Still Believe Nature Got It Wrong? Top 10 Health Benefits of Marijuana

Still Believe Nature Got It Wrong? Top 10 Health Benefits of Marijuana | True Activist.

May 1, 2013

True Activist

There is no plant on Earth more condemned than marijuana. We’re talking about a living organism which governments have taken upon themselves to designate as an illegal substance. Despite no existing evidence of anyone ever dying of a marijuana overdose, possession of this plant is still illegal in many parts. Marijuana has been found to suppress cancer, reduce blood pressure, treat glaucoma, alleviate pain and even inhibit HIV. It is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective. Can you understand more now why it’s illegal?

No Independent Study Has Ever Linked Marijuana To Psychosocial Problems

Cannabis is one of the most powerful healing plants on the planet. Dozens of studies have made pseudoscientific attempts to indicate that young people who use cannabis tend to experience psychological, social problems and mental decline. However, there is no evidence that marijuana use is directly linked with such problems, according to the results of a study published in The Lancet.

“Currently, there is no strong evidence that use of cannabis of itself causes psychological or social problems,” such as mental illness or school failure, lead study author Dr. John Macleod of the University of Birmingham in the UK told Reuters Health.

“There is a great deal of evidence that cannabis use is associated with these things, but this association could have several explanations,” he said, citing factors such as adversity in early life, which may itself be associated with cannabis use and psychosocial problems.

Macleod and his team reviewed 48 long-term studies, 16 of which provided the highest quality information about the association between illicit drug use reported by people 25 years old or younger and later psychological or social problems. Most of the drug-specific results involved cannabis use.

Cannabis use was not consistently associated with violent or antisocial behavior, or with psychological problems.

In another study, Scientists from King’s College, London, found occasional pot use could actually improve concentration levels.

The study, carried in the American Journal of Epidemiology, tested the mental function and memory of nearly 9,000 Britons at age 50 and found that those who had used illegal drugs as recently as in their 40s did just as well, or slightly better, on the tests than peers who had never used drugs.

‘Overall, at the population level, the results seem to suggest that past or even current illicit drug use is not necessarily associated with impaired cognitive functioning in early middle age,’ said lead researcher Dr Alex Dregan.
Dr Dregan’s team used data on 8,992 42-year-olds participating in a UK national health study, who were asked if they had ever used any of 12 illegal drugs. Then, at the age of 50, they took standard tests of memory, attention and other cognitive abilities.

Overall, the study found, there was no evidence that current or past drug users had poorer mental performance. In fact, when current and past users were lumped together, their test scores tended to be higher.

The Age of Deception is Ending

In 2003, the U.S. Government as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services filed for, and was awarded a patent on cannabinoids. The reason? Because research into cannabinoids allowed pharmaceutical companies to acquire practical knowledge on one of the most powerful antioxidants and neuroprotectants known to the natural world.

The U.S. Patent 6630507 was specifically initiated when researchers found that cannabinoids had specific antioxidant properties making them useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and HIV dementia. Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidoil, are particularly advantageous to use because they avoid toxicity that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high doses useful in the method of the present invention.

In a historic and significant moment in American history, last November, Colorado became the first US state to legalize marijuana for recreational use. The impact of the decision could ripple across the entire country with vast opportunities to educate millions on the top health benefits of marijuana.

With the passage of I-502 in the 2012 Washington State election, marijuana also became legal in Washington–not just for medical use, but also for recreational use. Weed is still illegal as far as the United States government is concerned, but Washington and Colorado both have yet to figure out how that will work. It’s certain that this issue will continue to evolve and smooth out as time goes by, but the remaining states will eventually follow suit or be left behind with outdated laws.

Top Health Benefits

It’s no surprise that the United States has decreed that marijuana has no accepted medical use use and should remain classified as a highly dangerous drug like heroin. Accepting and promoting the powerful health benefits of marijuana would instantly cut huge profits geared towards cancer treatment and the U.S. would have to admit it imprisons the population for no cause. Nearly half of all drug arrests in the United States are for marijuana.

According to MarijuanaNews.com editor Richard Cowan, the answer is because it is a threat to cannabis prohibition “…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.

Besides the top 10 health benefits below, findings published in the journal PLoS ONE, researchers have now have now discovered that marijuana-like chemicals trigger receptors on human immune cells that can directly inhibit a type of human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) found in late-stage AIDS.

