the Crown of Medical Cannabis Research;

Australians would like to know what will be done with this information now that I have brought it to your attention. I consider this a life or death matter and hope something will be done soon.

Regards
Michael Davies

Cannabidiol (CBD) Use In The Anti-Tumor and Anti-Cancer Nutraceutical and Pharmaceutical Industries.

2011-09-07T19:31:00.003+10:00

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Business Wire – Sept 2, 2011) - Medical Marijuana Inc (OTC: MJNA) is pleased to announce that studies have proven Cannabidiol (CBD) as an Anti-Tumor and Anti-Cancer agent. Currently Medical Marijuana Inc through CannaBANK has a patent pending on an extraction method from Cannabis and Hemp allowing Cannabidiol (CBD) to be isolated in its pure form. Research shows $200 billion a year is spent to treat Tumors and Cancer. The company is planning on expanding rapidly by allowing a heavily marketed nutraceutical or pharmaceutical company the use of its extraction technology through exclusive license agreements.

“Many qualified companies have shown great interest, and it won’t be long until we license the right one.” said a Medical Marijuana Inc spokesperson.Given the vast number of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical companies across the country, it’s no doubt that CBD can be easily formulated into an array of already heavily marketed products, quickly becoming a major component of health and wellness in the near future.Jared Berry, a CannaBANK executive stated. “Education is the key! The evidence is already overwhelming. Just look at what companies like GW Pharmaceutical’s is accomplishing with Sativex or simply google Cannabidiol (CBD) and the studies and research dedicated to this what’s called a ‘nutritional necessity’ is overwhelmingly obvious.”

List of public studies on Cannabidiol as an Anti-Tumor and Anti-Cancer agent can be found within the following links:

Cancer Studies:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20053780

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16728591

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21566064

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18833429

Tumor Studies:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18035205

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14617682

Clinical Trials:

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=cannabidiol

http://www.cannabis-med.org/studies/ww_en_db_study_search.php

ABOUT MEDICAL MARIJUANA INC (OTC: MJNA)

Our mission is to be the world's premier cannabis and hemp industry innovators, leveraging our team of professionals to source, evaluate, invest in and purchase value-added sustainable companies, while allowing them to keep their integrity and entrepreneurial spirit. We strive to create awareness within our industry, pay homage to the visionaries and activists of the past and present, and provide the platform from which the industry can emerge into a global sustainable economy for all. Medical Marijuana Inc recognizes the vast and unequaled opportunities that exist in the rapidly expanding hemp and medical marijuana industries. The scientific recognition of cannabis has brought legalized marijuana use to the forefront of mainstream discussion, thus opening the door for safe and lucrative investment opportunities.

www.medicalmarijuanainc.com

FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Medical Marijuana Inc to be materially different from the statements made herein.

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) DISCLOSURE

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, products and statements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Contact Information:

Medical Marijuana Inc.2665 Ariane Drive Suite 207

San Diego, CA 92117

888-OTC-MJNA (888-682-6562)

InvestorRelations@MedicalMarijuanaInc.com

A letter to Cancer Australia - Cannabis Cures Cancer

2011-09-07T19:22:00.000+10:00

A letter to www.canceraustralia.gov.au "I noticed your mission statement on the front page of your site

"Our Vision

Cancer Australia's vision is to reduce the impact of cancer and improve

the well-being of those diagnosed with cancer in Australia"

I have information that suggests we can remove cancer safely from Australians permanently. I and you have available to us multiple studys, private and government and testemonies of those that have used cannabis oil's and juices to cure thier cancer

e.g MP Amanda Fazio in NSW parliment on 26/8/11 at 3:05pm "Secondly, they are demanding action to allow the use of cannabis by people with a medical certificate. Research has proven that cannabis has anti-cancer properties, and it is time that governments took this issue seriously."

and this study

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1003/374/Govt_Study_Proves_THC_From_Cannabis_Destroys_Leukemia,_Breast_And_Lung_Cancer_Cells.html

and

http://www.cannabisscience.com/news-a-media/press-releases/220-cannabis-science-extracts-kill-cancer-cells.html

I am sure if you really wanted to cure cancer you would have by now this information has been available for some time and new storys every day. e.g.

http://www.news.com.au/world/pot-cured-brain-cancer-toddler-cash-hydes-father-gave-him-cannabis-oil-to-treat-tumour/story-e6frfkz0-1226050296628

I really hope you take this information seriously. Australians are suffering and dying when they dont have too."

Regards
Michael Davies

A day of Triumph for Australian drug reform

2011-09-05T21:05:00.003+10:00

The Hon. AMANDA FAZIO [3.05 p.m.]: Today I inform the House about an organisation that provides a realistic approach to drug law reform. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition [LEAP] Australia was formed in late 2010 by a small group of current and retired law enforcement officers who know that current drug policies in Australia, and internationally, are not working and are impacting on society as a whole. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Australia is focused on educating the public and policymakers on the harms that current policies are causing and it is heightening the awareness of alternate ways in which to deal with drug abuse and organised crime. All members of the Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Australia Board possess extensive drug and alcohol sector experience.

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Australia does not promote the use of drugs and is deeply concerned about the extent of drug abuse worldwide. It is concerned also about the destructive impact of violent drug gangs and cartels everywhere in the world. Neither problem is remedied by the current policy of drug prohibition. Drug abuse and gang violence flourish in a drug-prohibition environment, just as they did during alcohol prohibition. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition advocates the elimination of the policy of drug prohibition and its replacement by regulated policies based around appropriate restrictions on drug sales.

Drug abuse is a health problem, and drug use should be regulated and subject to restrictions that are similar to those currently applying to alcohol and tobacco. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Australia recognises that even in a post-prohibition world, all drugs can cause harm and create a potential for addiction, and that this requires appropriate regulation and control. The group believes that all persons suffering from drug abuse afflictions and addiction should be provided with a variety of help, including safe usage education, drug treatment and drug maintenance programs.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Australia will support independent research to demonstrate that an end to drug prohibition will control criminal justice expenditures, reduce disease and uptake, and that a fraction of those savings would be more than sufficient to pay for expanded addiction services. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Australia believes that adult drug use, however dangerous, is a matter of personal freedom as long as it does not impinge on the freedom or safety of others. Adult drug abuse is a health problem and not a law-enforcement matter, provided that the abuse does not harm other people or the property of others. Patrons of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Australia include the Hon. Michael Kirby, AC, KCMG, Dr Alex Wodak, AM, Director, Alcohol and Drug Service, St. Vincent's Hospital, Bernadette McSherry and Nicholas Cowdrey, QC. On 16 June 2011, the fortieth anniversary of President Richard Nixon's "war on drugs", former President Jimmy Carter, who was the 2002 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, commented in the New York Times:

In an extraordinary new initiative announced earlier this month, the Global Commission on Drug Policy has made some courageous and profoundly important recommendations in a report on how to bring more effective control over the illicit drug trade. The commission includes the former presidents or prime ministers of five countries, a former secretary general of the United Nations, human rights leaders, and business and government leaders, including Richard Branson, George P. Shultz and Paul A. Volcker. The report describes the total failure of the present global antidrug effort, and in particular America's "war on drugs", which was declared 40 years ago today. It notes that the global consumption of opiates has increased 34.5 percent, cocaine 27 percent and cannabis 8.5 percent from 1998 to 2008. Its primary recommendations are to substitute treatment for imprisonment for people who use drugs but do no harm to others, and to concentrate more coordinated international effort on combating violent criminal organizations rather than nonviolent, low-level offenders.

Currently Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Australia is conducting two campaigns. The first is to regulate rather than prohibit synthetic cannabis. New Zealand has successfully implemented the regulation of synthetic cannabis; we should do likewise. Secondly, they are demanding action to allow the use of cannabis by people with a medical certificate. Research has proven that cannabis has anti-cancer properties, and it is time that governments took this issue seriously.

Currently 19 states of the United States of America allow the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. In some states the conditions and symptoms eligible are cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy and other conditions characterised by spasms, chronic glaucoma, HIV or AIDS, multiple sclerosis and nausea. I know of a number of cancer suffers who have benefitted from the use of medical cannabis for pain relief, suppressing nausea and appetite stimulation. I support both campaigns.

In Australia in 1985 the Federal and State governments adopted a national drug strategy, which included a pragmatic mixture of prohibition and a stated objective of harm reduction. Harm reduction has been an official part of Australian drugs policy ever since, although most resources by far are devoted to policing and to border patrol attempts at interdiction or supply reduction. Fewer resources are made available for health treatment and drug rehabilitation programs or for preventative public health programs, such as needle exchanges. Australia maintains an extremely low rate of HIV infection among injecting drug users compared to infection rates of 60 per cent or more among injecting drug users in some American cities where needle exchange remains illegal.

I strongly support the campaign by the Law Enforcement Against Prohibition group for elimination of the policy of drug prohibition, which should be replaced by regulated policies based around appropriate restrictions on drug sales. I congratulate those responsible for establishing Law Enforcement Against Prohibition [LEAP] Australia, which builds on the good work that Law Enforcement Against Prohibition [LEAP] has been doing in the United States of America since 2002.

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au

Project CBD

2011-09-05T06:47:00.000+10:00

Project CBD is a non-profit educational service dedicated to promoting and publicizing research into the medical utility of cannabidiol (CBD) and other components of the Cannabis plant. It was conceived by two journalists who have been covering the medical marijuana movement / industry in the pages of O’Shaughnessy’s. We think the reintroduction of CBD-rich Cannabis into the grassroots supply warrants special focus. We support the Society of Cannabis Clinicians' effort to collect, aggregate and publish data from patients to determine patterns of efficacy or lack of efficacy.

— Fred Gardner and Martin Lee

http://projectcbd.org/

Cured: A Cannabis Story (A Film By David Triplett)

2011-09-05T06:12:00.001+10:00

Cannabis cured my skin cancer. This is my story.

It has been proven that concentrated cannabis extract oil cures cancer.

Why hasn't The U.S. National Cancer Institute or The American Cancer Society tested Cannabis Oil?. Is it lack of personnel (2,100 USNCI staff members) or limited financial support (USNCI 2010 budget of $5.1 Billion dollars!)

Cannabis Concentrate or extract is the same as Rick Simpson's "Hemp Oil". Hemp seed oil is NOT what Rick Simpson is making and using.

Google "cannabinoids" and "cancer".
Google "endocannabinoids" and "cancer"
Google "THC" and "Cancer".
Google pubmed, go there and look up "endocannabinoids" and "cancer", as well as "cannabinoids" and "cancer".
Google Dr. Robert Dr Robert Melamede and cancer".

Live Free or Die - thats the choice Australians have

2011-09-05T06:03:00.000+10:00

Shona Banda sits down and gives a short description of the times and trials that lead her to write her book "Live Free or Die". The book explains how marijuana's essential oils can be collected and used to treat a variety of illnesses, some now thought terminal. She goes on to tell about her personal experience with the oil, and how it saved her life.

National Cancer Institute Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research

2011-09-04T15:04:00.000+10:00

Laboratory/Animal/Preclinical Studies

Cannabinoids are a group of 21-carbon–containing terpenophenolic compounds produced uniquely by Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica species.[1,2] These plant-derived compounds may be referred to as phytocannabinoids. Although delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive ingredient, other known compounds with biologic activity are cannabinol, cannabidiol (CBD), cannabichromene, cannabigerol, tetrahydrocannabivarin, and delta-8-THC. CBD, in particular, is thought to have significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity without the psychoactive effect (high) of delta-9-THC.

Antitumor Effects

One study in mice and rats suggested that cannabinoids may have a protective effect against the development of certain types of tumors.[3] During this 2-year study, groups of mice and rats were given various doses of THC by gavage. A dose-related decrease in the incidence of hepatic adenoma tumors and hepatocellular carcinoma was observed in the mice. Decreased incidences of benign tumors (polyps and adenomas) in other organs (mammary gland, uterus, pituitary, testis, and pancreas) were also noted in the rats. In another study, delta-9-THC, delta-8-THC, and cannabinol were found to inhibit the growth of Lewis lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo .[4] In addition, other tumors have been shown to be sensitive to cannabinoid-induced growth inhibition.[5-8]

Cannabinoids may cause antitumor effects by various mechanisms, including induction of cell death, inhibition of cell growth, and inhibition of tumor angiogenesis and metastasis.[9-11] Cannabinoids appear to kill tumor cells but do not affect their nontransformed counterparts and may even protect them from cell death. These compounds have been shown to induce apoptosis in glioma cells in culture and induce regression of glioma tumors in mice and rats. Cannabinoids protect normal glial cells of astroglial and oligodendroglial lineages from apoptosis mediated by the CB1 receptor.[12]

In an in vivo model using severe combined immunodeficient mice, subcutaneous tumors were generated by inoculating the animals with cells from human non-small cell lung carcinoma cell lines.[13] Tumor growth was inhibited by 60% in THC-treated mice compared with vehicle-treated control mice. Tumor specimens revealed that THC had antiangiogenic and antiproliferative effects. However, research with immunocompetent murine tumor models has demonstrated immunosuppression and enhanced tumor growth in mice treated with THC.[14,15]

In addition, both plant-derived and endogenous cannabinoids have been studied for anti- inflammatory effects. A mouse study demonstrated that endogenous cannabinoid system signaling is likely to provide intrinsic protection against colonic inflammation.[16] As a result, a hypothesis that phytocannabinoids and endocannabinoids may be useful in the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer has been developed.[17-20]

Appetite Stimulation

Many animal studies have previously demonstrated that delta-9-THC and other cannabinoids have a stimulatory effect on appetite and increase food intake. It is believed that the endogenous cannabinoid system may serve as a regulator of feeding behavior. The endogenous cannabinoid anandamide potently enhances appetite in mice.[21] Moreover, CB1 receptors in the hypothalamus may be involved in the motivational or reward aspects of eating.[22]

Analgesia

Understanding the mechanism of cannabinoid-induced analgesia has been increased through the study of cannabinoid receptors, endocannabinoids, and synthetic agonists and antagonists. The CB1 receptor is found in both the central nervous system (CNS) and in peripheral nerve terminals. Similar to opioid receptors, increased levels of the CB1 receptor are found in regions of the brain that regulate nociceptive processing.[23] CB2 receptors, located predominantly in peripheral tissue, exist at very low levels in the CNS. With the development of receptor-specific antagonists, additional information about the roles of the receptors and endogenous cannabinoids in the modulation of pain has been obtained.[24,25]

