Posts Tagged ‘THC’
10 Aug
7 cannabis studies that will change everything…
Welcome to Room 420, where your instructor is Mr. Ron Marczyk and your subjects are wellness, disease prevention, self actualization, and chillin’.
Worth Repeating
By Ron Marczyk, R.N.
Since the 1960s, the major milestones our country has achieved are incredible.
We elected an African-American president, women’s issues have made tremendous progress, and gays and lesbians can marry.
But cannabis is still illegal…? Not for long!
As the tsunami of hard empirical positive medical cannabis research builds, it meets the inevitable changing younger demographics of our country, and with the need for new cannabis- based jobs and new tax revenue.
The cannabis legalization tipping point is close at hand!
“Cannabis is the people’s medicine” and has overwhelming public support.
Let’s knock this last domino over!
And to that end…
I would like to highlight several 2011 research papers that discuss the most current findings regarding medical cannabis treatment and disease prevention.
The following medical papers focus on:
• Cancer and colon cancer prevention,
• Inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, Crohn’s disease
• Vomiting from chemotherapy
• Osteoporosis
• Traumatic brain injury
• Heart disease /Heart attack
The concept of the endocannabinoid system was outlined a mere 14 years ago, and looks how far we have come!
Today “phytocannabinoid therapeutics” is the newest, fastest growing field in medical research.
As this medical cannabis evidence-based tsunami approaches, its main therapeutic action appears to restoring homeostasis to multiple body systems.
The action by which phytocannabinoids heal is by reestablishing the proper immune set points within CB 1/2 receptors in both brain and body.
Research supports medical cannabis as important a medical discovery as insulin or penicillin were in their day.
Perhaps the root of many human illnesses is an anandamide deficiency, which, when corrected and rebalanced by THC intake, produces homeostasis.
Whatever anandamide does in the body, phytocannabinoids mimic. My prediction is that phytocannabinoids will ultimately be found to be an vital to human health.
Phytocannabinoids mimic the same actions of Anandamide in the brain and body, which maintain homeostasis, maintaining wellness and disease prevention!
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| Graphic: TRENDS In Pharmacological Sciences |
| Pharmacological actions of non-psychotropic cannabinoids (with the indication of the proposed mechanisms of action). Abbreviations: D 9 -THC, D 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol; D 8 -THC, D 8 -tetrahydrocannabinol; CBN, cannabinol; CBD, cannabidiol; D 9 -THCV, D 9 -tetrahydrocannabivarin; CBC, cannabichromene; CBG, cannabigerol; D 9 -THCA, D 9 -tetrahydrocannabinolic acid; CBDA, cannabidiolic acid; TRPV1, transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1; PPARg, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor g; ROS, reactive oxygen species; 5-HT1A, 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor subtype 1A; FAAH, fatty acid amide hydrolase. (+), direct or indirect activation; “, increase; #, decrease. |
It’s All About THC
THC is unique, in that it is only found in one plant on earth.
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| Photo: Rhinoseeds |
| Power Flower strain |
The female cannabis plant is a THC-resin factory. THC, which makes up the plant’s resin, has the important job of collecting pollen from the male plant for fertilization. No THC-laced resin, no seed production. Additionally, this resin tastes very bad to herbivores, which leave it alone, and it also offers superior UV protection to the plant at high altitudes.
A cannabis sativa flower coated with trichomes, which contain more THC than any other part of the plant
The cannabis plant has only two functions: to make THC and seeds.
THC is the most abundant “phytocannabinoid” within the cannabis plant.
All other THC-like substances in the plant are THC intermediate metabolites being assembled by the plant on their way to becoming THC.
Once the plant is cut down and dies, the THC degrades into cannabindiol. Cannabinol (CBN) is the primary product of THC degradation, and there is usually little of it in a fresh plant. CBN content increases as THC degrades in storage, and with exposure to light and air, and it is only mildly psychoactive.
Why would just this one plant, and the phytocannabinoids it produces control not one, but two dedicated molecular receptors for phytocannabinoids, with more predicted to still be discovered?
Did evolution intend for them to be naturally consumed for proper body function? As any other plant-derived antioxidant?
How THC talks to the brain and immune system
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| Graphic: How Stuff Works |
All healing, cancer fighting and aging in your body is controlled by the immune system.
Phytocannabinoids appear to control the activity level of the immune system up or down, so that it doesn’t attack its host or respond too weakly to cellular dysfunction. Whenever you hear the term “anti-inflammatory activity,” think “cannabis immune system control.”
CB1 cannabigenic receptors are the majority of receptor type in the synaptic clef. THC-activated CB1 brain receptors directly link up and control the microglial cells in the brain; the microglia is the specialized white blood cells that make up the brain’s dedicated immune system.
Cannabidiol is degraded THC. It activates CB2 receptors mostly in the body. In both cases, THC controls both immune systems (brain and body), in one form or another. It seems that CB1 brain receptors link up to CB2 body receptors, which in turn control many autoimmune diseases.