Recent studies have even shown it to be an effective atypical anti-psychotic in treating schizophrenia, a disease many other studies have inconsistently found it causing.

1. Cancer
Cannabinoids, the active components of marijuana, inhibit tumor growth in laboratory animals and also kill cancer cells. Western governments have known this for a long time yet they continued to suppress the information so that cannabis prohibition and the profits generated by the drug industry proliferated.

THC that targets cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 is similar in function to endocannabinoids, which are cannabinoids that are naturally produced in the body and activate these receptors. The researchers suggest that THC or other designer agents that activate these receptors might be used in a targeted fashion to treat lung cancer.

2. Tourette’s Syndrome
Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological condition characterized by uncontrollable facial grimaces, tics, and involuntary grunts, snorts and shouts.

Dr. Kirsten Mueller-Vahl of the Hanover Medical College in Germany led a team that investigated the effects of chemicals called cannabinols in 12 adult Tourette’s patients. A single dose of the cannabinol produced a significant reduction in symptoms for several hours compared to placebo, the researchers reported.

3. Seizures
Marijuana is a muscle relaxant and has “antispasmodic” qualities that have proven to be a very effective treatment for seizures. There are actually countless cases of people suffering from seizures that have only been able to function better through the use of marijuana.

4. Migraines
Since medicinal marijuana was legalized in California, doctors have reported that they have been able to treat more than 300,000 cases of migraines that conventional medicine couldn’t through marijuana.

5. Glaucoma
Marijuana’s treatment of glaucoma has been one of the best documented. There isn’t a single valid study that exists that disproves marijuana’s very powerful and popular effects on glaucoma patients.

6. Multiple Sclerosis
Marijuana’s effects on multiple sclerosis patients became better documented when former talk-show host, Montel Williams began to use pot to treat his MS. Marijuana works to stop the neurological effects and muscle spasms that come from the fatal disease.

7. ADD and ADHD
A well documented USC study done about a year ago showed that marijuana is not only a perfect alternative for Ritalin but treats the disorder without any of the negative side effects of the pharmaceutical.

8. IBS and Crohn’s
Marijuana has shown that it can help with symptoms of the chronic diseases as it stops nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

9. Alzheimer’s
Despite what you may have heard about marijuana’s effects on the brain, the Scripps Institute, in 2006, proved that the THC found in marijuana works to prevent Alzheimer’s by blocking the deposits in the brain that cause the disease.

10. Premenstrual Syndrome
Just like marijuana is used to treat IBS, it can be used to treat the cramps and discomfort that causes PMS symptoms. Using marijuana for PMS actually goes all the way back to Queen Victoria.

Mounting Evidence Suggests Raw Cannabis is Best

Cannabinoids can prevent cancer, reduce heart attacks by 66% and insulin dependent diabetes by 58%. Cannabis clinician Dr. William Courtney recommends drinking 4 – 8 ounces of raw flower and leaf juice from any Hemp plant, 5 mg of Cannabidiol (CBD) per kg of body weight, a salad of Hemp seed sprouts and 50 mg of THC taken in 5 daily doses.

Why raw? Heat destroys certain enzymes and nutrients in plants. Incorporating raw cannabis allows for a greater availability of those elements. Those who require large amounts of cannabinoids without the psychoactive effects need to look no further than raw cannabis. In this capacity, it can be used at 60 times more tolerance than if it were heated.
Raw cannabis is considered by many experts as a dietary essential. As a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, raw cannabis may be right u there with garlic and tumeric.

Marco Torres is a research specialist, writer and consumer advocate for healthy lifestyles. He holds degrees in Public Health and Environmental Science and is a professional speaker on topics such as disease prevention, environmental toxins and health policy.

Sources:
scribd.com
bigbudsmag.com
berkeleypatientscare.com
washingtonpost.com
about.com
safeaccess.ca

Read more: http://www.trueactivist.com/still-believe-nature-got-it-wrong-top-10-health-benefits-of-marijuana/

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‘Obey’: Film Based on Chris Hedges’ ‘Death of the Liberal Class’ – 52 min doc

‘Obey’: Film Based on Chris Hedges’ ‘Death of the Liberal Class’ – YouTube.

Welcome to the corporation state.