Cannabinoids may also contribute to pain modulation through an anti-inflammatory mechanism; a CB2 effect with cannabinoids acting on mast cell receptors to attenuate the release of inflammatory agents, such as histamine and serotonin, and on keratinocytes to enhance the release of analgesic opioids has been described.[26-28]

References

Adams IB, Martin BR: Cannabis: pharmacology and toxicology in animals and humans. Addiction 91 (11): 1585-614, 1996. [PUBMED Abstract]
Grotenhermen F, Russo E, eds.: Cannabis and Cannabinoids: Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutic Potential. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press, 2002.
National Toxicology Program .: NTP toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of 1-trans-delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (CAS No. 1972-08-3) in F344 rats and B6C3F1 mice (gavage studies). Natl Toxicol Program Tech Rep Ser 446 (): 1-317, 1996. [PUBMED Abstract]
Bifulco M, Laezza C, Pisanti S, et al.: Cannabinoids and cancer: pros and cons of an antitumour strategy. Br J Pharmacol 148 (2): 123-35, 2006. [PUBMED Abstract]
Sánchez C, de Ceballos ML, Gomez del Pulgar T, et al.: Inhibition of glioma growth in vivo by selective activation of the CB(2) cannabinoid receptor. Cancer Res 61 (15): 5784-9, 2001. [PUBMED Abstract]
McKallip RJ, Lombard C, Fisher M, et al.: Targeting CB2 cannabinoid receptors as a novel therapy to treat malignant lymphoblastic disease. Blood 100 (2): 627-34, 2002. [PUBMED Abstract]
Casanova ML, Blázquez C, Martínez-Palacio J, et al.: Inhibition of skin tumor growth and angiogenesis in vivo by activation of cannabinoid receptors. J Clin Invest 111 (1): 43-50, 2003. [PUBMED Abstract]
Blázquez C, González-Feria L, Alvarez L, et al.: Cannabinoids inhibit the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway in gliomas. Cancer Res 64 (16): 5617-23, 2004. [PUBMED Abstract]
Guzmán M: Cannabinoids: potential anticancer agents. Nat Rev Cancer 3 (10): 745-55, 2003. [PUBMED Abstract]
Blázquez C, Casanova ML, Planas A, et al.: Inhibition of tumor angiogenesis by cannabinoids. FASEB J 17 (3): 529-31, 2003. [PUBMED Abstract]
Vaccani A, Massi P, Colombo A, et al.: Cannabidiol inhibits human glioma cell migration through a cannabinoid receptor-independent mechanism. Br J Pharmacol 144 (8): 1032-6, 2005. [PUBMED Abstract]
Torres S, Lorente M, Rodríguez-Fornés F, et al.: A combined preclinical therapy of cannabinoids and temozolomide against glioma. Mol Cancer Ther 10 (1): 90-103, 2011. [PUBMED Abstract]
Preet A, Ganju RK, Groopman JE: Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol inhibits epithelial growth factor-induced lung cancer cell migration in vitro as well as its growth and metastasis in vivo. Oncogene 27 (3): 339-46, 2008. [PUBMED Abstract]
Zhu LX, Sharma S, Stolina M, et al.: Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol inhibits antitumor immunity by a CB2 receptor-mediated, cytokine-dependent pathway. J Immunol 165 (1): 373-80, 2000. [PUBMED Abstract]
McKallip RJ, Nagarkatti M, Nagarkatti PS: Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol enhances breast cancer growth and metastasis by suppression of the antitumor immune response. J Immunol 174 (6): 3281-9, 2005. [PUBMED Abstract]
Massa F, Marsicano G, Hermann H, et al.: The endogenous cannabinoid system protects against colonic inflammation. J Clin Invest 113 (8): 1202-9, 2004. [PUBMED Abstract]
Patsos HA, Hicks DJ, Greenhough A, et al.: Cannabinoids and cancer: potential for colorectal cancer therapy. Biochem Soc Trans 33 (Pt 4): 712-4, 2005. [PUBMED Abstract]
Liu WM, Fowler DW, Dalgleish AG: Cannabis-derived substances in cancer therapy--an emerging anti-inflammatory role for the cannabinoids. Curr Clin Pharmacol 5 (4): 281-7, 2010. [PUBMED Abstract]
Malfitano AM, Ciaglia E, Gangemi G, et al.: Update on the endocannabinoid system as an anticancer target. Expert Opin Ther Targets 15 (3): 297-308, 2011. [PUBMED Abstract]
Sarfaraz S, Adhami VM, Syed DN, et al.: Cannabinoids for cancer treatment: progress and promise. Cancer Res 68 (2): 339-42, 2008. [PUBMED Abstract]
Mechoulam R, Berry EM, Avraham Y, et al.: Endocannabinoids, feeding and suckling--from our perspective. Int J Obes (Lond) 30 (Suppl 1): S24-8, 2006. [PUBMED Abstract]
Fride E, Bregman T, Kirkham TC: Endocannabinoids and food intake: newborn suckling and appetite regulation in adulthood. Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 230 (4): 225-34, 2005. [PUBMED Abstract]
Walker JM, Hohmann AG, Martin WJ, et al.: The neurobiology of cannabinoid analgesia. Life Sci 65 (6-7): 665-73, 1999. [PUBMED Abstract]
Meng ID, Manning BH, Martin WJ, et al.: An analgesia circuit activated by cannabinoids. Nature 395 (6700): 381-3, 1998. [PUBMED Abstract]
Walker JM, Huang SM, Strangman NM, et al.: Pain modulation by release of the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 96 (21): 12198-203, 1999. [PUBMED Abstract]
Facci L, Dal Toso R, Romanello S, et al.: Mast cells express a peripheral cannabinoid receptor with differential sensitivity to anandamide and palmitoylethanolamide. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 92 (8): 3376-80, 1995. [PUBMED Abstract]
Ibrahim MM, Porreca F, Lai J, et al.: CB2 cannabinoid receptor activation produces antinociception by stimulating peripheral release of endogenous opioids. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 102 (8): 3093-8, 2005. [PUBMED Abstract]
Richardson JD, Kilo S, Hargreaves KM: Cannabinoids reduce hyperalgesia and inflammation via interaction with peripheral CB1 receptors. Pain 75 (1): 111-9, 1998. [PUBMED Abstract]

Source: http://www.cancer.gov

Cancer Curing Cannabis Juice Without the High

2011-09-03T15:04:00.000+10:00

NBN NEWS - HEMP PARTY WANTS TO SEE ACTION

2011-08-31T19:51:00.000+10:00

August 28, 2011

The Cannabis Convoy that travelled from Nimbin to Sydney has been hailed a success.

The President of the New South Wales Hemp Party says the Greens agreed to ask the Health Minister to reconsider legalising medical cannabis.

Michael Balderston says common-sense legislation would ensure the drug is properly administered by professionals.

“There are people with extreme nightmare pain and conditions. If cannabis works for them, whose going to say no, you know.”

Mr Balderston is urging people who benefit from the use of marijuana to treat medical conditions to contact their local member.

http://www.nbntv.com.au/index.php/2011/08/28/hemp-party-wants-to-see-action/

Nicola Roxon Minister for Health and Ageing promotes Australians suffering

2011-08-30T10:02:00.001+10:00

We can thank Ministers such as Nicola Roxon and Frank Johnson and more for the pain, suffering and now DEATH of millions of Australians. As long as ministers like these continue to ignore the hard proven medical facts that Cannabis has, can and will continue to cure cancers and other serious illnesses people will continue to suffer and even die. Govt Study Proves THC From Cannabis Destroys Leukemia, Breast And Lung Cancer Cell ; Cannabis Science Extract Kills Cancer Cells .

There is so much proof out there and OUR elected officials continue ignore the proof either because it isn't part of their agenda's or through fear of loosing their seats. All the Australian government does is find ways to make up lies about cannabis, like cannabis causes psychosis, schizophrenia, mental illness and the rest of the lies, when those have also been dis-proven time and time again e.g debunking the Myth of a Link Between Marijuana and Mental Illness & Study debunk claims marijuana causes mental illness.

When will these ministers stand up and do something. They are your ministers make them listen, write them, call them, stand out side thier offices take your friends, stand up for your rights and show these fat cats that we wont stand for this ignorance anymore!

Contact details: The Hon Nicola Roxon MP

Title: Minister for Health and Ageing.

Party: Australian Labor Party

Parliament House Contact

PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Tel: (02) 6277 7220
Fax: (02) 6273 4146

Email: Nicola.Roxon.MP@aph.gov.au

Electorate Office Contact

Maribyrnong Office:
Location/Postal Address:
1 Thomas Holmes Street
Maribyrnong Vic 3032

Tel: (03) 9317 7077
Fax: (03) 9317 7477

S.A Peaceful Rally for Re-Legalisation - Law REPEAL of Cannabis Hemp ☮

2011-08-30T08:04:00.000+10:00

Time	Sunday, November 20 · 12:00pm - 4:30pm

Location	Victoria Square, Adelaide

Created By	Ree Lynch, Matt Riley

More Info	Come enjoy a day of peace and music in lovely surroundings. Bringing awareness to the benefits of Industrial Hemp and Medical Cannabis, and the issues surrounding Cannabis prohibition. Don't forget to invite your friends who support the cause, too! Victoria Square is just a short walk from the Adelaide train station and bus accessible. If you need any help with directions, please feel free to ask! Can bring chairs or blankets to sit on, water and munchies to keep you going and don't forget to bring your buds! If you're unsure if you can attend, please only RSVP as a 'Maybe'! There will be several live music acts performing throughout the day, including Brett Stokes, and Kaptain Reefer & The Kone Pakkers! A handful of awesome guest speakers! Including Teresa McDowell the founder of natural skin care line "Hemp Hemp Hooray!", whose beautiful products will be included in PRIZES awarded for "Best Dressed" and "Best Sign"! So make sure to dress up in green or any Cannabis/Hemp related garb! Remember!: It's PERFECTLY LEGAL, SAFE & HUMANITARIAN to show your support! Through fear propaganda the government have discouraged people from standing up for what they know is true and right! There are people sick and dying all over the world who need medicine and our planet is suffering, but we have the power to change it all with Hemp, so invite your buds, spread the word and DEMAND RE-LEGALIZATION / LAW REPEAL OF THE MIRACLE CANNABIS HEMP PLANT! Don't forget to wear your smiles, and green if you can! Please research the topics if you feel like you could learn a bit more about the wonders of Cannabis Hemp! Ideas for signs and posters can be found at the links below. Some examples are: '☮ END DRUG WAR ☮' 'IT'S A PLANT' 'CANNABIS IS MEDICINE' 'SAFER THAN ALCOHOL' 'HEMP IS CLEAN ENERGY' Resources: www.ldpsa.org.au www.leapaustralia.org www.thecureforcanceraustralia.com www.australianhempparty.com www.cannabisculture.com www.jackherer.com www.theweedblog.com www.responsiblechoice.com.au www.hemphemphooray.com.au www.norml.org www.ukcia.org www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis www.hemphasis.net www.harbay.net www.phoenixtears.ca www.legalizecannabisaustralia.blogspot.com ----------------------------- Any interested sponsors, speakers, musicians, entertainers, comedians, pro-legalization politicians and informed doctors, volunteers, including anyone that can spread the word through radio, music and other media platforms, please get in contact! ----------------------------- The Gawler Train line will be down for seven months starting on September 18th, so be sure to plan your commute to the rally ahead of time to save any hassles with the pesky public transport system. Substitute buses will run to compensate. Check out the www.adelaidemetro.com.au website to plan your trip. If you need help planning your trip please don't hesitate to ask! http://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/gawler-september-2011

Govt Study Proves THC From Cannabis Destroys Leukemia, Breast And Lung Cancer Cells

2011-08-29T20:41:00.000+10:00

Medicinal marijuana oil made from cannabis buds, when ingested thrice daily, for two months, will destroy leukemia and cancer cells. Here is just one study which shows the results: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16908594
The government study was done by Jia W, Hegde VL, Singh NP, Sisco D, Grant S, Nagarkatti M, Nagarkatti PS at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Virginia Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA.
To quote: "Cannabinoids including THC, induce apoptosis in leukemic cells" PMID: 16908594

Sam’s Story: Using Medical Cannabis to Treat Autism Spectrum Disorder

2011-08-29T09:18:00.000+10:00

Background on Sam

Sam is an eight-year-old male. He was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Delay- Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) when he was two and one-half years old by a pediatric psychiatrist at the M.I.N.D. Institute, UC Davis Medical Center. He was re-diagnosed at the M.I.N.D. Institute in October of 2007 with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). As the psychiatrist told Sam’s mom and I, “Sam is a poster child for ASD”. Sam has lowered cognitive abilities and lowered verbal skills. Sam lives with his mom, dad and his younger sister who is six years of age. She is a typical child with no physical or mental health issues.

Sam was adopted at birth. He had no prenatal issues and was a healthy infant. At around 18 months of age he began exhibiting ASD like behaviors and after six months of reassurances by his primary doctors that he was fine Sam was diagnosed with ASD. Since his diagnoses he has received special education services, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and behavioral therapy. He had been on the Gluten-Casein Free Diet (GCFD). He has been treated by a doctor (supposedly one of the best in the country) who treats ASD patients following the Defeat Autism Now (DAN) protocol which emphasizes a “BioMedical” approach established by Dr. Rimland the founder of Autism Society of America and the Autism Research Institute in San Diego, CA.

As a family we have spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to help Sam. Even though as a teacher I have full coverage insurance, many of the services and doctors Sam has seen are not covered under my plan. Blue Cross of California still categorizes ASD as a “mental illness” instead of an “organic disorder” which precludes it from receiving the coverage a typical physical illness would be granted. I only mention this because since Sam was diagnosed with ASD we have devoted ourselves to helping him. This devotion has been in the forms of time, effort, education, therapy cost, medical costs, conferences, parent support groups, and most importantly love.

