December 12, 2011

CBD cannabinoid COMPLETELY prevents neuropathic pain from breast cancer chemo

http://www.jpost.com/Health/Article.aspx?id=241299

The headline in the Jerusalem Post says "may" but the researcher says CBD DOES prevent this sort of debilitating pain in their animal studies. Spain has already performed studies on CBD for brain cancer in humans in a very small study.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16804518

“We found that cannabidiol completely prevented the onset of the neuropathic, or nerve pain caused by the chemo drug Paclitaxel, which is used to treat breast cancer,” said (Sarah Jane) Ward, who is also a research associate professor in Temple’s Center for Substance Abuse Research.

Ward became interested in this current study after attending a conference in which she learned about a pain state that is induced by chemo-therapeutic agents, especially those used to treat breast cancer, which can produce really debilitating neuropathic pain.

Cannabidiol has also demonstrated the ability to decrease tumor activity in animal models, said Ward, which could make it an effective therapeutic for breast cancer, especially if you “combined it with a chemo agent like Paclitaxel, which we already know works well.”

According to Ward, there are currently about 10 clinical trials underway in the United States for cannabidiol on a range of different disorders, including cannabis dependence, eating disorders and schizophrenia. Because of this, she believes it will be easier to establish a clinical trial for cannabidiol as a therapeutic against neuropathic pain associated with chemo drugs.

link to the abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21737705

NORML reported on the therapeutic properties of CBD in 2007

http://norml.org/news/2007/11/21/pot-compound-may-offer-non-toxic-alternative-to-chemotherapy

Yet another reason to repeal prohibition - the existence of health benefits to cannabis as a whole (THC and CBD have health-care applications) puts the lie to the DEA claim that no health benefits exist.

further proof that some parts of our govt. are resistant to evidence and lack the moral capacity to act upon this evidence to the betterment of this society.

December 12, 2011

Reefer Madness (N.Y.Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/opinion/reefer-madness.html?_r=1&smid=fb-nytimes&WT.mc_id=OP-SM-E-FB-SM-LIN-RMO-110711-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click



"MARIJUANA is now legal under state law for medical purposes in 16 states and the District of Columbia, encompassing nearly one-third of the American population. More than 1,000 dispensaries provide medical marijuana; many are well regulated by state and local law and pay substantial taxes. But though more than 70 percent of Americans support legalizing medical marijuana, any use of marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

President Obama has not publicly announced a shift in his views on medical marijuana, but his administration seems to be declaring one by fiat. The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Michele M. Leonhart, a Bush appointee re-nominated by Mr. Obama, has exercised her discretionary authority to retain marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I drug with “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.” And the pronouncements on marijuana, medical and otherwise, from Mr. Obama’s top drug policy adviser, R. Gil Kerlikowske, have been indistinguishable from those of Mr. Bush’s.

None of this makes any sense in terms of public safety, health or fiscal policy. Apart from its value to patients, medical marijuana plays an increasingly important role in local economies, transforming previously illegal jobs into legal ones and creating many new jobs as well, contributing to local tax bases and stimulating new economic activity. Federal crackdowns will not stop the trade in marijuana; they will only push it back underground and hurt those patients least able to navigate illicit markets.

At the federal level, there have been few voices of protest. Senior Democrats on Capitol Hill shy away from speaking out. Republicans mostly ignore the extent to which anti-marijuana zealotry threatens core conservative values like states rights, property rights and gun ownership."

December 12, 2011

The Alice in Wonderland Drug War: Prohibition is the Cartels' Best Ally

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10767143


Nice article, via New Zealand, on the state of the current drug war, by Peter Huck.

"It would be hard to point to any public policy in the US that causes so much clear and obvious friction between the federal Government and almost a majority, population-wise, of states," argues Allen St Pierre, executive director of the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

(Cato Institute) Senior fellow Ted Galen Carpenter argued the savagery of Mexico's drug wars, with 42,000 dead since 2006, had made the US less safe. "Depending on the drug, roughly 90 per cent of the retail price exists because the drugs are illegal."

Legalising cannabis would remove cannabis profits, said Jones. "We would be striking a larger blow at those cartels than any law enforcement effort ever could. What's our exit strategy for the war on drugs?"

Even if the DEA does shutter pot clinics, any victory could be pyrrhic. St Pierre believes Washington's "no quarter" stance on cannabis clashes with grassroots realities. He argues the US has crossed a Rubicon, citing more cannabis-tolerant baby boomers, a need for tax revenue in a deep recession, easy access to cannabis information via the internet and empathy towards the infirm who use the drug.