“I have seen the future and it is murder”   Leonard Cohen.

Chris Hedges does portray a dark, scary, catastrophic future. Humanity is pretty much doomed. Nothing less than the collapse of society at an unprecedented level: Mass spread poverty, mass revolutions, popular revolts, rise of the violent ultra right-wing, violence, murder, and mayhem. You get the idea.

Yet, he offers some spark of hope.   Lou

Chris Hedges

British filmmaker Temujin Doran has released a new movie that is based on the book “The Death of the Liberal Class” by Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges.

The film, titled “Obey,” explores the rise of the corporate state and the future of obedience in a world filled with unfettered capitalism, worsening inequality and environmental changes.

Warning: Viewers may find some of the clips in the film disturbing.

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Canada: Marijuana reform high on electorate’s list

Marijuana reform high on electorate’s list – The Globe and Mail.

STEPHEN QUINN

Special to The Globe and Mail

Apr. 19 2013

Here’s something you won’t see happen on Saturday: Christy Clark or Adrian Dix’s campaign buses rolling up to the north lawn of the Vancouver Art Gallery to the cheers of thousands of marijuana activists. Neither Mr. Dix nor Ms. Clark will push their way through the happy crowds and skunk-scented smoke, glad-handing potential voters. It is even less likely that either will make their way to the stage brandishing a freshly rolled spliff, spark it up and declare 4/20 officially “on.”power

Neither will inhale deeply, nor extol the virtues of weed, nor pass the dutchie to the left-hand side. And you certainly won’t hear them making speeches calling for the decriminalization, legalization, or the regulation and taxation of pot.

A pair of polls released this week suggests that the party leaders are lagging behind their constituents when it comes to attitudes about the decriminalization and eventual legalization of marijuana in B.C.

In fact, if the poll numbers are right, not driving the campaign buses on to the art gallery lawn with Bob Marley blaring from the speakers and waving marijuana-leaf flags out the windows might be something of a missed opportunity.

Christy Clark. Liberals leader

The first poll comes from the Sensible Change Society of B.C., a group headed by one-time federal NDP candidate Dana Larsen, who withdrew from the 2008 race after a video showing him with a mouthful of joints surfaced on the Web. Three years later, Mr. Larsen ran for the leadership of the BC NDP and won just 2.7 per cent of the vote.

Mr. Larsen has proposed what he calls “The Sensible Policing Act,” which would, first, direct police to ignore minor marijuana offences, and second, call on the federal government to repeal the prohibition on marijuana so the province could legally regulate pot the same way it regulates alcohol and tobacco.

Adrian Dix. NDP leader

The poll shows that roughly 70 per cent of respondents support both parts of the plan. It also shows that just under half of those surveyed say they would be more likely to support a political leader who called for marijuana reform.

A second poll, also timed to coincide with the annual 4/20 “cannabis celebration,” shows that nearly three-quarters of British Columbians would support further research into the regulation and taxation of marijuana. The Ipsos Reid poll shows significant support for leaders who would endorse such research.

In both polls, support for marijuana reform crosses all political stripes, geographic boundaries, age groups and levels of education.

This is, of course, not a new issue in our province. Stop the Violence B.C., a coalition of law enforcement, health and academic experts which commissioned the Ipsos Reid poll, has been arguing for marijuana reform since the coalition was founded in 2011.

Along with many others, Stop the Violence contends that regulating and taxing marijuana production and distribution would take the profits out of the hands of criminal gangs, and result in not only safer streets but also in a potential tax windfall for the province.

But so far, even with numbers that show support for reform, even with the arguments that regulation would curb violence and contribute significantly to provincial coffers, both Christy Clark and Adrian Dix have ducked the issue. When questioned, both have repeatedly pointed to the fact that drug enforcement is a federal responsibility.

Dana Larsen notes that neither leader has had trouble commenting on other issues that are regulated by the federal government.

“We take action and talk about federal issues all the time, whether it’s the Coast Guard station being closed or pipelines, or the long-gun registry back in 2003, so there’s really no reason the province can’t take action on this issue as well,” Mr. Larsen said in an interview.

Indeed, “Pressing for new Coast Guard resources to be placed in Vancouver” even appears in the Liberal Party’s platform.

As for the NDP, Mr. Larsen suspects that while the party may be sympathetic, it would be folly to tackle an issue as controversial as marijuana legalization during an election campaign.