Sam’s Strengths

Sam loves people and he loves to “be on the go”. He has been to Disneyland four times, been camping many times, and has been to San Diego to visit the zoo, Wild Animal Park and Sea World. Sam loves to go to San Francisco Giant and Sacramento Kings games and loves to travel to San Francisco. Sam is our gift from God and we love him just as he is. Many tears have been shed from worry and from the joy of watching Sam achieve things parents of typical children take for granted. There have many moments of laughter and warmth given to us by our quirky, sweet, lovable, little boy.

Purpose of this Journal

I write this journal for Sam and other children like him. We almost lost our little boy to ASD and pharmaceuticals. By the grace of God and the help of a little Medical Cannabis (MC) we have him back. Maybe this journal can give other parents hope when all else seems dark and hopeless. Maybe this journal can prompt others to tell their stories if they have treated their ASD child with Medical Cannabis (MC). Even more important would be some legitimate scientific studies conducted to determine the effectiveness of MC to treat symptoms of Autism.

I never wanted to be an advocate for Medical Cannabis (MC). I do not drink alcohol, take marijuana, or any other psychoactive drug. However, this experience has been so profound and dramatic that I feel no choice but to speak out on the issue. I understand the political and legal sensitivity of giving an eight-year-old child medical cannabis but if one child and family can be helped from my disclosure any risk to myself is acceptable. As a parent, I only want to help my son. No one ever questioned our decision to give our son the potpourri of pharmaceuticals prescribed by his doctors that, in my opinion, almost destroyed him.

My wife and I both have very conservative parents and families who are very much opposed to any type of “illegal” drug use. We have their complete support. They witnessed Sam’s deterioration over the last year and they saw his almost miraculous turn around once we started using the MC. We have only disclosed treating Sam with MC to our closest family. We have shared the information with Sam’s primary pediatrician on the recommendation of Sam’s MC Doctor. The pediatrician has been supportive in an “off the record” manner. He has been Sam’s pediatrician since birth and he knows that we are responsible parents.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Debunking the Myth of a Link Between Marijuana and Mental Illness

2011-08-29T07:49:00.000+10:00

Despite media claims that marijuana can cause psychosis or schizophrenia, there's no science to back it up.

By Paul Armentano, July 25, 2011

Prohibitionists have a long history of exploiting tragedy to further their own drug war agenda. Case in point: Members of Congress in the 1980s seized upon the overdose of basketball star Len Bias to enact sweeping legislative changes establishing mandatory minimum sentencing in drug crimes, random workplace drug testing for public employees, and the creation of the Drug Czar’s office.

So it was hardly surprising to see anti-drug zealots return to this tried-and-true playbook in the days immediately following the shooting this past January of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 18 civilians. Only hours after alleged shooter Jared Lee Loughner was taken into custody, pundits on the political far right opined that the 22-year-old former pot smoker had been driven mad by weed.
For example, less than 24-hours after the shooting former George W. Bush speech-writer David Frum posed the question, “Did pot trigger the Giffords shooting?” to which the longtime conservative commentator answered, “Increasingly, experts seem to be saying ‘yes.’”
Frum’s accusation appeared to gain a modicum of respectability one month later when the mainstream media highlighted a report in The Archives of General Psychiatry that purported to have linked marijuana use with psychosis.
“It is increasingly clear that marijuana is a cause of schizophrenia,” the study’s lead researcher, Matthew Large of Prince of Wales Hospital in New South Wales, Australia, told the online publication Web MD in February. (In a separate interview he said he was “horrified” by suggestions that the plant should be legalized and regulated.) Large further insisted, “[T]he schizophrenia caused by cannabis starts earlier than schizophrenia with other causes.”
Or not.
In truth, the supposed new ‘study’ contained no new findings at all. Rather, Large and his team simply reviewed previously published research – much of it decades old.
“There are no new data. I want to emphasize that. This is a meta-analysis, which means it (reviews) the studies that were already out there,” SUNY Albany psychology professor Mitch Earleywine, author of the book Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, explained on the NORML Audio Stash days after the report’s release. “What you’re not hearing in the media is that in fact, this (reported association) is probably early-onset folks self-medicating (with cannabis).”
There are several published reports to back up Earleywine’s suspicion. For instance, a 2005 study of 1,500 subjects that appeared in the scientific journal Addiction reported that the development of “psychotic symptoms in those who had never used cannabis before the onset of (such) symptoms … predicted future cannabis use.”
Other studies reinforcing Earleywine’s ‘self-medication’ theory include a 2008 study published in the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing which found that schizophrenics typically report using cannabis to reduce anxiety and “improve their mental state.” Marijuana use has also been associated with clinically objective benefits in some schizophrenics. Recently, a 2010 report in the journalSchizophrenia Research found that schizophrenic patients with a history of cannabis use demonstrate higher levels of cognitive performance compared to nonusers. Researchers in that study concluded, “The results of the present analysis suggest that (cannabis use) in patients with SZ (schizophrenia) is associated with better performance on measures of processing speed and verbal skills. These data are consistent with prior reports indicating that SZ patients with a history of (cannabis use) have less severe cognitive deficits than SZ patients without comorbid (cannabis use).”
A 2011 meta-analysis published online by the journal Schizophrenia Research also affirmed that schizophrenics with a history of cannabis use demonstrate “superior neurocognitive performance” compared to non-users. Investigators at the University of Toronto, Institute of Medical Sciences reviewed eight separate studies assessing the impact of marijuana consumption on cognition, executive function, learning, and working memory in schizophrenic subjects. Researchers determined that the results of each of the performance measurements suggested “superior cognitive functioning in cannabis-using patients as compared to non-using patients.”
Investigators stopped short of attributing subjects' cannabis use to the improved outcomes, hypothesizing instead that patients with superior cognitive skills may be more likely to acquire cannabis than subjects with lesser abilities. “[I]t is difficult to determine whether it is cannabis itself that triggers alterations in neuropsychological functioning or if drug-using patients represent a subset of the schizophrenia population who exhibit better neurocognitive performance,” they wrote. Nevertheless, they concluded that it would be reasonable to assume that “cannabis likely has modest … effects on neurocognitive function in schizophrenia.”
Other clinical literature also casts doubt on Large’s claim that marijuana use accelerates mental illness. In a study published last year, a team that included researchers affiliated with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yale University, and the National Institute of Mental Health assessed whether lifetime pot use was associated with an earlier age of onset of symptoms in schizophrenic patients. They concluded, "Although cannabis use precedes the onset of illness in most patients, there was no significant association between onset of illness and (cannabis use) that was not accounted for by demographic and clinical variables.”
The researchers also criticized the findings of previously published studies that purported to have uncovered a ‘pot trigger’ for mental illness. “Previous studies implicating cannabis use disorders in schizophrenia may need to more comprehensively assess the relationship between cannabis use disorders and schizophrenia.”
Unlike Earleywine, however, the researchers in this study were not convinced that a large percentage of schizophrenic patients are ‘self-medicating’ with pot. “We … found that about half of our subjects discontinued the use of cannabis when their psychotic symptoms worsened,” said Dr. Serge Sevy of the Zucker Hillside Hospital, who led the study. “(But) unfortunately, our study did not include questions about (patients’) reasons for using or discontinuing cannabis. I cannot provide the percentage of patients who discontinued cannabis use because of a worsening of psychosis … (versus those who) became too impaired to obtain cannabis.”
As for Large’s most serious claim, that juvenile marijuana use “is a cause of schizophrenia,” most experts on the subject – and most scientific reviews of the matter – disagree.
For example, authors of a 2009 study published in Schizophrenia Research said definitively that increased cannabis use by the public has not been followed by a proportional rise in diagnoses of schizophrenia or psychosis. Investigators at the Keele University Medical School in Britain compared trends in marijuana use and incidences of schizophrenia in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2005. Researchers reported that the "incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia and psychoses were either stable or declining" during this period, even the use of cannabis among the general population was rising.
"The expected rise in diagnoses of schizophrenia and psychoses did not occur over a 10 year period," they concluded. "This study does not therefore support the specific causal link between cannabis use and incidence of psychotic disorders. ... This concurs with other reports indicating that increases in population cannabis use have not been followed by increases in psychotic incidence."
In April, scientists at the University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Bern, Switzerland also published clinical trial data indicating that cannabis use plays virtually no role in the early onset of psychosis in younger patients. Researchers assessed the differences in the age of onset of psychosis among 625 patients admitted to the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre in Melbourne, Australia. They reported, “Only cannabis use … starting at age 14 was associated with an earlier age at onset at a small effect size.” Overall, the age at onset for patients with first-episode psychosis “was not significantly different” among patients with a history of cannabis use versus non-users.
These results don’t particularly surprise Dr. Julie Holland, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine and the editor of The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis – It’s Role in Medicine, Politics, Science, and Culture. “The bottom line here is no one knows exactly what causes schizophrenia, and scientists have been looking for decades,” she says. “The best explanation is a ‘stress diathesis’ model, where people have a genetic tendency toward schizophrenic illness, and then something triggers its appearance. But unless you have the genes, you won't get the illness. Cannabis won't change one’s genetic predisposition.”
Holland does caution that people with a predisposition toward schizophrenia “tend to have a stronger, more psychotic-like reaction to cannabis, but that is different from the idea that pot actually gives you schizophrenia, which is completely untrue.” As for the severity of these potential psychotic symptoms, Holland states, “When the drug wears off, so do its effects. There is no lasting psychosis from pot.”
Retired associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Lester Grinspoon, has studied both cannabis and schizophrenia for over 40 years, authoring the books Schizophrenia: Psychopharmacology and Psychotherapy and Marihuana The Forbidden Medicine. His expert opinion largely echoes the views of Drs. Holland and Earleywine.
“Schizophrenia is largely a genetically determined disorder. However, not all people who have this genetic makeup develop the disorder. So, we have been searching for other variables that must be involved but so far with little success,” he explains. “Recently we have seen the publication of a number of papers that point the finger toward cannabis. Because my work in schizophrenia was first undertaken in the 1960s when marijuana was first observed to be increasingly widely used by young people, I was always careful to include the possibility that the patient had previously smoked marijuana in my history taking. I can't tell you how many patients this involved, but it was certainly measured in the hundreds and not once did I find that it could be considered causal. Its use, on a few occasions, seemed like an attempt to alter an insufferable internal environment, much as people with schizophrenia often do with alcohol and tobacco.”
Ultimately, however, even if such a causal connection between cannabis use and mental illness were to one day be established, this finding alone would do little to support pot prohibition. In fact, the policy implications of such a determination should be just the opposite.
Health risks connected with drug use – when scientifically documented – should not be seen as legitimate reasons for criminal prohibition, but instead, as reasons for legal regulation. After all, there are numerous adverse health consequences associated with alcohol, and it’s precisely because of these effects that the product is legally regulated and its use is restricted to specific consumers and settings. Similarly, if there are legitimate mental health risks associated with use of cannabis by certain individuals then a regulated system would best identify and educate these people so that they may refrain from its use. Placed in this context, drug warriors’ fear-mongering surrounding the issue of marijuana and mental health does little to advance the cause of tightening prohibition, and provides ample ammunition to wage for its repeal.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story appeared online on hightimes.com. This story has been updated and expanded for AlterNet.

Paul Armentano is the deputy director of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), and is the co-author of the book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink (2009, Chelsea Green).

PBS Video Explains Why Medical Cannabis Works and How Big Pharma Is Planning To Cash In On It

2011-08-28T06:31:00.000+10:00

Watch the full episode.

http://blog.norml.org/2011/08/25/tremendous-pbs-video-explains-why-medical-cannabis-works-and-how-big-pharma-is-planning-to-cash-in-on-it/

The Truth about Cannabis the Government doesn't want you to know

2011-08-26T11:39:00.000+10:00

WA cops use new plate scanners to persecute people with drug convictions (but not other criminals)

2011-08-26T10:45:00.003+10:00

WA police are using number plate scanning to identify drivers with previous drug convictions, pulling them over, searching their cars and testing their saliva, reports The West Australian.

In a recent trial 4,000 cars were pulled over and four people were found in possession of drugs (Four out of 4,000 is 0.001% - hardly an effective use of police time and resources.). Another 18 drivers were either unlicensed or were driving unregistered vehicles - and I have no problem with this as the scanning revealed an offense being committed, and one that potentially created danger to others.

But searching people because they have a prior drug conviction is wrong for two reasons.

First, having a prior conviction is clearly not the grounds for suspicion normally required to justify a search. Presumably the convicted person has paid their 'debt to society' and should be treated with the rights of a normal person. This is why prior convictions are not revealed to juries in a trial until after a verdict has been reached.

Second, targeting people who have been found guilty of a crime which is not only victimless but in the opinion of many should not even be a crime, is a strange priority. If you were serious about using this technology to protect the community, why not pull over convicted drunk drivers, pedophiles, murderers, thieves and hitmen?

No, it's another example of the obsessive anti-drug ideology driving the WA Liberals government into a systematic campaign of social persecution.

As there is not a single valid argument for prohibition, persecuting a sub-culture in its name is pernicious.

An Introduction to the Medical Benefits of Cannabis

2011-08-26T10:37:00.003+10:00

Introduction

This paper collates numerous articles on the use of Cannabis for the healing and prevention of many human diseases. Information is also provided on the Endocannabinoid System, a most import signalling and regulatory system in the human body which is supplemented by the cannabinoids in the Cannabis plant. In assessing the risks and benefits of Cannabis, it must be noted that the opinions in research still range widely e.g. from the view that “Cannabis causes Cancer” to the most recent research that has proved that “Cannabis cures Cancer.”
Even though Cannabis is very effective in the treatment of many ailments, its side effects are not damaging (unlike prescription drugs), and that there is no known toxic or lethal effect in the use of Cannabis. Many activists for the legalization of Cannabis are concerned that Cannabis extracts and cannabinoid synthetics will be patented for profit by pharmaceutical companies, while the use of the plant by ordinary citizens remains illegal. Legalization for the public benefit must ensure access to the plant by all citizens, whether for recreational/preventive use or as prescribed medication for the treatment of ailments. The information provided here shows that the prohibition of Cannabis is NOT justified on the grounds of health.

please read full article at:

An Introduction to the Medical Benefits of Cannabis

Collated by Jeremy Acton

Big thanks Jeremy

Aussie man wants licence for cannabis medicine

2011-08-24T08:00:00.000+10:00

A man who has developed a cannabis-based medicine is calling for the NSW government to approve his application to manufacture and distribute the cure-all.

