The more I see of the world the more it strikes me that people want more science, rather than less, and that they want to use it in odd ways: to abrogate responsibility, validate a hunch, or render a political or cultural prejudice in deceptively objective terms.As long as you cherry pick the data and keep one eye half closed, you can prove anything with science. Last week’s Independent on Sunday splashed with the headline: Cannabis – An Apology. It went on: “In 1997 this newspaper launched a campaign to decriminalise the drug. If only we had known then what…
Author: WebTeam
Recently there was a move towards decriminalization of small quantities of marijuana by the government of Mexico. To some this seems like an absolute coup; the dream is becoming a reality. The slow, staged legalization of marijuana has begun in North America! A new day where the persecution of pot smokers ends has arrived, soon our crusade will be resolved!This hardly seems like the case to me. To begin with, Mexico is hardly a world leader in any respect. The actions of their government don’t really draw all that much attention, this sudden decriminalization barely made a dent in the…
After a serious head injury in 1997, Rick Simpson sought relief from his medical condition through the use of medicinal hemp oil. When Rick discovered that the hemp oil (with its high concentration of T.H.C.) cured cancers and other illnesses, he tried to share it with as many people as he could free of charge. When the story went public, the long arm of the law snatched the medicine – leaving potentially thousands of people without their cancer treatments – and leaving Rick with unconsitutional charges of possessing and trafficking marijuana! Rick Simpsons Website How Rick Simpson Makes Cannabis Oil…
A ground-breaking study of 4117 marijuana smokers in California1 reveals that the ‘Gateway Theory’ probably had it backwards. Instead of enticing young people to use other drugs, this study suggests that marijuana may have the opposite effect.This first-ever clinical examination of a large number of medical marijuana applicants depicts a population that is remarkably normal. The percentages earning bachelors’ degrees and doctorates are nearly identical to the national numbers. They are, in the main, productive citizens with jobs, homes and families who smoke marijuana weekly or daily – and have in some cases for decades. For the vast majority of…
Ed Rosenthal is a California horticulturist, author, publisher, and cannabis expert known for his advocacy for the legalization of marijuana use. He co-founded and served as a columnist for High Times Magazine during the 80’s and 90’s. He writes the Ask Ed® column among other articles for Cannabis Culture, Skunk, Highlife and Soft Secrets among others. He is the owner and founder of Quick American Publishing in Northern California, which is changing marijuana laws one book at a time. Quick American also publishes the yearly Big Book of Buds Calendar, the Big Book of Buds series, Marijuana Buds for Less,…
https://youtu.be/rwkFmvIg4CU British Columbia’s (BC) illegal marijuana trade industry has evolved into a business giant, dubbed by some involved as ‘The Union’, Commanding upwards of $7 billion Canadian annually. With up to 85% of ‘BC Bud’ being exported to the United States, the trade has become an international issue. Follow filmmaker Adam Scorgie as he demystifies the underground market and brings to light how an industry can function while remaining illegal. Through growers, police officers, criminologists, economists, doctors, politicians and pop culture icons, Scorgie examines the cause and effect nature of the business – an industry that may be profiting more…
ScienceDaily (Apr. 1, 2009) — Guillermo Velasco and colleagues, at Complutense University, Spain, have provided evidence that suggests that cannabinoids such as the main active component of marijuana (THC) have anticancer effects on human brain cancer cells. In the study, THC was found to induce the death of various human brain cancer cell lines and primary cultured human brain cancer cells by a process known as autophagy. Consistent with the in vitro data, administration of THC to mice with human tumors decreased tumor growth and induced the tumor cells to undergo autophagy. As analysis of tumors from two patients with…
The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer. The new findings “were against our expectations,” said Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles, a pulmonologist who has studied marijuana for 30 years.”We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use,” he said.”What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect.” Federal health and drug enforcement officials have widely…
Many harms associated with cannabis use result from prohibition rather than the drug itself, an Australian academic has told a United Nations review of drug policy. Professor Robin Room, a sociologist at the University of Melbourne’s School of Population Health has spent much of the past week telling meetings in Vienna that international conventions on cannabis are out of touch and do little to influence the number of users. Prof Room said while penalties were generally low for cannabis use and possession globally, young people and minorities were more likely than other groups to become caught up in the legal system.…
No, I’m Not Using Slang. It Really Is Tea. According to a new report (PDF) sponsored by the Marijuana Policy Project, field tests commonly used by police to identify marijuana and other drugs yield false positives in response to a variety of legal substances, resulting in the arrest and detention of innocent people. Worse, “millions of people have been, and continue to be, prosecuted and convicted of marijuana charges without proof that they possessed marijuana.” The author, forensic drug expert John Kelly, says an investigation he conducted in collaboration with former FBI scientist Frederic Whitehurst “reveals a drug testing regime…