Professor Neil Boyd, who teaches criminology at Simon Fraser University, agrees that making marijuana reform an issue during a provincial election campaign is difficult.

But like Mr. Larsen, Prof. Boyd says the province can play a part. “The province does have power over the administration of justice and could certainly decide not to spend, for example, the $10-million a year it currently spends enforcing marijuana possession laws,” he said.

Given that it happens to fall on Saturday, and in the middle of an election campaign, organizers of this year’s 4/20 rally estimate it will be the biggest gathering of its kind Vancouver has ever seen.

But it may have little impact once the smoke clears.

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THC (marijuana) Helps Cure Cancer Says Harvard Study – 4 min video

THC (marijuana) Helps Cure Cancer Says Harvard Study – YouTube.

This is not a new story but I feel like it should be spread until everyone knows about it. Lou.

---

Letter from Rick Simpson

My name is Rick Simpson. I have been providing people with instructions on how to make Hemp Oil medicines for about 8 years. The results have been nothing short of amazing. Throughout man’s history hemp has always been known as the most medicinal plant in the world. Even with this knowledge hemp has always been used as a political and religious football.

The current restrictions against hemp were put in place and maintained, not because hemp is evil or harmful, but for big money to make more big money, while we suffer and die needlessly. Look at a proposal such as this; if we were allowed to grow hemp in our back yards and cure our own illnesses, what do you think the reaction of the pharmaceutical industry would be to such a plan? Many large pharmaceutical companies that still exist today sold hemp based medicines in the 1800′s and early 1900′s. They knew then what I have recently found out. Hemp oil if produced properly is a cure-all that the pharmaceutical industry can’t patent.

Two years a go I contacted the Liberals, the Conservatives and the New Democratic Party about this situation. I also provided them with evidence to backup what I was saying. No one lifted a finger, in most cases I was lucky to get a reply. I contacted the R.C.M.P. along with many other organizations and Public Interest TV shows, with little or no response.

Why are all these people trying to avoid such a simple truth? If I am in some way wrong in what I have been saying then I invite the system to come and prove it. I would be happy to put on a public demonstration of what this oil can do. That would answer this question for the Canadian public once and for all. It seems unbelievable that we have a law in Canada that will not allow us to cure our own diseases with a natural herbal remedy.

Rick Simpson

Read full text—>>>

Phoenix Tears.

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Canada: Ecstasy pills OK’d for Vancouver PTSD-treatment trial

Ecstasy pills OK’d for Vancouver PTSD-treatment trial – Politics – CBC News.

Kathleen Harris,

CBC News

Apr 19, 2013 Ecstasy trial for PTSD10:16

A small group of soldiers, police officers and sexual assault victims suffering from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder will soon see if the rave party drug ecstasy can ease their symptoms.

The research group that will oversee the Vancouver-based study just received 9 grams of MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy) from Switzerland after obtaining a long-awaited import permit for the prohibited drug.

Andrew Feldmar, a Vancouver psychologist who will help carry out the study with the synthetic drug — said there was a “whole hullabaloo” to meet the “Fort Knox” pharmacy-storage requirements.

“It’s as if the whole of Vancouver is waiting to see this drug and will rob the pharmacy to get it,” Feldmar told CBC News Network’s Power & Politics.

He said it would be easy to get the ecstasy off the street — but researchers needed it to be “legal and pure.”

Studies using ecstasy to treat PTSD are already underway in the U.S. and Europe by the non-profit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. The Canadian pilot has taken years to get off the ground and win approval from Health Canada and the Institutional Review Board due to regulatory hurdles.

Feldmar said there has been much stigma and controversy around the ground-breaking study because ecstasy is known as a rave party drug and has been linked to several high-profile deaths. But he insists it’s an “incomparable experience” to use the drug in a therapeutic setting over a rave.

“The very same substance can be poison or medicine, depending on the dosage, depending on the circumstances in which it is ingested,” he told host Power & Politics host Hannah Thibedeau.

Severe, persistent PTSD symptoms

The study will work with 12 subjects who “have found no solace” — in other words, have suffered with the most severe, persistent symptoms of PTSD and have not responded to conventional pharmaceuticals or psychotherapy. About 40 potential subjects have already applied to participate in the Canadian study.