Tony Bower and a handful of supporters travelled from the state's north to protest outside the NSW parliament on Tuesday, bringing with them a giant inflatable marijuana joint to use as a prop. The Kempsey man developed the medicine 10 years ago and is now giving away the liquid cannabis tincture to about 300 people around Australia.

He now wants to manufacture it in commercial quantities but says the state government won't grant him a licence. The oil-and-alcohol based medicine is extracted from the cannabis plant but Mr Bower says all the drug's illegal properties have been removed from it.

He says medical cannabis can relieve pain and nausea in cancer and HIV suffers, while it can also be used treat other illnesses, from multiple sclerosis to post-traumatic stress disorder. "It's for pain relief, it's for people who are sick and dying," Mr Bower told reporters outside parliament in Sydney. "I've been trying (to get approval) for two years or more, and it's just going nowhere."

Marijuana: A Treatment For Autism

2011-08-20T07:48:00.000+10:00

Cannabis NOT a "Gateway to other Drugs"

2011-08-17T07:10:00.000+10:00

After reading this story http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/cannabis-a-gateway-to-other-drugs-20110718-1hlor.html I thought I would combat it with some real Truth.

Research Proves Marijuana is Not a "Gateway Drug"

The surging debate surrounding the legalization of marijuana has brought with it the resurrection of the "gateway theory," which alleges that experimenting with marijuana leads to the use of harder drugs like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. The gateway debate was reborn last week, thanks to a video of FBI director Robert Mueller testifying before Congress that marijuana should be illegal because it leads to more dangerous drug use.

Although the Mueller video has provoked amusement on pot-friendly websites, the unfortunate reality is that the "gateway drug" stigma continues to present an impediment to the reform of marijuana laws. A new Rasmussen poll found that a large percentage of Americans believe the gateway argument:

The new survey also shows that nearly half of voters (46%) believe marijuana use leads to use of harder drugs. Thirty-seven percent (37%) do not see marijuana as a "gateway" drug.

Revealingly, the percentage who opposed marijuana legalization and the percentage who believed in the gateway theory were identical, both coming in at exactly 46%. As we look for ways to persuade those who remain opposed to marijuana reform, it's clearly in our interest to work towards demolishing the pernicious gateway theory once and for all. Let's take a look at what the data shows.

In 1999, the National Institute on Drug Abuse commissioned a major study on medical marijuana conducted by the venerable Institute of Medicine, which included an examination of marijuana's potential to lead to other drug use. In simple terms, the researchers explained why the gateway theory was unfounded:

Patterns in progression of drug use from adolescence to adulthood are strikingly regular. Because it is the most widely used illicit drug, marijuana is predictably the first illicit drug most people encounter. Not surprisingly, most users of other illicit drugs have used marijuana first. In fact, most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine before marijuana -- usually before they are of legal age.
…
There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs.

In 2006, the University of Pittsburgh released a more thorough study in which researchers spent 12 years tracking a group of subjects from adolescence into adulthood and documented the initiation and progression of their drug use. The researchers found that the gateway theory was not only wrong, but also harmful to properly understanding and addressing drug abuse:

This evidence supports what’s known as the common liability model, an emerging theory that states the likelihood that someone will transition to the use of illegal drugs is determined not by the preceding use of a particular drug but instead by the user’s individual tendencies and environmental circumstances.“The emphasis on the drugs themselves, rather than other, more important factors that shape a person’s behavior, has been detrimental to drug policy and prevention programs,” Dr. Tarter said. “To become more effective in our efforts to fight drug abuse, we should devote more attention to interventions that address these issues, particularly to parenting skills that shape the child’s behavior as well as peer and neighborhood environments.”

Of course, the simplest refutation of the gateway theory is the basic fact that most marijuana users just don't use other drugs. As the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports:

More than 100 million Americans have tried marijuana; 14.4 million Americans are estimated to be "past-month" users. Yet there are only an estimated 2,075,000 "past-month" users of cocaine and 153,000 "past-month" users of heroin. [DrugWarFacts]

Clearly, people who use marijuana overwhelmingly do not move on to other drug use. That's why the number of people who use marijuana will always be more than 10 times greater than the number of people who use cocaine, heroin, etc. The fact that marijuana users rarely become involved in other drug use is right here in front of us.

Unfortunately, there is one important way in which marijuana use can result in exposure to other more dangerous drugs. Laws against marijuana have created an unregulated black market, in which criminals control the supply and may attempt to market more dangerous drugs to people who just want marijuana. As the Journal of the American Medical Association reported in 2003:

Alternatively, experience with and subsequent access to cannabis use may provide individuals with access to other drugs as they come into contact with drug dealers. This argument provided a strong impetus for the Netherlands to effectively decriminalize cannabis use in an attempt to separate cannabis from the hard drug market. This strategy may have been partially successful as rates of cocaine use among those who have used cannabis are lower in the Netherlands than in the United States."

Ironically, the only real gateway that exists is created by marijuana prohibition, yet proponents of harsh marijuana laws cynically cite the damage they've caused as evidence that the drug itself is acutely harmful. It's truly the height of absurdity, yet it persists despite the mountain of categorical data I've outlined above.

The point here isn’t just that marijuana isn’t actually a "gateway drug," but that there really is no such thing as a gateway drug to begin with. The term was invented by hysterical anti-drug zealots for the specific purpose of linking marijuana with harmful outcomes that couldn’t otherwise be established. Everyone knows marijuana is completely non-lethal, but if it leads to sticking needles in your arm, anything's possible. Through repeated use, the term began to stick and we're now confronted with a marijuana legalization debate in which 46% of the country believes an antiquated, widely-refuted fabrication that erroneously renders marijuana as deadly and unpredictable as anything a scared parent can imagine.

It's perfectly typical of the unhinged drug war demagogues that one of their most popular anti-pot propaganda points doesn't even actually have anything to do with pot. Their tireless reliance on such nonsense may go a long way towards explaining why support for legalization is growing faster than ever before.

- Article from Stop the Drug War (DRCNet).

Prescription drug addiction is becoming a big problem in Australia and costing lives

2011-08-17T06:32:00.000+10:00

A PRESCRIPTION drug is one that is a licensed medicine regulated by legislation and requiring authorisation from a doctor to obtain.

Sounds safe and controlled, doesn't it? So why are so many Australian lives being wrecked by such a safe and controlled system?

The National Drug Strategy household survey results in 2007 reported more than 1.2 million Australians had used a pharmaceutical drug, "for a non-medical purpose".

Now some experts believe as many as 100,000 Australians may have a problem with prescription painkillers.

This is not unique to Australia; prescription drug addiction is a problem worldwide. US authorities talk about a modern-day epidemic where prescription drug addiction is killing more people than crack cocaine in the 1980s and heroin in the 1970s combined. And in Australia we are heading down the same tortuous path. Here one of the most common prescription drugs abused is the painkiller OxyContin.

Dr Benny Monheit, who is a drug and alcohol physician and medical director of Southcity Clinic in Melbourne, said this drug was used all over the world and legislated by governments because it was effective in reducing chronic pain. But it is made from an alkaloid found in opium and produces a feeling of euphoria. And for some that can become addictive. Narelle Hassett believes her brother, Shane, got hold of this and other prescription drugs too often and too easily.

Shane Hassett with his new baby daughter,
died three days before Christmas after
overdosing on prescription drugs.
Picture: Rob Leeson Sunday Herald Sun

It was a prescription for death.

She said he had visited 15 different doctors in a week for prescriptions without raising alarm bells. Three days before Christmas, Shane Hassett, 29, died after overdosing on prescription drugs.

His family maintained that until Shane was prescribed painkillers a couple of years ago for an infected ear and wisdom tooth, he rarely took a tablet or had a drink. Research shows that if a patient remains on a powerful analgesic for two weeks or more, the body becomes dependent.

Shane was no angel in the last four years of his life. He became, in many ways, the stereotypical drug addict. He struggled to hold down a job, he suffered a change in personality and denied he had a problem. Last year his wife, Alicia, gave birth to their first child, a daughter. Alicia, his parents and two older siblings hoped the birth might help Shane beat his addiction. For a time it did. Then the demons returned. Shane moved to the city for work, coming home on weekends. Narelle believes that away from the support of family, Shane's addiction spiralled out of control. She said in the end he needed a cocktail of painkillers and anti-depressants to get through each day.

The family did not give up on him, not even when Shane held up a petrol station last year. Narelle believes the robbery was a cry for help, saying he didn't need money because he had borrowed from her that day, and that the petrol station he robbed was across the road from a police station. Shane's family are still suffering from his death, and others, too, remain traumatised by Shane's actions. The man he robbed, and worse, waved a samurai sword at, was shattered by the experience. The young father of two said he had lost his confidence, and his job. All because an addict crossed his path. As far as that man was concerned, he believed drug addicts like Shane cop out and do not take responsibility for their actions.

Shane Hassett, in his mind, chose his addiction over his family.

But whether you believe that or, as some health professionals argue, that addiction is a form of mental illness and should be treated as such, is beside the point. What has to be addressed, sooner rather than later, is the increased prevalence of people addicted to prescription drugs, whatever the reason. Narelle, Alicia and Shane's best friend Brett Thompson say it is time to do something about the problem most are too ashamed to confront. "There needs to be real-time monitoring of drug prescriptions," Narelle said.

And the family wants more awareness of addiction problems to readily-available drugs. "I don't want this to happen to any other normal family," Narelle said. "What happened to Shane has torn our family apart and he has a little girl he will never see grow up." Dr Monheit said real-time monitoring -- where doctors and pharmacists can see immediately what has already been prescribed for a patient -- is not available in Victoria, but is being trialled in Tasmania. "The feedback is that it is feasible," he told me. "But there are legitimate concerns about privacy." Dr Monheit believes the monitoring system could be part of an overall solution. "This problem is complex and involves every level of the health system," he said. But with so many agencies involved, a concern is that not everyone is speaking the same language to find a national solution. We can't have that. This cannot be about personalities, egos or even politics.

Story by: http://www.heraldsun.com.au

BREAKING NEWS: Medical Marijuana, A Cure for Cancer?

2011-08-14T09:54:00.000+10:00

Cannabis Science Extract Kills Cancer Cells While Treating Cancer Patients Through Its Licenced Distributor Rockbook
cancer_extract_kills.pdf

Why Marijuana should be legal: by Anonymous

2011-08-14T07:55:00.000+10:00

Anonymous said...: If weed is a bad drug and it grows on plants and paracetamol is a chemical made in a lab by pharmaceutical company whose only interest is having the largest profit margin possible then how bad is that. I'm sick to death of people looking down on me cause i smoke the finest. Ive heard about many people getting pissed and hitting there wife. Ive never seen someone have a smoke and go start a fight if you want to clean the streets get rid of the boose. I quit cigarettes by replacing it with green and cutting out the tobacco slowly. The only reason people say that weed is the gate way drug is you have to meet dodgy people to smoke it. There are lots of good dealers but the ones that make the money sell the addictive stuff and ice, heron, pills if you think smoking green compares to any of these things its time to get a cat scan or maybe consider doing some research before you open your mouth. More people die each year from taking an aspirin no one dies from green and most people you think it messed up shouldn't have smoked ice and been embarrassed by what everyone else things and blamed green take some respectability weed dose not affect the receptors in your brain that trigger addiction it can be habit forming but so is surfing and that just keeps me fit. If your worried about addiction then its time to put your cup of coffee down and see how long before the headaches start. The only reason weed is still illegal is because nobody is capable of thinking for themselves i mean just go look up all the side effects of alcohol and compare them to hooch its obvious which is the worse. My only hope is that one day all of my fellow stoners will stand up for there right to be free and do as the please without harming others. Just so you all know the people who want weed illegal the most is the criminal underworld that makes billions every year selling it to decent people and using the money to make our life worse. It is obvious from the alcohol prohibition that this dose not work how about we stop funding the crooks and and give the government some make money to waste on there drug war rather then educating the future generations of the real dangers of drugs because schools teach that all drugs are the same that's why so many young people smoke ice they try green and realize that its not to bad then there dealer gives them some ice to try and there hooked. So to everyone that hates green your just telling your kids to smoke ice!!!!!!!!; February 28, 2011 8:15 PM

Endocannabinoid System: an overview

2011-08-14T07:47:00.000+10:00

Illicit Drug Data Report 2009 - 10 Cannabis

2011-08-10T08:22:00.001+10:00

Illicit Drug Data Report 2009 - 10 Cannabis

It seems to me that if there where 57,170 arrests for cannabis possession or use in 2009-2010 that there is still a larger chunk of Australia that hasn't been caught or charged, suggesting to me that there could be up to 500,000 or more Australians that want their cannabis, That seems to me like enough votes to change parliament, so let us have it.

Stand up and be heard register with The Australian HEMP Party

change wont happen without you !

Cannabis as a Mood Stabilizer in Bipolar Disorder

2011-07-29T00:13:00.001+10:00

The Use of Cannabis as a Mood Stabilizer in Bipolar Disorder:

Anecdotal Evidence and the Need for Clinical Research

Lester Grinspoon, M.D. & James B. Bakalar

Published in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Volume 30 (2), April - June 1998, pp. 171-177.

Abstract- The authors present case histories indicating that a number of patients find cannabis (marihuana) useful in the treatment of their bipolar disorder. Some used it to treat mania, depression, or both. They stated that it was more effective than conventional drugs, or helped relieve the side effects of those drugs. One woman found that cannabis curbed her manic rages; she and her husband have worked to make it legally available as a medicine. Others described the use of cannabis as a supplement to lithium (allowing reduced consumption) or for relief of lithium's side effects. Another case illustrates the fact that medical cannabis users are in danger of arrest, especially when children are encouraged to inform on parents by some drug prevention programs. An analogy is drawn between the status of cannabis today and that of lithium in the early 1950s, when its effect on mania had been discovered but there were no controlled studies. In the case of cannabis, the law has made such studies almost impossible, and the only available evidence is anecdotal. The potential for cannabis as a treatment for bipolar disorder unfortunately cannot be fully explored in the present social circumstances.