Prohibition of alcohol ended during the great depression because the FDR administration thought such a move would create jobs and taxable revenue.

Estimated annual revenue from medical cannabis in the U.S., based upon lawsuits against the new govt crackdown: $1.5 billion to $4.5 billion.

Estimated annual sales tax, from the state of California: $50 to $100 million.

Even if a repeal of prohibition caused the price of cannabis to drop, the state could still collect tax revenue adjusted to move the profit from the sale of cannabis from cartels to states in order to fund tax-based services.

But, Huck notes, via Carpenter, that the greatest barrier to any change in prohibition is that politicians are afraid of being branded soft on drugs - because opportunists take such opportunities to attack.

Instead, advancements toward ending the war on drugs take place in the marketplace and at the ballot box when citizens have the opportunity to engage in direct democracy.

As St. Pierre noted, 16 states and DC have passed medical marijuana laws. Of these, approximately 2/3 of the changes in the law occurred because of voters. Of these, an overwhelming majority of voters in these states passed laws with more than 55% of the vote.

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000881

These 16 states and D.C. comprise nearly half of the voting population of the U.S. (based upon census data for the voting population.) And that number doesn't adequately gauge the sentiments of the entire voting population because many states do not allow initiatives on their ballots to put this issue to a vote via direct democracy.

Support for medical marijuana, across the U.S. continues to poll at 77%. This support is from all demographic categories: age, gender, political affiliation and region.

We are definitely through the looking glass when the Drug Czar continues to claim there is no medical value to marijuana while 77% of the population disagrees and close to a majority of the voting population has taken action to put that disagreement into law.

What number is the tipping point at which the federal govt. can no longer continue to tout enforcement of laws that so many citizens find unlawful?

December 12, 2011

Legalizing Marijuana Reduces Traffic Fatalities

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/29/study-legalizing-medical-marijuana-reduces-traffic-fatalities/

From a study by the Institute for the Study of Labor

Opponents of medical marijuana often focus on the social detriment to making America’s most valuable cash crop available to those approved by doctors, arguing that medical marijuana legalization makes it easier for teens to buy pot and that they’ll soon move to more dangerous drugs. They also suggest that legalization would increase the number of vehicle accidents — and that very argument was one of the main reasons why California voters did not approve full legalization in 2010.

Studying data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, researchers also found that legalizing medical marijuana did, in fact, drive up usage among adults. But contrary to medical marijuana critics’ claims, they were unable to find evidence of it growing the number of minors on the drug.

A further analysis of data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, spanning from 1990 to 2009, revealed that states which legalized medical marijuana saw a decline in alcohol consumption. A decline in traffic fatalities was a direct side effect of that.

Traffic fatalities are the leading cause of death for Americans age 35 and under.

It seems the real problem with legalizing marijuana is that it would negatively impact the alcohol industry and reduce traffic fatalities. OH NOES!1!! think about the children!

December 12, 2011

Colorado To Ask DEA to Reschedule Cannabis

http://coloradoindependent.com/107437/colorado-will-ask-dea-to-reschedule-marijuana-in-recognition-of-medical-value

Governor Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island and Governor Christine Gregoire of Washington have petitioned the federal government to change the schedule of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, a move they claim will remove the conflict between federal drug laws and state laws that allow the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries. Colorado will file its own request before the end of the year.

Shortly after filing the petition, Governor Peter Shumlin of Vermont signed on as well. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper apparently has no plans to sign the petition, but Colorado will file its own request to reclassify marijuana.

“This is a good first step, in that it shows that politicians are catching up with the scientific consensus, which is that marijuana has medical value,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. “If it succeeds, federal law will finally acknowledge that fact. Rescheduling marijuana, however, will not change the federal penalties for possessing, cultivating, or distributing medical marijuana,” he said in a prepared statement. “That is the change we really need. These governors should be insisting that the federal government allow them to run their medical marijuana operations the ways they see fit, which should include selling medical marijuana through state-licensed dispensaries.”

A recent editorial from Bakersfield called on CA Gov. Jerry Brown to join the petition submitted by Gregoire and Chaffee. The editorial noted:

As recently as July, the DEA decided against reclassifying marijuana, but the decision was primarily based on old studies. A number of medical associations and organizations support the reclassification, including the American Medical Association, which reversed its position because current law limits clinical research.

kudos to state pols for working to change bad federal laws.

February 14, 2021

it's not totally inappropriate

but it is definitely loungey.