Ecstasy helps hurt and frightened patients address the root trauma and establish security and trust, Feldmar said.

“You’re shameless, your heart opens and you’re present” when taking the drug, he said.

Therapists will stay with the participants for eight hours after taking the ecstasy for each session.

Feldmar said the cutting-edge therapy could help a generation of Canadian soldiers who are battling PTSD after serving in Afghanistan. Eventually, he hopes ecstasy will become a prescription, rather than a prohibited, drug.

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Canada: 8000 suspected pot cookies found in White Rock home

8000 suspected pot cookies found in White Rock home – British Columbia – CBC News.

CBC News

Apr 19, 2013

An armed home invasion in White Rock on Thursday led to the discovery of thousands of cookies believed to be laced with marijuana.

Just before noon, RCMP were called to a house near Earl Marriot Secondary School on North Bluff Road after reports two males were trying to break into a home. Police say the intruders fled by foot, forcing the school into a brief lockdown.

While officers were at the home, they discovered 8000 cookies believed to contain marijuana.

White Rock RCMP Const. Janelle Shoihet said it was a shocking discovery.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s an unprecedented number of cookies,” she said. “It was a bit like a bakery in there. So it was surprising to me.”

A male and two females were arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.

The two male intruders have not yet been found.

On Saturday, thousands are expected to gather in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery for the annual marijuana smoking event known as “4/20.”

via 8000 suspected pot cookies found in White Rock home – British Columbia – CBC News.

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Pot Is Safer Than Booze: So Why Is Celebrating 4/20 a Crime, While It’s OK to Get Wasted on St. Paddy’s Day?

Pot Is Safer Than Booze: So Why Is Celebrating 4/20 a Crime, While It’s OK to Get Wasted on St. Paddy’s Day? | Alternet.

AlterNet / By Kristen Gwynne

Happy 4/20. Don’t get arrested.

Photo Credit: shutterstock.com

April 19, 2013  |

I spent last St. Patrick’s Day at the marijuana policy reform group NORML’s conference in Philadelphia. It was pouring rain when I arrived, and as I ran from my car through the University of Pennsylvania campus, I tried to discern the green-clad marijuana activists from St. Patrick’s Day revelers. I quickly realized it was not that hard: the pro-pot advocates, as quirky as the some of them were, appeared to have better control of their footing.

St. Patrick’s Day, though an Irish holiday rooted in history and tradition, is regarded by many Americans (perhaps on college campuses, in particular) as an opportunity to get wasted. Meanwhile, today, April 20, is known as the marijuana user’s holiday, 4/20. Across the country, stoners are gathering to defy the law and get high.

Both holidays, to some extent, celebrate mind-altering substances, but they couldn’t be seen as more different by the law. You wouldn’t speak with your boss about your 4/20 plans or come to the office in weed-themed garb. That’s because while alcohol is legal, marijuana is grouped alongside drugs like heroin in the most restrictive category of the Controlled Substances Act, Schedule I. This is despite the fact that marijuana is by far the safer substance of the two. A scene full of stoners is far more peaceful (and safer) than a bar or city full of people who are trashed. But while weed is the subject of a decades-old onslaught of government propaganda decrying its supposed harm, our society glamorizes alcohol.

Unlike alcohol, marijuana use is not linked to increase in injury or reckless behavior, nor is it linked to violence or sexual assault. Alcohol, however, is.

From the National Center for Alcohol Law Enforcement:

• Almost one in four victims of violent crime report that the perpetrator had been drinking prior to committing the violence.

• Over one-third of victims of rapes or sexual assaults report that the offender was drinking at the time of the act.

• It is estimated that 32 to 50 percent of homicides are preceded by alcohol consumption by the perpetrator.

• Between 31 percent and 36 percent of prisoners convicted of a violent crime against an intimate reported that they were drinking alcohol at the time of the offense.

Nonetheless, alcohol is so normalized and integral to our culture that it’s considered OK for hundreds of thousands of people to gather in one location — a football stadium, for example — and get drunk. Some will leave these mass drinking events inebriated, dangerously swerving down the road in their cars. 