************************************************************

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article is based in part on materials that appear in the revised and expanded edition of the authors' book, Marihuana, The Forbidden Medicine, republished in 1997 by Yale University Press, Newhaven and London. While the interviews have previously appeared in print, they provide a reference point for the authors' discussion of cannabis’ potential role in the treatment of bipolar disorder as it appears in this theme issue. In their revised and expanded book, Grinspoon and Bakalar discuss a wide range of what they refer to as "Common Medical Uses" and” Less Common Medical Uses" for cannabis. The former include treatment for the nausea and vomiting of cancer chemotherapy, glaucoma, epilepsy, the muscle spasms of multiple sclerosis, paraplegia and quadriplegia, the weight loss syndrome of AIDS, chronic pain, migraine, rheumatic diseases, pruritus, PMS, menstrual cramps and labour pains, depression and other mood disorders. The latter include treatment for asthma, insomnia, antimicrobial effects, topical anaesthetic effects, anti-tumour effects, dystonias, adult ADD, schizophrenia, systemic sclerosis, Crohn's disease, diabetic gastro paresis, pseudo tumour cerebri, tinnitus, violence, PTSD, phantom limb pain, alcoholism and other addictions, terminal illness and aging.]

************************************************************

In bipolar or manic-depressive disorder, major depression alternates with uncontrollable elation, or mania. Symptoms of depression include loss of interest and pleasure in life, sadness, irrational guilt, inability to concentrate, appetite loss, lethargy and chronic fatigue. Manic symptoms include sleeplessness, tirelessness (until exhaustion leads to a breakdown), and recklessly gregarious and expansive behaviour, which sometimes turns to irritability, rage and paranoid delusions. Bipolar disorder is treated mainly with lithium salts and anti-convulsant drugs, which can have serious side effects. Thirty percent to 40% of patients with bipolar disorder are not consistently helped by or cannot tolerate standard medications. In the course of the authors' studies of the medical uses of cannabis (Grinspoon & Bakalar 1997), a number of sufferers were discovered who believed marihuana to be more effective than conventional anti-manic drugs, or who used it to relieve the side effects of lithium.

Read Full PDF file HERE

70 year old cerebral palsy sufferer harrassed by NSW Police

2011-07-28T22:37:00.000+10:00

This is just disgusting the way the Australian government treats its DISABLED and ELDERLY citizens.

Legalize Medical Cannabis NOW

The HEMP Embassy

Moms for Marijuana (Yes, You Read That Right)

2011-07-28T22:05:00.000+10:00

The movement to legalize marijuana has spawned it's fair share of off-beat organizations. But few have been as controversial as Moms for Marijuana, a growing group founded by a pain-crippled mom in Idaho. Pot has helped relieve some of her endless agonies. But what will it do to her two kids?

Starting an international movement to promote the benefits of cannabis was never Serra Frank’s intention when, in 2005, she created a simple MySpace page.

Read full article here: moms for marijuana

Australian Medical Cannabis Network

2011-07-28T20:42:00.000+10:00

This website is dedicated to Australians who live with fear and persecution simply from choosing to gain benefit from members of the Cannabis genus. It is also dedicated to exposing the social segregation, discrimination, slavery and supremacy policies known as Licit vs Illicit Drug Policies.

"To alleviate suffering for those who suffer acutely or chronically is justice. To force your choice on someone in favour of their own is slavery".

Mullaway Cannabis Treaty

2011-07-28T12:28:00.003+10:00

On the 23 of August we will be going to NSW Parliament House to hand over our terms for a treaty on cannabis.

A treaty will be drawn up and presented to the Secretary of Health as it is the Health Department that control the Growing and Possession of cannabis in NSW for medical purposes. We will be asking that person to discuss a treaty. With the help and support of the Hemp Embassy we will be asking everyone to come down and support this.

Bring a joint or we will be dispensing cannabis tincture free of charge to all who bring a letter from their doctor stating they have an illness cannabis is known to treat.

We will also be asking the NSW Health Minister to issue a Card protecting patients from harassment. This should have been done a long time ago in accordance with the TGA Special Access Scheme.

If they are unwilling to provide this medicine they cannot stop you from providing your own. This is in Law.

If the Secretary of Health will not talk, or if for some reason they do not exist, as has been implied in some correspondence, then we will be going straight to the NSW High Court. A letter of Notice has been sent to the NSW Health Department advising action will be taken on that day.

It is time to stand up and show we have the courage. Not only to help ourselves but to help others less fortunate. Lets help them have a quality of life they deserve.

Lets sit down and have a smoke or a cookie or even a home made tincture – whatever you like. Lets sit down and actually talk about the end of the 100 year war.

Anthony D Bower, Director & Founder Mullaways Medical Cannabis Pty Ltd. http://www.mullawaysmedicalcannabis.com.au/

Federal Government in Bed with Big Pharma on Marijuana?

2011-07-27T21:51:00.001+10:00

The federal government continues to persecute people for using “medical marijuana,” claiming that “marijuana” has no medical value.

This is one of the biggest lies ever sold to the American public via the use of billions of dollars to spreading lies and rumors about an herb.

The proper name for this herb is cannabis.

Two species, indica and sativa, are used as medicine.

Within these two species there are as many strains as there are of roses and heirloom tomatoes, each of which may work better than others for certain illnesses.

Since 1996, increasing numbers of Californians have discovered that cannabis is a whole herbal remedy that treats autoimmune diseases like lupus and multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases, HIV and AIDS, anxiety, migraines, insomnia, bi-polar disorders and more.

The plant can be smoked, vaporized, eaten, and its leaves can be juiced and drunk raw, all to good medicinal effect.

And it can be used without getting “high.”

One reason that this herb can treat so many different illnesses is that it contains at least 61 different cannabinoids, chemical compounds that are naturally produced by the human body. Many illnesses now appear to be cannabinoid deficiencies, which can be treated with phyto (plant-produced)-cannabinoids, much as estrogen deficiencies can be eased with phyto-estrogens.

But cannabinoids are not the only important medicinal compounds; the whole natural herb also produces other compounds, e.g., terpenes and flavonoids, which also add to the medicinal effect of the cannabinoids.In 2003, employees of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services were awarded (and then assigned to the U.S. Government) U.S. Patent No. 6,630,507 on cannabinoids as anti-oxidants and neuro-protectants.

This patent actually lists autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases, HIV and AIDS and more as illnesses that can be treated by cannabinoids.

Now that the government holds the patent of cannabinoids as medically valuable, it can license such patent to Big Pharma to begin making synthetic cannabinoids and profiting by selling them to sick people at pharmaceutical drug prices. Big Pharma has already profited from whole herbal cannabis being made illegal by the federal government.

Big Pharma has been allowed to produce (in China) synthetic THC.

THC is one of the cannabinoids that helps control nausea, and at one point synthetic THC, “Marinol,” was selling for $250 per pill (if you had no insurance).

But sick people who’ve been able to compare whole herbal cannabis with Marinol almost always prefer the natural herb.

It works better, and smoking it is a better delivery system for nauseated patients who can’t keep food or oral medications down. And it can be less expensive, since Californians can legally grow cannabis for their own or a loved one’s medical use.

Once you know the big picture and where the profits lie, it becomes clear that one reason the federal government continues to lie about the medicinal value of this plant – a plant which many, many people could grow like zucchini in their backyards – is to protect the potential profits that Big Pharma will lose as people recognize the value of cannabis as not only a natural, whole herbal remedy for many illnesses, but also as a natural cancer preventative and cancer cure.

Research has now shown that whole herbal cannabis – especially the THC in “entourage” with the other cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids – causes cancer cells to commit “autophagy.”

That means cancerous cells self-destruct while leaving healthy, noncancerous cells unharmed.

And since the pharmaceutical industry makes some 40 percent of its profits from cancer-related pharmaceutical medications, the ready availability of a plant that can prevent and cure cancer is a very scary prospect for Big Pharma.

That, no doubt, is one reason that the pharmaceutical industry has made sure that there are two paid lobbyists for each Congress person and each Senator in Washington, D.C.

Prescription medications are now the second-leading cause of death in the U.S; cannabis has never killed anyone.

Natural remedies versus synthetic chemicals? Everyone should have the freedom to choose, and in California, because of Prop. 215, we do have that right.

Please contact Police Minister Rob Johnson

2011-07-27T19:00:00.001+10:00

Western Australian citizens and Australian citizens alike need to send as many emails as possible to the Hon Police Minister Rob Johnson showing their dissatisfaction against the horrible new laws he wishes to implement that could see mere cannabis users doing hard jail time. Seriously we cannot let this become the norm in Australia people please smokers and non-smokers alike its all about our freedom.

Contact details are below here:

Hon. Robert (Rob) Frank Johnson MLA JP
Minister for Police; Emergency Services; Road Safety, Leader of the House

House:	Legislative Assembly
Party:	Liberal Party
Electorate:	Hillarys

Electorate Office:...

Suite 2,
Endeavour House,
(Corner Endeavour Road and Banks Avenue)
Hillarys WA 6025

Ph: (08) 9307 8311
Fax: (08) 9307 8315
Email: rob.johnson@mp.wa.gov.au

Ministerial Office:

20th Floor
Governor Stirling Tower
197 St Georges Terrace
Perth WA 6000
Ph: 9222 9211
Fax: 9321 6003
Email: Minister.Johnson@dpc.wa.gov.au

Medicinal Cannabis and its Impact on Human Health • NIMBIN TELEVISION

2011-07-27T13:47:00.001+10:00

http://nimbintelevision.net/1298

In this myth shattering, information packed documentary, learn from physicians and leading researchers about medicinal Cannabis and its’ demonstrated effects on human health.
Topics include:

*What the consensus is from over 15,000 scientific and medical trials

*What conditions have been proven to benefit from medical marijuana

*Its historical use as medicine dating back over 5,300 years

*Methods of delivery and their different advantages

*Government sponsored studies intended to show Marijuana having negative effects that yielded the exact opposite results

*Common myths about negative effects of Marijuana and what the research really says about these topics.

This game-changing movie presents the most comprehensive synopsis to date of the real science surrounding the world’s most controversial plant.

All videos can be viewed here:

http://nimbintelevision.net/1298

W.A Citizens feel the heat under new Cannabis laws

2011-07-25T22:01:00.004+10:00

MAXIMUM fines for possessing small amounts of cannabis will increase more than 10 times when new Western Australian drug laws come into force on August 1.

After 2 1/2 years of promising to get tough on marijuana users, dealers and growers, the Liberal-National Government's "war on drugs" is about to begin.

The penalty for possessing less than 30g of cannabis will jump from a $100 fine to a maximum of $2000 and the possibility of two years in jail.

The penalty for growing up to two marijuana plants is a $200 fine, but that will jump to a maximum $2000 fine and prosecution with the prospect of two years behind bars for growing any number of plants.

And the penalty for businesses caught selling smoking implements to children will increase from $25,000 to a possible $120,000 and two years jail.

"We are declaring war on drugs and this is just the beginning," Police Minister Rob Johnson, pictured left, told The Sunday Times yesterday.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/wa-government-readies-for-pot-shot/comments-e6frg14c-1226095864452

HEMP Party of Australia

2011-07-25T14:46:00.000+10:00

Welcome to the Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party of Australia.

On 17 June 2010 the delegate determined that the party’s application had passed its initial consideration for registration and the application was advertised for public objection on 23 June 2010. The issue of writs on 19 July 2010 for the federal elections meant that no further action could be taken on this application until the final return of all outstanding writs on 17 September 2010. No objections to the registration of the HEMP Party were received.

The delegate of the Australian Electoral Commission determined that the HEMP Party should be registered under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

I am a proud registered member, Are you?

http://australianhempparty.com/

Check out this site Legalise Cannabis Australia

2011-07-25T14:12:00.000+10:00

I found this website today. Its Australian and packed full of useful information a good site. I suggest kick back with some green and have a good look I did.

www.legalisecannabis.org.au/

"This website has only ever had intentions of pressing for medical marijuana legalisation in Australia to undo the wrongs of prohibition upon individual medical marijuana users. We believe that marijuana growers that sell it should be given a license and allowed to continue their business which benefits users, society and allows them to continue to make money like alcohol shops, regulated."

Dr Good Bud

http://www.legalisecannabis.org.au/

‪WEED FACTS YOU MUST KNOW!‬‏

2011-07-25T13:37:00.000+10:00

‪

Marijuana Does Not Raise Lung Cancer Risk - FOX News

2011-07-06T10:19:00.002+10:00

People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancer, new research suggests.

While a clear increase in cancer risk was seen among cigarette smokers in the study, no such association was seen for regular cannabis users.

Even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints over a lifetime seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent marijuana users or nonusers.

The findings surprised the study’s researchers, who expected to see an increase in cancer among people who smoked marijuana regularly in their youth.

“We know that there are as many or more carcinogens and co-carcinogens in marijuana smoke as in cigarettes,” researcher Donald Tashkin, MD, of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine tells WebMD. “But we did not find any evidence for an increase in cancer risk for even heavy marijuana smoking.” Carcinogens are substances that cause cancer.

Tashkin presented the findings today at The American Thoracic Society’s 102nd International Conference, held in San Diego.

Boomers Reaching Cancer Age

The study population was limited to people who were younger than 60 because people older than that would probably not have used marijuana in their teens and early adult years.

“People who may have smoked marijuana in their youth are just now getting to the age when cancers are being seen,” Tashkin says.

A total of 611 lung cancer patients living in Los Angeles County, and 601 patients with other cancers of the head and neck were compared with 1,040 people without cancer matched for age, sex, and the neighborhood they lived in.

All the participants were asked about lifetime use of marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as other drugs, their diets, occupation, family history of lung cancer, and socioeconomic status.

The heaviest marijuana users in the study had smoked more than 22,000 joints, while moderately heavy smokers had smoked between 11,000 and 22,000 joints.

While two-pack-a-day or more cigarette smokers were found to have a 20-fold increase in lung cancer risk, no elevation in risk was seen for even the very heaviest marijuana smokers.

The more tobacco a person smoked, the greater their risk of developing lung cancer and other cancers of the head and neck. But people who smoked more marijuana were not at increased risk compared with people who smoked less and people who didn’t smoke at all.

The THC Connection

Studies suggest that marijuana smoke contains 50 percent higher concentrations of chemicals linked to lung cancer than cigarette smoke. Marijuana smokers also tend to inhale deeper than cigarette smokers and hold the inhaled smoke in their lungs longer.