The word used to describe this cannabis brain/body link up is Psychoneuroimmunology.
Mind = neurotransmitter = immune system communication system, or in this case
“Cannabinergic Psychoneuroimmunology” — cannabinoid-induced immune system healing.
Cannabis consciousness repairs your immune system: never underestimate the power of a bong hit!
#1: “The Endocannabinoid System and Cancer: Therapeutic Implication”
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| Photo: WhyProhibition.ca |
Findings: Delta 9 THC as a treatment for breast, prostate, brain and bone cancer
“This review updates the relationship between the endocannabinoid system and anti-tumor actions (inhibition of cell proliferation and migration, induction of apoptosis, reduction of tumor growth) of the cannabinoids in different types of cancer.”
“The therapeutic potential of cannabinoids for cancer, as identified in clinical trials, is also discussed. Identification of safe and effective treatments to manage and improve cancer therapy is critical to improve quality of life and reduce unnecessary suffering in cancer patients.”
“In this regard, cannabis-like, compounds offer therapeutic potential for the treatment of breast, prostate and bone cancer in patients. Further basic research on anti-cancer properties of cannabinoids as well as clinical trials of cannabinoid therapeutic efficacy in breast, prostate and bone cancer is therefore warranted.”
“The available literature suggests that the endocannabinoid system may be targeted to suppress the evolution and progression of breast, prostate and bone cancer as well as the accompanying pain syndromes. Although this review focuses on these three types of cancer, activation of the endocannabinoid signaling system produces anti-cancer effects in other types of cancer including skin, brain gliomas and lung.”
“Interestingly, cannabis trials in population based studies failed to show any evidence for increased risk of respiratory symptoms/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or lung cancer (Tashkin, 2005) associated with smoking cannabis.”
“Moreover, synthetic cannabinoids (Delta 9 THC) and the endocannabinoid system play a role in inhibiting cancer cell proliferation and angiogenesis, reducing tumor growth and metastases and inducing apoptosis ( self destruction for cancer cells) in all three types of cancers reviewed here.
“These observations raise the possibility that a dysregulation of the endocannabinoid system may promote cancer, by fostering physiological conditions that allow cancer cells to proliferate, migrate and grow.”
IMPORTANT: This is a very intriguing observation. What is being implied here is that some people may be suffering from an anandamide deficiency! Just as a diabetic is insulin deficiencient and must supplement their body with insulin, in this case THC is the vital medicine needed to replace low levels of anandamide.
These observations also raise the exciting possibility that enhancing cannabinoid tone (code for THC locking into the CB1 receptor) through cannabinoid based pharmacotherapies may attenuate these harmful processes to produce anti-cancer effects in humans.
Bottom line: Smoking marijuana prevents cancer body-wide.
#2: ”Update on the Endocannabinoid System as an Anticancer Target”
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| Graphic: Americans for Safe Access |
Findings: antitumor effects, cancer prevention
“Recent studies have shown that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) could offer an attractive antitumor target. Numerous findings suggest the involvement of this system (constituted mainly by cannabinoid receptors, endogenous compounds and the enzymes for their synthesis and degradation) in cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo.”
“This review covers literature from the past decade which highlights the potential of targeting the ECS for cancer treatment. In particular, the levels of endocannabinoids and the expression of their receptors in several types of cancer are discussed, along with the signaling pathways involved in the endocannabinoid antitumor effects.”
“Furthermore, targeting the ECS with agents that activate cannabinoid receptors (This means THC) or inhibitors of endogenous degrading systems such as fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitors may have relevant therapeutic impact on tumor growth. Additional studies into the downstream consequences of endocannabinoid treatment are required and may illuminate other potential therapeutic targets.”
#3: ”Cannabinoids and the gut: new developments and emerging concepts”
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| Photo: Top News |
Findings: THC and inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), colitis, colon cancer, vomiting/chemotherapy
“Disorders of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract have been treated with herbal and plant-based remedies for centuries. Prominent amongst these therapeutics are preparations derived from the marijuana plant Cannabis. Cannabis has been used to treat a variety of GI conditions that range from enteric infections and inflammatory conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to disorders of motility, emesis and abdominal pain.”
“Cannabis has been used to treat gastrointestinal (GI) conditions that range from enteric infections and inflammatory conditions to disorders of motility, emesis and abdominal pain.”
“The mechanistic basis of these treatments emerged after the discovery of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol as the major constituent of Cannabis. Further progress was made when the receptors for Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol were identified as part of an endocannabinoid system, that consists of specific cannabinoid receptors.”
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| Sites of action of cannabinoids in the enteric nervous system. CB2 receptors indicated with the marijuana leaf. |
”Anatomical, physiological and pharmacological studies have shown that the endocannabinoid system is widely distributed throughout the gut, with regional variation and organ-specific actions.” (CB2 receptors are embedded within the lining of the intestines in large numbers.)