While public celebrations and smoke-outs will occur across the country today, doing it is still very much illegal. Last year on 4/20, after smoking marijuana at a friend’s house, 23-year-old University of California-San Diego student Daniel Chong was thrown in a jail cell, handcuffed, for five days without food or water. Chong, who says agents offered to drive him home after saying he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time,” was not charged with any crime. Agents had raided the home where he was staying in the early hours of April 21, and uncovered marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms and 18,000 ecstasy pills, along with guns and ammunition. Seven of the nine people they arrested were taken to county jail, one was released, and one — Chong — was forgotten about, and effectively left for dead.

Forced to drink his own urine to survive, Chong says he lost 15 pounds while he was alone in the cell for five days. Hallucinating by the third day, he ate a “powdery substance” he found in the cell, later revealed to be methamphetamine. He tried to kill himself by breaking his glasses with his teeth and carving “Sorry mom” on his wrists. According to NBC, “He said nurses also found pieces of glass in his throat, which led him to believe he ingested the pieces purposefully.”

While Chong’s situation may extremely rare, a marijuana arrest occurred every 42 seconds in 2011. As Ethan Nadelmann, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said at the time:

“Being incarcerated, even for just a few days, can be devastating. People guilty of nothing more than possessing a little marijuana are locked up with people who may be violent criminals. Some are abused, beaten and raped, and others deprived of essential medication or contact with their families. A few commit suicide. Many are otherwise traumatized by the experience of being tossed into jail even when their jailers don’t forget about them. And even greater numbers suffer serious and sometimes permanent consequences from whatever conviction results, including loss of employment, housing and government assistance, loss of custody of one’s children, and much more.”

People who drink (and those around them) might face myriad consequences from alcohol use, but legal troubles raised by marijuana use are not among them. For this reason, many reformers argue that marijuana prohibition creates a drinking culture that pushes people who may otherwise use pot — a safer substance — toward booze. The idea that choosing weed over alcohol is a decision adults should be allowed to make without consequence played a large role in Colorado’s legalization legislation (Amendment 64), which was titled “Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.”

Like voters in Colorado and Washington, Americans participating in 4/20 activism today are pushing back against a false narrative that suggests alcohol is the vice that’s been chosen for America, and that legalizing pot would only add another, bad substance to the mix. They are not the minority. Draconian punishments for marijuana crimes continue in America despite public opinion shifting largely in favor of reform. A Pew Research Center poll recently found that a record breaking 52% of Americans now support marijuana legalization, with young people holding increasingly reformist opinions about marijuana policy. Increasingly, Americans — 77% of them, according to Pew —  think marijuana has medical purposes.

Despite a vast majority of Americans being way ahead of lawmakers when it comes to policy, Attorney General Eric Holder recently made remarks suggesting he is not interested in following the will of the people. Holder told Congress on Thursday that the Justice Department will make a decision about how to respond to marijuana legalization in Washington and Colorado “As quick as we can.” Offering few details, other than that “We are certainly going to enforce federal law” and consider the impact of legalization on children, Holder offered little in the way of explaining why the federal government’s policy strays so far from public opinion.

President Obama’s drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, also said earlier this week that, “No state, no executive can nullify a statute that has been passed by Congress,” and said law enforcement will continue to pursue drug sellers. 

What gives?

Kristen Gwynne is an associate editor and drug policy reporter at AlterNet.  Follow her on Twitter: @KristenGwynne

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How to Access Medical Marijuana in BC Canada

Lou

Victoria, BC, Canada

December 29, 2012

I am re-posting this, as nothing much has changed since it was written. Appropriate and hopefully helpful for those who need the info.

Part 1

In this day and age, it is becoming incredibly difficult to deny the countless benefits of marijuana as medicine.  Big pharma and governments have been found guilty, repeatedly, of concealing the evidence that marijuana is not only harmless but has the potential to become the mother of all cures.  It’s called science. Regrettably, it looks like science has been prostituted by big business and made to say whatever those who hold the purse strings want it to say.

The emerging fact is that marijuana is not only a powerful medicine that will help alleviate suffering but also that marijuana might have a potentially beneficial effect on preventing and curing deadly diseases like cancer. So why do our political leaders refuse to see the scientific facts ?  Is it just ignorance or something else ?