So why isn’t smoking marijuana as dangerous as smoking cigarettes in terms of cancer risk?

The answer isn’t clear, but the experts say it might have something to do with tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is a chemical found in marijuana smoke.

Cellular studies and even some studies in animal models suggest that THC has antitumor properties, either by encouraging the death of genetically damaged cells that can become cancerous or by restricting the development of the blood supply that feeds tumors, Tashkin tells WebMD.

In a review of the research published last fall, University of Colorado molecular biologist Robert Melamede, PhD, concluded that the THC in cannabis seems to lessen the tumor-promoting properties of marijuana smoke.

The nicotine in tobacco has been shown to inhibit the destruction of cancer-causing cells, Melamede tells WebMD. THC does not appear to do this and may even do the opposite.

While there was a suggestion in the newly reported study that smoking marijuana is weakly protective against lung cancer, Tashkin says the very weak association was probably due to chance.

Cancer risk among cigarette smokers was not influenced by whether or not they also smoked marijuana.

“We saw no interaction between marijuana and tobacco, and we certainly would not recommend that people smoke marijuana to protect themselves against cancer,” he says.

Why Cannabis should be legal in Australia

2011-06-29T10:34:00.000+10:00

This is an archived video from 2009 that I found again today. I thought he really hit the nail on the head at the end. The Governments argument on the so called "Dangers" means nothing except that cannabis should be legalized regulated and controlled. Which isn't happening now

NSW bans synthetic Cannabis

2011-06-28T09:30:00.002+10:00

This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. It seems they are never gonna stop persecuting Cannabis users, while alcohol and tobacco remain legal it disgusts me.

Scum bag politicians, I have been smoking Cannabis for nearly 20 years i do not get paranoid i do not suffer from schizophrenia I do not get one adverse side affect, reaction from all my years of smoking. They cannot keep treating grown adults as children it insane. Ill never stop no matter what they do.

NSW joins synthetic cannabis ban - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

72 hours to End the War on Drugs

2011-05-31T21:25:00.000+10:00

In 72 hours, we could finally see the beginning of the end of the ‘war on drugs’. This expensive war has completely failed to curb the plague of drug addiction, while costing countless lives, devastating communities, and funneling trillions of dollars into violent organized crime networks.

Experts all agree that the most sensible policy is to regulate, but politicians are afraid to touch the issue. In days, a global commission including former heads of state and foreign policy chiefs of the UN, EU, US, Brazil, Mexico and more will break the taboo and publicly call for new approaches including decriminalization and regulation of drugs.

This could be a once-in-a-generation tipping-point moment -- if enough of us call for an end to this madness. Politicians say they understand that the war on drugs has failed, but claim the public isn't ready for an alternative. Let's show them we not only accept a sane and humane policy -- we demand it. Sign the petition and share with everyone -- when we reach 1/2 million, it will be personally delivered to world leaders by the global commission.

For 50 years current drug policies have failed everyone, everywhere but public debate is stuck in the mud of fear and misinformation. Everyone, even the UN Office on Drugs and Crime which is responsible for enforcing this approach agrees -- deploying militaries and police to burn drug farms, hunting down traffickers, and imprisoning dealers and addicts – is an expensive mistake. And with massive human cost -- from Afghanistan, to Mexico, to the USA the illegal drug trade is destroying countries around the world, while addiction, overdose deaths, and HIV/AIDS infections continue to rise.

Meanwhile, countries with less-harsh enforcement -- like Switzerland, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Australia -- have not seen the explosion in drug use that proponents of the drug war have darkly predicted. Instead, they have seen significant reductions in drug-related crime, addiction and deaths, and are able to focus squarely on dismantling criminal empires.

Powerful lobbies still stand in the way of change, including military, law enforcement, and prison departments whose budgets are at stake. And politicians fear that voters will throw them out of office if they support alternative approaches, as they will appear weak on law and order. But many former drug Ministers and Heads of State have come out in favour of reform since leaving office, and polls show that citizens across the world know the current approach is a catastrophe. Momentum is gathering towards new improved policies, particularly in regions that are ravaged by the drug trade.

If we can create a worldwide outcry in the next 72 hours to support the bold calls of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, we can overpower the stale excuses for the status quo. Our voices hold the key to change -- Sign the petition and spread the word.

We have a chance to enter the closing chapter of this brutal 'war' that has destroyed millions of lives. Global public opinion will determine if this catastrophic policy is stopped or if politicians shy away from reform. Let's rally urgently to push our hesitating leaders from doubt and fear, over the edge, and into reason.

National Cancer Institute scrubs “anti-tumoral effect” of cannabinoids from website | NORML Blog, Marijuana Law Reform

2011-03-31T13:20:00.000+11:00

National Cancer Institute scrubs “anti-tumoral effect” of cannabinoids from website

Australian Medical Cannabis Network

2011-03-19T20:37:00.000+11:00

Home - Australian Medical Cannabis Network

I strongly recommend checking out the website above. They have tones of credible information and thats what we need to see out there "The Australian Medical Cannabis Network" check it out guys and gals.

The Australian 'Legalise and tax marijuana' to drive out drug underworld

2010-12-05T10:27:00.000+11:00

Thanks to NORML Australia for bringing this article to my attention I have said this before in my blog as long as the government supports prohibition the support drug cartels and drug dealers.

PROSECUTING the marijuana trade makes no financial sense in a market with an almost infinite supply, a leading US drugs campaigner says.

A better path is to regulate the drugs and impose taxes on their supply, given drugs are more easily available in larger quantities and at cheaper prices, says Ethan Nadelmann, director of New York-based Drug Policy Alliance.

In Australia to discuss drug policy, Mr Nadelmann told the National Press Club yesterday support was building for decriminalisation of marijuana use in the US, with approval from 44 per cent of the population, a marked hike from

36 per cent five years ago.

Mr Nadelmann said high school students in the US claimed it was easier to get their hands on marijuana than alcohol, and spending a fortune on policing and jailing those in the trade was wasting money.

Sydney-based drug reform campaigner Alex Wodak agreed that prohibition of drugs was not working, and there had been a rise in violence associated with the drugs underworld that could be curtailed by legalising the industry.

Mr Wodak said cannabis was the only drug that could be controlled in Australia by Mr Nadelmann's regulate and tax model.

Opponents of Mr Nadelmann's model note the increasing potency of cannabis and marijuana compared with decades ago and refute the notion it is comparatively harmless.

Marijuana To Control Alcohol Abuse

2010-11-29T00:40:00.000+11:00

A new research effort has a provocative outcome as University of California-Berkeley researchers suggest substituting cannabis for treatment of heavy alcohol abuse.

Research published in BioMed Central’s open access Harm Reduction Journal features a poll of 350 cannabis users, finding that 40 percent used cannabis to control their alcohol cravings, 66 percent as a replacement for prescription drugs and 26 percent for other, more potent illegal drugs.

Amanda Reiman carried out the study at the UC-Berkeley Patient’s Group, a medical cannabis dispensary.

She said, “Substituting cannabis for alcohol has been described as a radical alcohol treatment protocol. This approach could be used to address heavy alcohol use in the British Isles – people might substitute cannabis, a potentially safer drug than alcohol with less negative side effects, if it were socially acceptable and available.”

Reiman found that 65 percent of people reported using cannabis as a substitute because it has fewer adverse side effects than alcohol, illicit or prescription drugs, 34 percent because it has less withdrawal potential and 57.4 percent because cannabis provides better symptom management.

Reiman believes this discovery brings up two important points.

“First, self-determination, the right of an individual to decide which treatment or substance is most effective and least harmful for them. Secondly, the recognition that substitution might be a viable alternative to abstinence for those who can’t or won’t completely stop using psychoactive substances.”

Speaking about legalization of cannabis, Reiman added, “The economic hardship of the Great Depression helped bring about the end of alcohol prohibition. Now, as we are again faced with economic struggles, the U.S. is looking to marijuana as a potential revenue generator.

“Public support is rising for the legalization of recreational use and remains high for the use of marijuana as a medicine. The hope is that this interest will translate into increased research support and the removal of current barriers to conducting such research, such as the Schedule I/Class B status of marijuana.”

Source: BioMed Central

Psychomotor Impairing Effects Of Cannabis Are Nominal In Experienced Users, Study Says - NORML

2010-11-22T12:49:00.000+11:00

November 18, 2010 - Maastricht, The Netherlands

Maastricht, The Netherlands: Experienced marijuana consumers become tolerant to the substance's impairing potential on psychomotor skills, according to clinical trial data published online in the journal Psychopharmacology.

Investigators at Maastricht University in The Netherlands and Goethe University in Germany assessed the neurocognitive effects of cannabis and alcohol in 21 experienced marijuana consumers (defined as smoking more than four days per week.) Subjects completed various driving simulator performance tests, including measures of perceptual motor control (critical tracking test), dual task processing (divided-attention task), motor inhibition (stop-signal task), and cognition (Tower of London).

Researchers determined that alcohol dosing significantly impaired subjects' critical tracking, divided attention, and stop-signal performance. By contrast, investigators reported that smoking THC cigarettes "generally did not affect task performance."

"THC did not affect performance of heavy cannabis users in the critical tracking task, the stop-signal task, and the Tower of London," authors wrote. "These tasks have previously been shown to be very sensitive to the impairing potential of THC when administered to infrequent cannabis (users). The lack of THC on these tasks basically confirms the previous notions that heavy cannabis users can develop tolerance to behaviorally impairing effects of THC."

Authors did report that subjects' performance on the divided-attention task was affected by both THC and alcohol, and their combination.

Investigators further reported that heavy marijuana use did not produce cross-tolerance to the impairing potential of alcohol alone or the synergistic effects of alcohol and cannabis when used concurrently.

A previously published study from July also found that experienced cannabis consumers overall performance accuracy on episodic memory and working memory tasks was not significantly altered by marijuana. Researchers in that study concluded: "This pattern of effects is consistent with results previously reported by other researchers studying the acute effects of marijuana on cognitive performance of regular users. ... The observation that frequent users' response accuracy is not altered after marijuana smoking to the same extent it is for infrequent users ... suggests that near-daily marijuana smokers may have developed tolerance to some marijuana-related behavioral effects."

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "Tolerance and cross-tolerance to neurocognitive effects of THC and alcohol in heavy cannabis users," appears online in the journal Psychopharmacology. For additional information regarding marijuana and psychomotor skills, please see NORML's white paper, "Cannabis and Driving: A Scientific and Rational Review" here: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7459.

Dr Melamede Responds to DEA agent's lies

2010-11-22T12:41:00.000+11:00

The Science of Medical Cannabis: A Conversation with Donald Abrams, M.D.

2010-11-20T16:55:00.000+11:00

Cannabis May Protect the Brain Against Alcohol Damage

2010-11-19T13:33:00.001+11:00

Compounds in cannabis may protect the human brain against alcohol-induced damage, according to clinical trial data published online by the journal Neurotoxicology and Teratology.

Investigators at the University of California at San Diego examined white matter integrity in adolescents with histories of binge drinking and marijuana use.

They reported that binge drinkers (defined as boys who consumed five or more drinks in one sitting, or girls who consumed four or more drinks at one time) showed signs of white matter damage in eight separate regions of the brain.

By contrast, the binge drinkers who also used marijuana experienced less damage in seven out of the eight brain regions.

“Binge drinkers who also use marijuana did not show as consistent a divergence from non-users as did the binge drink-only group,” authors concluded. “[It is] possible that marijuana may have some neuroprotective properties in mitigating alcohol-related oxidative stress or excitotoxic cell death.”

In 2005, researchers at the National Institutes of Mental Health reported that the administration of the non-psychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) reduced alcohol-induced cell death in the hippocampus and etorhinal cortex of the brain in a dose-dependent manner by up to 60 percent. “This study provides the first demonstration of CBD as an in vivo neuroprotectant … in preventing binge ethanol-induced brain injury,” investigators concluded in The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Commenting on the findings, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, “Alcohol and cannabis appear to have contrasting effects on the body,” he said. “Ethanol is clearly toxic to healthy and developing cells whereas cannabinoids appear to be relatively non-toxic and possibly even neuroprotective.”

San Diego, CA–(ENEWSPF)

August 27, 2009.

Source: norml.org

Study Explains How Marijuana Kills Cancer Cells

2010-11-19T13:24:00.000+11:00

Nov 6, 2003, Steve Kubby

A new study published in Nature Reviews-Cancer provides an historic and detailed explanation about how THC and natural cannabinoids counteract cancer, but preserve normal cells.

The study by Manuel Guzmán of Madrid Spain found that cannabinoids, the active components of marijuana, inhibit tumor growth in laboratory animals. They do so by modulating key cell-signalling pathways, thereby inducing direct growth arrest and death of tumor cells, as well as by inhibiting the growth of blood vessels that supply the tumor.

The Guzman study is very important according to Dr. Ethan Russo , a neurologist and world authority on medical cannabis: "Cancer occurs because cells become immortalized; they fail to heed normal signals to turn off growth. A normal function of remodeling in the body requires that cells die on cue. This is called apoptosis, or programmed cell death. That process fails to work in tumors. THC promotes its reappearance so that gliomas, leukemias, melanomas and other cell types will in fact heed the signals, stop dividing, and die."

"But, that is not all," explains Dr. Russo: "The other way that tumors grow is by ensuring that they are nourished: they send out signals to promote angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels. Cannabinoids turn off these signals as well. It is truly incredible, and elegant."

In other words, this article explains several ways in which cannabinoids might be used to fight cancer, and, as the article says, "Cannabinoids are usually well tolerated, and do not produce the generalized toxic effects of conventional chemo-therapies.

Usually, any story that even suggests the possibility of a new treatment for cancer is greeted with headlines about a "cancer cure" - however remote in the future and improbable in fact it might be. But if marijuana is involved, don't expect any coverage from mainstream media, especially since mainstream editors have been quietly killing this story for the past thirty years.

That's right, news about the abilility of pot to shrink tumors first surfaced, way back in 1974. Researchers at the Medical College of Virginia, who had been funded by the National Institutes of Health to find evidence that marijuana damages the immune system, found instead that THC slowed the growth of three kinds of cancer in mice -- lung and breast cancer, and a virus-induced leukemia.

