A roundup of the recent Dail debates in relation to Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan’s motion to Regulate cannabis in Ireland. These videos use prominent international figures to dismantle the mis-information still delivered in 2013 onwards by the coalition government of Fine Gael and Labour. 01 Derek Keating 02 Cancer 03 strokes 04 Epilepsy 05 Health
Author: WebTeam
(Reuters) – Italy’s constitutional court on Wednesday struck down a drug law that tripled sentences for selling, cultivating or possessing cannabis and which has been blamed for causing prison overcrowding. The constitutional court said the law, which was passed in 2006 by Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative government, was “illegitimate”, without giving further details. Some estimates suggest 10,000 people may be released from jail as a result. The law was the primary cause of Italy’s prison overcrowding problem, according to prison rights group Antigone, which said that 40 percent of all inmates were serving sentences for drug crimes. Italian jails are the…
Drugs-related deaths in Northern Ireland are mostly linked to prescription drugs, unlike other regions of the UK, a study suggests. Whereas the vast majority of drug-related deaths in the UK are linked to opiates such as heroin and morphine, in NI most relate to other drugs. The research was carried out by St George’s, University of London. It found there was a small decrease in the overall number of drug-related deaths in Northern Ireland. There were 78 such deaths in 2012 as opposed to 82 in 2011. In Northern Ireland, higher proportions of deaths were attributed to the misuse of…
MPs may be forced to discuss the reform of Britain’s drug laws after a petition calling for a Parliamentary debate on the issue collected more than 100,000 signatures Reform of Britain’s drug laws could be debated in Parliament after a petition backed by Russell Brand and Richard Branson collected more than 100,000 signatures. The e-petition was led by Green MP Caroline Lucas to urge the Government to review the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 within the next 12 months. Her campaign was boosted when a number of celebrities, including Sir Richard Branson, Sting, Dame Joan Bakewell and Sir Ian Gilmore,…
A new study examining the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or electromagnetic therapy, has revealed that cannabis may provide an alternative treatment option for those suffering chronic unpredictable mild stress. Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry, Department of Anesthesiology and Institute of Neuroscience of Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, in Xi’an, China, first examined the specific symptoms of chronic unpredictable mild stress in rats through a series of tests; a sucrose preference test, a forced swimming test, and an open-field test. Researchers also measured hippocampal CB1 receptor expression and cell proliferation. The examination found chronic unpredictable mild stress…
A study published in this month’s issue of the journal Experimental Eye Research, and published online by the National Institute of Health, has found that cannabinoids – compounds found naturally in cannabis – may delay retinal degeneration in those with retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease that often causes blindness. “Cannabinoids have been demonstrated to exert neuroprotective effects on different types of neuronal insults”, begins the study’s abstract. According to researchers, the goal of the study is to address the theraputic potential of cannabinoids “on photoreceptor degeneration, synaptic connectivity and functional activity of the retina in the transgenic P23H rat, an…
A study published in this month’s issue of the European Journal of Neuroscience has found that cannabinoids may be an effective treatment for osteoarthritis. According to the study; “Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease associated with articular cartilage degradation. The major clinical outcome of osteoarthritis is a complex pain state that includes both nociceptive and neuropathic mechanisms.” It continues; “Currently, the therapeutic approaches for osteoarthritis are limited as no drugs are available to control the disease progression and the analgesic treatment has restricted efficacy. Increasing evidence from preclinical studies supports the interest of the endocannabinoid system as an emerging therapeutic…
Clint Werner recounts the first study of THC and brain cancer cells, which led to numerous studies on other types of cancer cells.
Dutch laws governing marijuana use are so liberal that even the US pop star Miley Cyrus failed to spark too much controversy when she lit a joint on stage in Amsterdam last year. Now, 35 mayors are urging the government to take it a step further and let them grow cannabis too, as a global shift in favour of legalisation is leaving the once forward-thinking Netherlands lagging behind. In a manifesto signed last week, the mayors of cities including Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht argue that the current laws allowing the sale but banning the cultivation of marijuana mean the nation’s…
Montevideo – Uruguayan scientists, taking advantage of their country’s legalisation of marijuana, will study the long-term effects of the drug on sleep, a local newspaper reported. A multi-disciplinary group of researchers from the University of the Republic will launch its study as soon as the law – approved in early December to regulate the production, sale and distribution of marijuana – goes into force, the El Observador newspaper reported. The researchers aim to determine how and which of the 500 substances contained in the cannabis plant influence sleep quality. “We have a historic opportunity permitted by the law,” said biologist…