Our elected leaders should be representing us. Our will should be their agenda.  The overwhelming majority of BC residents want marijuana decriminalized. Perhaps there are other forces at play here. It’s no big secret really. Big Pharma has been known to lobby politicians, especially in the US,  to keep marijuana illegal. They want to peddle their deadly and nasty man-made drugs to an exhausted population that is so stressed out by modern life that it cannot function without some form of medication. Pharmaceutical drugs and alcohol are acceptable remedies to the establishment. They kill but they make profits. Marijuana can grow on the side of the road. Anyone with a basic green thumb can crop a crop in their living room. No profits for corporations. No dividends.

My point is that medicine should be freely available to all humans. Medicine should never have let the profit motive to enter its realm. It’s too late now. Medicine is now overwhelmingly owned by the Big Pharma corporations. Follow the money. It’s that simple.

Big Pharma companies stand to lose billions of dollars in revenues if people suddenly realized the wickedness of their lies, and realized that the pharma drugs are poison for the most part.  People are finally realizing that marijuana, a plant, a weed really, could actually replace most pharma drugs more efficiently and without side effects. Don’t believe me ? Do your own search on how many deaths are attributed to pharma drugs annually. And then, do a similar search for marijuana.  We are talking about thousands of annual deaths in North America by the pharma drugs compared to zero deaths from marijuana. This reality is obscenely evil for lack of a better descriptor.

  I am not even talking about the other side benefits of growing marijuana: Hemp. It could replace all plastics and other chemically destructive man made products. Hemp has been known to have at least 5000 different uses. Textiles, papers, housing, automobiles. etc. It requires no pesticides. But that’s for another post. Let me just say one final thing about hemp. It has been replaced by plastics, pesticide-infused cotton,  and other destructive man- made stuff. Guess who created this situation ?  Yup, you guessed it: The oil and chemical companies.

Marijuana has been criminalized by the pill pushers of big pharma the same way hemp was dealt with by the oil and chemical companies. The unholy trio of  oil, chemical, and pharmaceutical companies are responsible for a significant amount of devastation on the planet. This unholy trio is also responsible for thousands and thousands of deaths. How do you measure this kind of evil ?

Anyway, I think you get the idea of where I am coming from on this issue.  And you have pondered in your mind the validity of laws that aim to curtail behavior just because it is not understood or accepted  by the indoctrinated masses fed on a daily dose of media lies and distortions, right ? If you curtail me then I should be able to curtail you. That’s only fair.

The other half of this post is more practical. I know someone that wants to try cannabis as medicine but she is a nurse. In Canada, nurses work mostly for the government. Some local governments might insist on drug tests. I am not aware of this happening in Canada but what do I know ? This is a big country.  Anyhow,  the general public is just beginning to question the lies that governments, the media, and the so-called experts have been saying thru the side of their mouths for way too long now.

So this is now a practical guide for obtaining “legal” marijuana in Canada. The legal aspect of marijuana in Canada is perhaps a bit complex for this post, so I will link some articles referring to the issue at the bottom.

Part 2

How to obtain medical marijuana in BC

This gets confusing immediately. Let’s keep it simple: There are two kinds of licenses for medical marijuana in Canada. One is issued by Health Canada in Ottawa. They have issued approximately 4000 licenses so far. That’s out of 34 million Canadians. Do the math. It’s just a shell game. No purpose whatsoever . Just another bureaucratic government agency bloated by tax dollars and pseudo-science.  The marijuana that this agency has been growing in the prairies has been universally despised and rejected by those who need it most. Let’s forget about these far-away ivory towers engorged bureaucrats.

The other kind of license is easier to obtain but that is the part that is in limbo legally. The law is changing rapidly.  Prosecutors and police are playing a waiting game. But it looks like the tide is changing finally. Just last week, crown counsel dropped the charges of trafficking  against Owen Smith.  Wait for this: He was baking cookies for a compassion club in his apartment. These charges were heavy on Owen’  shoulders since 2009.

The Facts

All you need is for your physician to sign a consent form. You can download it online from a compassion club.  Get your doctor to sign it and take the form to the club of your choice. There are three in this town of ~150,000 people.  That’s basically it. That was the hard part. By the way, if your doctor refuses to sign the forms, do yourself a favor and change doctors. We need educated avant-garde minds in this battle.

My particular club has a $15 annual membership fee which gives you the following options:

1) High grade marijuana at a very reasonable price. Better than the street dealers so-to-speak. Sold by the gram.

