"Shouldn't We Wait for Further Research to be Done Before Marijuana is Used as Medicine?"

     This question is a good one.  Who wouldn't want to make sure that a substance like cannabis is safe and effective before using it?  Here's the thing: cannabis has undergone NUMEROUS studies by a variety of groups and institutions.  My question is, "How much research is required before cannabis is accepted?"  More research is always desirable, but we know enough right now to know that there is no justification for arresting patients using medical marijuana under their doctor’s care. Check out many of my previous posts on the medical benefits of cannabis and you will see that I have cited many reports from universities and laboratories showing the efficacy of cannabis as a medicine.
      In addition, the federal government has huge restrictions on cannabis research because of the plant's Schedule I status.  As a Schedule I drug, marijuana can be researched as a medicine only with federal approval. Until California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, federal authorities blocked all efforts to study marijuana’s medical benefits. Since then, federal restrictions have been loosened somewhat, and a small number of studies have gone forward, but that happened because the passage of ballot initiatives forced the government to acknowledge the need for research. The federal government remains intensely hostile to medical marijuana, and if the political pressure created by ballot initiatives and legislative proposals subsides, the feds will surely go back to their old, obstructionist ways. The federal government has been supplying medical marijuana to a small group of patients for over 20 years, in what is officially deemed a research program, but has refused to study even its own patients!
     Another problem is that all medical marijuana research must be done with marijuana supplied by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. NIDA’s product is poor-quality, low-grade marijuana that is likely to show less efficacy and greater side effects than the marijuana available through medical marijuana dispensaries in California and elsewhere - but it remains illegal to use this higher-quality marijuana for research! Scientists and activists have appealed to the Drug Enforcement Administration to allow other sources of marijuana to be used, and in 2007, DEA Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner ruled that a proposed University of Massachusetts project to grow and study marijuana for medical purposes should be allowed to proceed. But the DEA does not have to obey Bittner’s ruling and has given no indication that it intends to do so. The U.S. government remains the largest single obstacle to medical marijuana research.
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ATF Says "No Firearms for Medical Marijuana Users"... Are You Kidding Me?!

     According to an *open letter* issued by the ATF to all Federal Firearms Licensees on September 21, 2011, even state-granted medical marijuana users are prohibited from "shipping, transporting, receiving, or possessing" firearms or ammo.  Where do I begin?  The tyranny has to stop and I urge EVERYONE to not take this lying down! Get up and write your senators and congressmen.
      Do we have a Second Amendment right to bear arms or not? I  personally believe that if citizens have firearms, it will keep the powers-that-be in check...  No, I'm not crazy and I do not have politicians' faces printed on firearm targets. I do, however think that most politicians only protect our Constitutional rights as long as it is convenient and/or financially profitable (ever heard of a "lobbyist"?) *PLEASE read this article!*
     Does the Tenth Amendment mean anything? According to the federal government, the answer is a huge "NO".  If  powers or jurisdiction is not specifically given to them, it is by default granted to each state or the individual citizen.  The ATF shouldn't even exist in my opinion because the federal government oversteps its Constitutional boundaries.
     The DEA knows very well it is wrong to have cannabis as a Schedule 1 controlled substance but they won't change it. *Read this*  Once again, where in the Constitution is the federal government granted the right to even have a "DEA"?
     I could keep going, but the point is made. Obviously, this nation has let the Constitution go on the wayside and has allowed special-interest groups to be our nation's compass and guide us.

P.S. This is not a Right Wing/ Left Wing argument...  Do not be fooled by Republicans who claim they believe in gun-rights... most of them only stand for the Second Amendment because it helps garner votes (see above).  Ron Paul will protect your rights as President - because of principle...

Cannabinoids and Uterine Contractions

     I find myself ever amazed at the scientific research results of cannabinoids.  For most of my life, I was led to believe that cannabis offered NO medicinal benefits and only caused harm to one's body and mind.  Once again, I come across a study that puts the fables to rest.
     In 2004, The National University of Ireland's  Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology reported that, contrary to popular belief, cannabinoids do not cause premature labor.  Here is a *link* if you would like to see the abstract.  In the study, scientists took human pregnant myometrial (middle layer of the uterus) tissue and exposed it to anandamide (a cannabinoid found naturally present within our bodies) and delta 9-THC (the main cannabinoid in marijuana).  These cannabinoids bind to the endocannabinoid receptor CB1 found in the tissue and cause a relaxant effect! The scientists concluded that cannabinoids do NOT directly induce contractions in the pregnant uterus and that anandamide may actually play an important role in pregnancy and childbirth.
     If only more research could be done, we could possibly find that cannabis may help prevent early labor and premature births. Unfortunately, as long as the DEA keeps cannabis listed as a Schedule 1 drug, further research will be very limited and it may be many years before we get a clue as to how great this plant actually is.
P.S.- I do not encourage pregnant women smoking cannabis or any other product for that matter...  There are other ways to receive the benefits of cannabis without smoking - expecting Jamaican women have for years been known to drink a tea made with cannabis!

Cannabis DOES kill brain cells!

     OOPS! I meant cancerous brain cells... I must get a rise out of intentionally misleading people... The title for today's post is true, but not in the fashion that most would infer.  Click *here* to read the abstract on a medical report from 2005 that explains how Delta 9 - THC and other cannabinoids destroy gliomas. What is a "glioma", you ask? Wikipedia defines a glioma as "a type of tumor that starts in the brain or spine."  If you are new to the world of cannabis, maybe I should take a step back and provide links for more understanding of *cannabinoids*  and our own body's *endocannabinoid system*.

     What I don't understand is how in 2003, The U.S.A.'s government as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services was awarded a patent on cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants.  U.S. Patent 6630507. On the other hand, the U.S. government's own DEA still classifies cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug - meaning it has NO MEDICAL BENEFIT...  Do you see the problem with that???
     The human body was designed for cannabinoids! Maybe "Big Pharma" should stay out of politicians' pockets and allow a God-given herb to provide medical benefits to the masses... Oh, wait... That would mean the pharmaceutical industry would lose BILLIONS of dollars from the reduction in sales of many of their so-called "wonder-drugs".