The Washington Post reported on the 1974 study -- in the "Local" section -- on Aug. 18, 1974. Under the headline, "Cancer Curb Is Studied," it read in part: "The active chemical agent in marijuana curbs the growth of three kinds of cancer in mice and may also suppress the immunity reaction that causes rejection of organ transplants, a Medical College of Virginia team has discovered." The researchers "found that THC slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers, and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent."

"News coverage of the Madrid discovery has been virtually nonexistent in this country. The news broke quietly on Feb. 29, 2000 with a story that ran once on the UPI wire about the Nature Medicine article," complained Marijuana News.com editor Richard Cowan, who said he was only able to find the article through a link that appeared briefly on the Drudge Report Web page. "The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times all ignored the story, even though its newsworthiness is indisputable: a benign substance occurring in nature destroys deadly brain tumors," added Cowan.

On March 29, 2001, the San Antonio Current printed a carefully researched, bombshell of a story by Raymond Cushing titled, "POT SHRINKS TUMORS; GOVERNMENT KNEW IN '74." Media coverage since then has been non existant, except for a copy of the story on Alternet .

It is hard to believe that the knowledge that cannabis can be used to fight cancer has been suppressed for almost thirty years , yet it seems likely that it will continue to be suppressed. Why?

According to Cowan, the answer is because it is a threat to cannabis prohibition . "If this article and its predecessors from 2000 and 1974 were the only evidence of the suppression of medical cannabis, then one might perhaps be able to rationalize it in some herniated way. However, there really is massive proof that the suppression of medical cannabis represents the greatest failure of the institutions of a free society, medicine, journalism, science, and our fundamental values," Cowan notes.

Millions of people have died horrible deaths and in many cases, families exhausted their savings on dangerous, toxic and expensive drugs. Now we are just beginning to realize that while marijuana has never killed anyone, marijuana prohibition has killed millions.

http://www.sierratimes.com/03/11/07/article_kubby.htm

NORML AUSTRALIA

2010-11-17T16:04:00.001+11:00

NORML AUSTRALIA

To help educate and have a say in the ending of prohibition for Hemp and Medical Marijuana in Australia

Rick Simpson Exiled

2010-10-31T12:17:00.001+11:00

Hemp Medicine´s Emperor´s Political Exile in Europe
- a message from Rick Simpson

On November 25th, 2009, one day before I was crowned the Freedom Fighter of the Year 2009 at the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, I received a word that I have been raided again by the RCMP. I contacted Tim Hunter at the Amherst attachment and asked I was being charged. Of course, he refused to give me straight answer. All he would say was that the RCMP wanted to talk to me.

After openly growing hemp in my backyard this past summer and announcing this fact to the public on tom Young´s open line talk show in June, how could the RCMP not be aware of my activities? The truth is they knew exactly what I was doing. RCMP officers were even sending people that needed help to me. I can only surmise that the purpose of this raid was to keep me from returning to Canada.

full story here

http://www.phoenixtears.ca/

Cannabis 'easier to buy than pizza'

2010-10-28T21:51:00.003+11:00

Cannabis is easier to buy than pizza, one drug expert claims, calling for it to be legalised and taxed to benefit all Australians

Dr Alex Wodak, director of the Alcohol and Drug Service at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, says cannabis will soon be Australia's smoke of choice.

"Experts are calling for the legalisation and taxation of cannabis"

"In a few years time, we'll have more Australians smoking cannabis than we have smoking tobacco and by default that market is largely taken over by criminals," Dr Wodak said.

"Having a black market of that size is not good for anybody and inevitably big black markets can only survive if there's significant police corruption."

Dr Wodak delivered the keynote address at the Australian Drug Law and a Civil Society symposium at the Lismore campus of Southern Cross University on Thursday.

He also heads the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation.

Drug trade run by criminals

"At the moment, we have no control over cannabis at all because the trade is run by criminals," he said from Lismore.

"By taxing and regulating it, we would start to have some influence over the way people use cannabis.

"Overall, the aim should be to try and reduce the harm."

Cannabis prohibition was expensive and ineffective, Dr Wodak said, with surveys showing up to 2.5 million Australians will smoke cannabis in 2010.

"It's easier for most Australians to purchase cannabis than to buy a pizza - it's a readily available substance," he said.

Dr Wodak said legalising cannabis and regulating it could be carried out similar to what happens in the alcohol and tobacco industries.

Warning labels, age restrictions

"We could have warning labels on packets, we could have age restrictions - we could also have help-seeking information if you're trying to cut down or stop," he said.

Dr Wodak said research had shown punishing people for possessing cannabis does not inhibit their desire to keep using the drug.

"We've proved that we've stimulated a huge black market for cannabis in Australia by prohibition," he said.

He quoted polls in the United States showing support for legalising cannabis had climbed from 12 per cent in 1969 to 44 per cent in 2009.

"I think the minute that politicians start to see that 51 per cent of the population is supporting the taxation and regulation of cannabis, they'll take 10 seconds to work out that's what they want too," Dr Wodak said.

He also expects a legal international trade in cannabis to develop one day, but acknowledged making cannabis a legal drug in Australia and overseas will happen incrementally.

Cannabis will stay on banned list

2010-10-28T21:38:00.002+11:00

WORLD Anti-Doping Agency president John Fahey says he resents the use of the term "recreational drug" and has defended his body's stance on cannabis.

Fahey claims it violates at least two of the three requirements to be a banned substance.

In response to calls from leading trans-Tasman drug experts for WADA to review its policy on recreational drug use following the lifetime ban given to a rugby league player on the Gold Coast, Fahey gave no indication the policy on cannabis would be altered.

Writing in The Australian today, Australian Drug Foundation CEO John Rogerson, Australian National Council on Drugs executive director Gino Vumbaca and New Zealand Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell claimed WADA's stance on cannabis has the potential to ruin careers and inexorably alter lives.

The trio also suggest the policy is too repressive. Only last month, player unions representing footballers and cricketers in England also called for recreational drugs to be removed from WADA's prohibited list. Fahey, however, was unmoved by the calls for change.

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"I resent the word recreational drug," Fahey said. "Nobody can say marijuana is a recreational drug. The cemetery is full of people who started on marijuana. It's illegal. They may be what society is using, but that doesn't make it legal.

"To try to say recreational drug, to me is a misnomer. There are only two types of drugs -- the legal drugs that we get under prescription or otherwise . . . and illegal drugs.

"The prohibited list contains a combination of both. In my view, the only recreational drugs that I would concede are entitled to that description are alcohol and tobacco.

"The rest are illegal drugs -- they breach the criminal code and let's call them just that. For me, it tries to dilute the message of the seriousness of drugs that are outside the law.

"To me, I think that's most unfortunate that people describe them as recreational drugs. They are illegal drugs."

Cannabis has been on WADA's list of banned substances since 2004.

In September, the agency's executive committee approved a new version of the list for next year, still banning cannabis.

Fahey stressed marijuana met two of the three arms of the WADA code, in it was a risk to the health of an athlete and contravened the spirit of sport. The code describes the spirit of sport as a celebration of the human spirit, body and mind, and is characterised by values including health, respect for rules and laws, and respect for self and other participants.

"The second condition is that the use of the substance represents an actual or potential health risk to the athlete," Fahey said.

"Nobody could argue that particular condition hasn't been met. If anyone wants to argue marijuana is not a potential risk to the athlete's health, I would doubt they would get many supporters.

"The third arm is if the use of the substance violates the spirit of sport. Nobody could argue against that one. The two (requirements) are there."

Alternate Cures for Cancer

2010-06-26T19:54:00.000+10:00

Tobacco-Related Health Costs: $800; Booze-Related Health Costs: $165; Pot-Related Health Costs: $20

2009-11-20T12:38:00.002+11:00

Health-related costs per user are eight times higher for drinkers than they are for those who use cannabis, and are more than 40 times higher for tobacco smokers, according to a report published in the British Columbia Mental Health and Addictions Journal.

According to the report, “In terms of [health-related] costs per user: tobacco-related health costs are over $800 per user, alcohol-related health costs are much lower at $165 per user, and cannabis-related health costs are the lowest at $20 per user.”

The review, authored by researchers from the Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia at the University of Victoria and the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse at the University of Ottawa, stated: “Alcohol is used by a very large number of people with the vast majority of these using in low- or moderate-risk ways. Conversely, cannabis and tobacco are used by far fewer people. The majority of cannabis use is low- and moderate-risk, however, while the majority of tobacco is high-risk.”

The study reported that social costs applicable to marijuana are primarily “enforcement-related.”

The authors concluded: “The harms, risks and social costs of alcohol, cannabis and tobacco vary greatly. A lot has to do with how the substances are handled legally. Alcohol and tobacco are legal substances, which explains their low enforcement costs relative to cannabis. On the other hand, the health costs per user of tobacco and alcohol are much higher than for cannabis. This may indicate that cannabis use involves fewer health risks than alcohol or tobacco.

“These variations in risk, harms and cost need to be taken into account as we think about further efforts to deal with the use of these three substances. … Efforts to reduce social costs related to cannabis, for example, will likely involve shifting its legal status by decriminalizing casual use, to reduce the high enforcement costs. Such a shift may be warranted given the apparent lower health risk associated with most cannabis use.”

According to a recent Rasmussen national poll of 1,000 likely voters, Americans believe by more than two to one that alcohol is “more dangerous” than marijuana

Is cannabis a treatment for brain tumours? : Cancer Research UK : CancerHelp UK

2009-11-19T22:58:00.001+11:00

Research into cannabis as a cancer treatment

In the past few years cannabis has been the subject of a lot of medical research. There were many media reports in August 2004 about very early stage research into the use of chemical cannabinoids to help treat a type of brain tumour called glioblastoma multiforme. Cannabinoids are the active ingredients in marijuana. Complutense University in Madrid and the University hospital of Tenerife jointly carried out the research. Their results were published in the medical journal 'Cancer Research' on August 15th 2004.

The research found that cannabinoids interfere with the activity of genes needed to produce a chemical called ‘VEGF’. VEGF stands for ‘Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor’. It helps to make new cells grow.

VEGF is one of the most important chemicals controlling blood vessel growth. Doctors call the growth of new blood vessels ‘ angiogenesis’. As they get bigger, cancers need to grow their own blood vessels. Without its own blood supply to bring food and take away waste from cells, a cancer can’t grow bigger than a pea. If doctors could block VEGF, this could limit the growth of blood vessels supplying tumours and so they won’t be able to grow. This is called anti VEGF treatment.

The researchers first tested cannabinoids in the laboratory, with some promising results. They then looked at the effects of injecting cannabinoids into the brain tumours of two people with advanced glioblastoma multiforme. The researchers at the University hospital of Tenerife then used injections of cannabinoids into the tumours of 9 patients. The substance seemed to slow the growth of the tumours but more research is needed before we know whether cannabinoids may really be helpful in treating brain tumours.

Clinical trials

As far as we know, there are no trials at the moment. Further trials may take place. There are already several other anti VEGF inhibitors in clinical development for several types of cancers. It is all very early research and it may be many years before we know for sure how safe and effective anti VEGF treatment really is for people with cancer.

Clinical trials test new drugs in humans. They test drugs that have already shown potential in the laboratory. Trials initially recruit a small number of patients and if the treatment shows promise, the researchers will go on to plan larger trials. If you would like to read more about clinical trials, there is information about understanding clinical trials on CancerHelp UK. If you are looking for trials that are open and recruiting patients in the UK, go to our clinical trials database. Pick your type of cancer from the drop down menu of cancer types.

More information about brain tumours

There is information about brain tumours and their treatment in the brain tumour section of CancerHelp UK.

Cannabis destroys cancer cells

2009-11-19T22:51:00.001+11:00

Research at Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry reveals

01 March 2006

Researchers investigating the role of cannabis in cancer therapy reveal it has the potential to destroy leukaemia cells, in a paper published in the March 2006 edition of Letters in Drug Design & Discovery. Led by Dr Wai Man Liu, at Barts and the London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, the team has followed up on their findings of 2005 which showed that the main active ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, has the potential to be used effectively against some forms of cancer. Dr Liu has since moved to the Institute of Cancer in Sutton where he continues his work into investigating the potential therapeutic benefit of new anti-cancer agents.

It has previously been acknowledged that cannabis-based medicines have merit in the treatment of cancer patients as a painkiller; appetite stimulant and in reducing nausea, but recently evidence has been growing of its potential as an anti-tumour agent. The widely reported psychoactive side effects and consequent legal status of cannabis have, however, complicated its use in this capacity. Although THC and its related compounds have been shown to attack cancer cells by interfering with important growth-processing pathways, it has not hitherto been established exactly how this is achieved.

Now Dr Liu and his colleagues, using highly sophisticated microarray technology – allowing them to simultaneously detect changes in more than 25,000 genes in cells treated with THC – have begun to uncover further the existence of crucial processes through which THC can kill cancer cells and potentially promote survival. Further, Dr Liu found that the mechanism of cannabis may be independent of the presence of receptors – proteins found on the surface of cells to which other signalling molecules bind. Binding of molecules to receptors elicits a response in the cell, be it growth or death. The finding that cannabis action may not require the presence of these receptors introduces the possibility that the drug may be used more widely as the cancer cell’s dependence on the cannabis receptor is removed.

Whilst leukaemia treatment is on the whole successful, some people cannot be treated with conventional therapy - 25 per cent of children with leukaemia fail to respond to traditional treatment leaving their prognosis outcome poor. Dr Liu’s research findings provide a crucial first step towards the development of new therapies that can eradicate a deadly disease which affects millions of children and adults worldwide.

Dr Liu said: “It is important to stress that these cannabis-like substances are far removed from the cannabis that is smoked. These novel compounds have been specifically designed to be free of the psychoactive features, whilst maintaining anti-cancer action. Ultimately, understanding the fundamental mechanisms of these compounds will provide us with insights into developing new drugs that can be used to effectively treat cancers.”
Ends-

For further information, please contact:

Alexandra Fernandes
Deputy Head of Communications
Queen Mary, University of London
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7882 7910
email: a.fernandes@qmul.ac.uk

Notes to Editors:

Queen Mary, University of London

• Queen Mary is one of the leading colleges in the federal University of London, with over 11,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, and an academic and support staff of around 2,600.