2) Cannabis cookies. 1/4 of a cookie is the equivalent of 2 joints. It’s relative.

3) Cannabis infused olive oil. Drink it or cook with it. Delightful on the digestive system.

4) Cannabis infused  aeromist. Spray it on your tongue.

5) Brownies

All the products above are of the highest quality.

By the way, most members find that they smoke far less marijuana once they have access to cannabis products. Harm reduction in reality.

There are a few more privileges that come with the membership but I’ll leave that for discovery.

Finally, click on this link to see how a compassion club operates:   http://www.thevics.com/

Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me for more info.

Lou

Click on link for video of Own Smith ‘s relief after hearing the charges against him were dropped by the Crown: http://bcove.me/xoy6tba1

Related articles

• Medicinal marijuana prices in Canada to rise (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
• 8 Visions for the Future of Legal Pot (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
• Marijuana Legalization “OK,” Says Jimmy Carter (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
• Health Canada plans to treat marijuana like other medicines (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
• Canada: Proposed medical marijuana changes have doctors on edge - (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
• Medical Marijuana Moving in Czech Republic (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
• British Columbia Public Supports Marijuana Legalization (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
• Medical marijuana not the real threat to kids (couriernews.suntimes.com)
• Proposed medical marijuana changes have doctors on edge (updatednews.ca)
• BC medical marijuana activist starts pot bazaar for low-income users (sunnewsnetwork.ca)

Happy Marijuana Day To Everyone In The World !

The decriminalization of marijuana has come a long way. To tell you the truth, I honestly thought that it would have been decriminalized long time ago. I mean, here in Canada, we had the Le Dain Commission, 1969-1972, recommending that marijuana be decriminalized and regulated but its results, findings, and recommendations were ignored by all federal governments since.

From Wikipedia:

The Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, often referred to as the Le Dain Commission after its chair Dean Gerald Le Dain, was a Canadian government commission that was begun in 1969 and completed its work in 1972.

The recommendations of Gerald Le Dain, Heinz Lehmann and J. Peter Stein included the repeal of the prohibition against the simple possession of cannabis and cultivation for personal use.^[1] Marie-Andree Bertrand, writing for a minority view, recommended a policy of legal distribution of cannabis, that cannabis be removed from the Narcotic Control Act (since replaced by the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act) and that the provinces implement controls on possession and cultivation, similar to those governing the use of alcohol.^[2]

The report also recommended that the federal government conduct further research to monitor and evaluate changes in the extent and patterns of the use of cannabis and other drugs, and to explore possible consequences to health, and personal and social behaviour, resulting from the controlled legal distribution of cannabis.

A total of 365 submissions were presented at the hearings and an additional 50 were forwarded to the Commission’s office. About 12,000 people attended and participated in these hearings, which included testimony from a number of prominent individuals including John Lennon on 22 December 1969 in Montreal.^[3]

Although the report was widely praised for its thoroughness and thoughtfulness, its conclusions were largely ignored by the federal government.^{[citation needed]}

So here you have it.

2013 will be marijuana Year. All over the world people are waking up and realizing they have been lied to about marijuana. The culprits are always the same: Big Pharma, police unions, corrections unions, etc.   This war on drugs is the fuel that maintains their livelihood. They are living off the pain of others. I am talking about the  near one million people incarcerated in the US for drug possession charges. It’s medieval. Lies, untruths, hidden agendas, ignorance: these words come to mind when thinking about what and who is behind this absurd prohibition.

Video from my home town last year. That’s what a crowd of hundreds, if not thousands, look like when under the influence of marijuana.

420 Victoria BC 2012 – YouTube.

Related articles

• Results from Toronto marijuana study in 1972 still not public (thestar.com)
• Government’s research on marijuana’s effects done long ago (thestar.com)
• BC Ready to Experiment with Pot Reform: Poll (in News) (thetyee.ca)
• It’s Adrian Dix’s destiny to legalize marijuana (blogs.vancouversun.com)
• Canada: Stop the Violence attempts to smoke out politicians on marijuana issue (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
• BC Marijuana Reform FAQ (blogs.vancouversun.com)
• 4/20 Day in Vancouver as USA bogarts BC Bud tourism (vancouverobserver.com)
• Forecast hazy for annual 4/20 cannabis decriminalization day (vancouversun.com)

You and Your Mother Finally Agree on Marijuana