• Queen Mary is a research university, with over 80 per cent of research staff working in departments where research is of international or national excellence (RAE 2001). It has a strong international reputation, with around 20 per cent of students coming from over 100 countries.

• The College has 21 academic departments and institutes organised into three sectors: Science and Engineering; Humanities, Social Sciences and Laws; and the School of Medicine and Dentistry.

• It has an annual turnover of £200 million, research income worth £43 million, and it generates employment and output worth nearly £400 million to the UK economy each year.

• Queen Mary’s roots lie in four historic colleges: Queen Mary College, Westfield College, St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College and the London Hospital Medical College.

Institute of Cancer, Barts and the London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry

Created in 2003 the Institute of Cancer brings together some of the most eminent cancer research teams in London across six research centres. Under the leadership of the Director, Professor Nick Lemoine, and supported by an Executive Board of senior investigators, it is creating the academic environment fitting for an internationally recognised, comprehensive cancer centre. Its Cancer Research UK Clinical Centre – the first such international centre of excellence to be established in the UK - is the largest group of Cancer Research UK clinical and translational groups in London. The Institute is supported by a host of charities, research councils and industry with grants awarded totalling more than £5million per annum.

Microarray technology

A microarray is a slide on which have been embedded thousands of probes specific for all the genes found within a cell. Dr Liu’s data showed that certain pathways involved in cell survival were acted upon by cannabis, resulting in the death of the cell.

BBC NEWS | Health | Cannabis compound 'halts cancer'

2009-11-19T22:49:00.000+11:00

Cannabis compound 'halts cancer'

The CBD compound found in cannabis is non-toxic

A compound found in cannabis may stop breast cancer spreading throughout the body, US scientists believe.

The California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute team are hopeful that cannabidiol or CBD could be a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy.

Unlike cannabis, CBD does not have any psychoactive properties so its use would not violate laws, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics reports.

The authors stressed that they were not suggesting patients smoke marijuana.

They added that it would be highly unlikely that effective concentrations of CBD could be reached by smoking cannabis.

This compound offers the hope of a non-toxic therapy that could achieve the same results without any of the painful side effects

Lead researcher Dr Sean McAllister

CBD works by blocking the activity of a gene called Id-1 which is believed to be responsible for the aggressive spread of cancer cells away from the original tumour site - a process called metastasis.

Past work has shown CBD can block aggressive human brain cancers.

The latest work found CBD appeared to have a similar effect on breast cancer cells in the lab.

Future hope

Lead researcher Dr Sean McAllister said: "Right now we have a limited range of options in treating aggressive forms of cancer.

"Those treatments, such as chemotherapy, can be effective but they can also be extremely toxic and difficult for patients.

"This compound offers the hope of a non-toxic therapy that could achieve the same results without any of the painful side effects."

Dr Joanna Owens of Cancer Research UK said: "This research is at a very early stage.

"The findings will need to be followed up with clinical trials in humans to see if the CBD is safe, and whether the beneficial effects can be replicated.

"Several cancer drugs based on plant chemicals are already used widely, such as vincristine - which is derived from a type of flower called Madagascar Periwinkle and is used to treat breast and lung cancer. It will be interesting to see whether CBD will join them."

Maria Leadbeater of Breast Cancer Care said: "Many people experience side-effects while having chemotherapy, such as nausea and an increased risk of infection, which can take both a physical and emotional toll.

"Any drug that has fewer side-effects will, of course, be of great interest."

But she added: "It is clear that much more research needs to be carried out."

Shawn AIDS Update #5 - Rick Simpson Hemp Oil 8/26/09

2009-11-19T22:41:00.001+11:00

Shawn - AIDS Update #4 - Rick Simpson Hemp Oil 6/1/09

2009-11-19T22:40:00.001+11:00

Shawn - AIDS Update #3 - Rick Simpson Hemp Oil 5/10/09

2009-11-19T22:32:00.001+11:00

continued from part 2 same day

Shawn - AIDS Update #2 - Rick Simpson Hemp Oil 5/10/09

2009-11-19T22:26:00.001+11:00

This is part 2 of Shawn's attempt to cure his aids with cannabis

Ex-minister Peter Baume backs cannabis regulation

2009-11-19T22:12:00.000+11:00

Professor Baume says some groups will oppose his softer approach. (Reuters: Mark Blinch)

Former Fraser government minister Peter Baume has endorsed an international report which proposes regulating illegal drugs in the same way as pharmaceuticals.

Professor Baume says prohibition has not worked and is only putting tax-free money into the hands of criminals.

Professor Baume spent 17 years in the Australian Parliament. During the Fraser government he was the minister for health, the minister for Aboriginal affairs and the minister for education.

After politics he became the ninth chancellor of the Australian National University.

This morning he endorsed a report - by the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation - which showed how to regulate all the drugs which are currently illegal.

Professor Baume says prohibited drugs could be regulated by governments the same way as pharmaceuticals.

"At the moment you're getting corruption, diversion of money," he said.

"Prohibition isn't working; the Americans dismissed prohibition of alcohol because it didn't work. Why do they think prohibition of illicit drugs will work any better?"

Decriminalising drugs

Professor Baume says several countries are decriminalising the possession of drugs.

"Take Holland for a good example. There isn't a massive drug problem in Holland and the roof hasn't fallen in because they've done that," he said.

"We want our schools and our communities to be safe for our kids and our families and at the moment we're not going about it very well."

Holland is well known for its marijuana cafes, were people can drop in and buy an amount of any type of marijuana, much like buying a cup of coffee.

Professor Baume says he does not know if such cafes work or not.

"What I would like to see is that we have strict regulations - no sales to juniors - the same as tobacco," he said.

"And I know tobacco's harmful, but I look at tobacco and I look at cannabis and I think, which is worse at the present time?

"Which of the arrangements we've got are better and which are worse? And honestly I think we could do better than we're doing."

Professor Baume says he knows some groups will oppose his softer approach to drug possession.

"The criminals won't want a bar of it and they never have because they're doing very nicely out of the present system," he said.

"The people who are winning from the present system won't want any change. Zealots and warriors won't want any change.

"The first thing we've got to do is get a good debate going. I mean there are millions of different ways of organising things. Let's have a debate about which is the best."

Is cannabis very harmful? Don't be a dope

2009-11-02T19:32:00.000+11:00

The Government's message on cannabis has been unclear

The Government's drugs policy is a mess. Who says so? No less an authority than Professor David Nutt, the Government's chief adviser on drugs, who has been sacked for his temerity. His dismissal has been followed by the resignations of another member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), which he chaired. Prof Nutt's offence was to say that cannabis causes less harm than alcohol and tobacco – not just to the health of the individual consumer but also in a wider sense, especially the violence associated with binge drinking. Since this is a fact, attempts to traduce him as the nutty professor are absurd.

He did not say cannabis is harmless; certainly today's stronger varieties are associated with psychotic behaviour. Nor did Prof Nutt suggest cannabis should be legalised. His point was that if you are going to have a classification system based on relative harms, then it is a bit odd to put cannabis on a par with more dangerous substances. Those who dispute this do so because they do not like the louche lifestyles of recreational drug users; but disapproval does not change the facts.

Prof Nutt's mistake was to imagine that this was a scientific issue when it is a political one. Government ministers believe that the public will not accept anything that looks like they are being soft on a particular drug, especially the most widely used variety. This is simply not true. A YouGov poll, one of the largest surveys conducted in this country on drugs policy and carried out for the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) drugs commission, on which I sat, showed that most people would be happy to see the personal use of cannabis decriminalised or penalties for its possession lowered to the status of a parking fine.

However, since this is not going to happen any time soon, you have to ask why the Government moved cannabis from B to C in the first place. This story is an object lesson in how to mess things up and finish in a worse position than where you began.

The classification system was laid down in the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act to provide a matrix of potential and relative harms linked to a penalty scale. That is where the law stood until October 2001, when David Blunkett, then Home Secretary, announced that he wanted to move cannabis from B to C. Since the law then specified that possession of a Class C substance was a non-arrestable offence, this meant the police would be free to deal with "harder" drugs, such as heroin and crack cocaine, which caused most of the crime problems.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs agreed with Mr Blunkett and cannabis was duly downgraded in 2004.

In the first year, there was no increase in use of cannabis, and arrests for possession fell by one third, saving an estimated 199,000 police hours. It did not take long, however, for the aims of the policy to be lost in a fug of confusion. Shortly before the general election in 2005, a new Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, asked the advisory council to carry out another review – a cynical device to get Labour through the election campaign. The council, unsurprisingly, reached the same conclusion as it had the year before and, safely back in office, Clarke agreed to keep cannabis in Class C.

The classification system itself was then questioned by the Commons Science Select Committee. It produced a table of harms, placing alcohol fifth on the list, ahead of some class A drugs, while tobacco was ninth. Cannabis was 11th. Interestingly enough, when people were asked by YouGov to do their own non-scientific drugs classification, they also put alcohol and tobacco ahead of cannabis.

Then Gordon Brown became Prime Minister and decided he wanted a drugs policy showing he possessed a "moral compass". So the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs was sent off to think again, a disgraceful use of an independent advisory body. Once more, it recommended cannabis should be Class C, but was overruled by Mr Brown, who had made up his mind to return it to Class B, whatever the scientific evidence.

There is an argument, and one that is not confined to far-out libertarians, that if cannabis, heroin and cocaine were legally available they could be controlled much more effectively and their supply – which has expanded despite massively expensive efforts to shut it down – removed from the hands of criminals. But that is not going to happen. Any government that proposed it would be crucified. Furthermore, there are international obligations operating through the United Nations that Britain, as a signatory, must uphold. These require certain drugs to be illegal and in this country are enshrined in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

In that case, it behoves governments to implement laws in as effective and coherent a way as possible, which means sending out clear messages and deploying punishments and penalties consistently. Yet in recent years, where cannabis is concerned, the message has been anything but clear. Indeed, ministers have made such a pig's ear of the law that you have to wonder whether they were smoking the stuff themselves.

Kings Cross Times: Cannabis/schizophrenia link 'minimal' -- UK study

2009-11-01T12:52:00.000+11:00

While we are saturated with assertions that cannabis causes psychotic mental illness, prohibitionists always act as if the evidence is concrete and stay very quiet about the very small numbers of users who actually have the disease.

And the numbers are very small. A new UK study looked at it the other way around -- How many people would you have to prevent from using cannabis to prevent one case of Schizophrenia?

The study found it would be necessary to stop 2800 heavy cannabis users in young men and over 5000 heavy cannabis users in young women to prevent a single case of schizophrenia. Among light cannabis users, those numbers rise to over 10,000 young men and nearly 30,000 young women to prevent one case of schizophrenia.

This shows how exaggerated is the moral panic on this subject, when many other activities acceptable to society carry FAR higher risks*. Of course the study stops short of describing the deeper fallacy in prohibitionist ideology -- where is the evidence that prohibition prevents anyone from using cannabis, let alone the millions that might be required to significantly reduce schizophrenia?

Professor David Nutt, who heads the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, also says cannabis does not cause major health problems and repeats his claim that ecstasy is no more dangerous than riding a horse.

The UK government ignored the advice of the ACMD and upgraded cannabis into the Class B category, attracting higher penalties, in a move that Professor Nutt described as "devaluing scientific research". The Liberal Western Australian Government has just made a similar move, also against the advice of its own research body. In both places, cannabis use had reduced during the period the drug was subject to lighter penalties.

WA brought its crackdown just as Dr Norm Stamper was in the state with his message of legal regulation. He reports in the Huffington Post on the rude reception he met in Parliament, the refusal to listen to evidence and the political paranoia of the lawmakers.

Check the letter below from one of the WA Liberal politicians. Every statement in it is demonstrably wrong. Truly, as Arthur Miller said, ideology is "the principled denial of fact".

Reply from WA politician Hon Nick Goiran MLC to a letter re repeal of the Cannabis Control Act 2003.

----------------------------------

21 October 2009

Dear Mr X

CANNABIS CONTROL ACT 2OO3

Thank you for your letter regarding Premier Colin Barnett's announcement to introduce legislation to repeal the Cannabis Control Act 2003.

The State Government recognises that illicit drug use is a significant problem which affects the lives of users, their families, friends and the wider WA community and cannabis-related legislation is sending a clear anti-drugs message to the community.

Research shows that cannabis use can lead to a mass of health and mental health problems including respiratory problems and cancer risk, abnormalities in reproductive functioning and schizophrenia.
Drugs are an insidious threat to the fabric of our society. l have personally seen how people are enslaved, threatened and exploited because of drug debts and addiction. Illegal drugs ruin lives, shatter families and can create a downfall on our community foundation. We should seek to protect our fellow West Australians and these initiatives will crackdown on the plague of illicit drugs in our State.

From what you have written, you support a policy of 'Harm Minimisation'- a strategy to ameliorate the adverse consequences of drug use while drug use continues. I firmly believe that harm minimisation strategies communicate a message condoning drug use, a message I do not espouse. Furthermore, in my view harm minimisation strategies have been an abject failure.

Accordingly, l strongly support the Premier's announcement and the use of criminal law to deter drug use and look forward to voting in favour of the proposed legislation.

Yours sincerely

Hon Nick Goiran MLC

Member for the South Metropolitan Region

----------------------------------

* Activities which carry FAR higher risks than using cannabis: Playing football (especially Gridiron); mountain-climbing; night yacht racing; rock fishing; riding a pushbike or motorbike; flying ultralight aircraft etc etc.

Shawn – Rick Simpson Hemp oil – update #1 April 26,2009

2009-11-01T12:50:00.001+11:00

more about "Shawn – Rick Simpson Hemp oil – updat...", posted with vodpod

New Antidepressant Drug Increases 'Brain's Own Cannabis'

2009-09-12T14:16:00.001+10:00

ScienceDaily (Dec. 13, 2005) â Researchers have discovered a new drug that raises the level of endocannabinoids -- the 'brain's own cannabis' -- providing anti-depressant effects. The new research published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), suggests the new drug, called URB597, could represent a safer alternative to cannabis for the treatment of pain and depression, and open the door to new and improved treatments for clinical depression--a condition that affects around 20% of Canadians.

New Antidepressant Drug Increases 'Brain's Own Cannabis'

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