“They are involved in the regulation of food intake, nausea and emesis, gastric secretion and gastro protection, GI motility, ion transport, visceral sensation, intestinal inflammation and cell proliferation in the gut.”
“As we have shown, the endocannabinoid system is widely distributed throughout the gut, with regional variation and specific regional or organ-specific actions.”
“CB2 receptors are involved in the regulation of food intake, nausea and emesis, gastric secretion and gastro protection, GI motility, ion transport, visceral sensation, intestinal inflammation and cell proliferation (cancer)”
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| How THC/cannabidiol activates the CB1/2 receptors to shut down colon cancer by signaling cancer cells to self-destruct |
“Preclinical models have shown that modifying the endocannabinoid system can have beneficial effects…. Pharmacological agents that act on these targets have been shown in preclinical models to have therapeutic potential.” [THC is the Pharmacological agent mentioned.]
Colorectal Cancer Prevention Model
Cannabiols via CB1 and possibly CB2 receptor activation, have been shown to exert apoptotic actions in several colorectal cancer cell lines.
See the illustration at left for how THC/cannabidiol activates the CB1/2 receptors to shut down colon cancer by signaling cancer cells to self-destruct.
#4: “Gut feelings about the endocannabinoid system”
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| Graphic: CMR Journal |
| Schematic illustration of the functional roles of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in the gastrointestinal tract. The ECS regulates four major functional elements in the gut: motility, secretion, inflammation, and sensation in health and disease. Major components of the ECS that have been defined in each of these functional roles are shown: CB1 and CB2 receptors, anandamide (AEA), fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), and the endocannabinoid membrane transporter (EMT). For motility, the CB2 receptors only appear to be active under pathophysiological conditions and are shown italicized. |
Findings: Stemming from the centuries-old and well known effects of Cannabis on intestinal motility and secretion, research on the role of the endocannabinoid system in gut function and dysfunction has received ever increasing attention since the discovery of the cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands, the endocannabinoids.
In this article, some of the most recent developments in this field are discussed, with particular emphasis on new data, most of which are published in Neurogastroenterology & Motility, on the potential tonic endocannabinoid control of intestinal motility, the function of cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptors in gastric function, visceral pain, inflammation and sepsis, the emerging role of cannabinoid type-2 (CB2) receptors in the gut, and the pharmacology of endocannabinoid-related molecules and plant cannabinoids not necessarily acting via cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors.
These novel data highlight the multi-faceted aspects of endocannabinoid function in the GI tract, support the feasibility of the future therapeutic exploitation of this signaling system for the treatment of GI disorders, and leave space for some intriguing new hypotheses on the role of endocannabinoids in the gut.
#5: “Cannabinoids and the skeleton: from marijuana to reversal of bone loss”
Annuals of Medicine, 2009
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| Graphic: Medicinal Cannabis |
Findings: CB2 receptors maintain bone remodeling balance, thus protecting the skeleton against age-related bone loss.
The active component of marijuana, Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol, activates the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, thus mimicking the action of endogenous cannabinoids.
CB1 is predominantly neuronal and mediates the cannabinoid psychotropic effects. CB2 is predominantly expressed in peripheral tissues, mainly in pathological conditions. So far the main endocannabinoids, anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, have been found in bone at ‘brain’ levels.
The CB1 receptor is present mainly in skeletal sympathetic nerve terminals, thus regulating the adrenergic tonic restrain of bone formation. CB2 is expressed in osteoblasts and osteoclasts, stimulates bone formation, and inhibits bone resorption.
Because low bone mass is the only spontaneous phenotype so far reported in CB2 mutant mice, it appears that the main physiologic involvement of CB2 is associated with maintaining bone remodeling at balance, thus protecting the skeleton against age-related bone loss.
Indeed, in humans, polymorphisms in CNR2, the gene encoding CB2, are strongly associated with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Preclinical studies have shown that a synthetic CB2-specific agonist rescues ovariectomy-induced bone loss.
Taken together, the reports on cannabinoid receptors in mice and humans pave the way for the development of 1) diagnostic measures to identify osteoporosis-susceptible polymorphisms in CNR2, and 2) cannabinoid drugs to combat osteoporosis.
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| Graphic: Fit Body Bootcamp |
Findings: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) represents the leading cause of death in young individuals.
FINDING: THC activation of the CB1 receptor is the same as the action of anaidemide on CB1 This article discusses how anandamide increases in the brain after injury, so THC may have the potential to become a front line emergency medicine in the future.
“There is a large body of evidence showing that eCB are markedly increased in response to pathogenic traumatic head injury events.”
“This fact, as well as numerous studies on experimental models of brain toxicity, neuroinflammation and trauma supports the notion that the eCB are part of the brain’s compensatory or repair mechanisms.”
These are mediated via CB receptors signalling pathways that are linked to neuronal survival and repair. The levels of 2-AG, the most highly abundant eCB, are significantly elevated after TBI and when administered to TBI mice, 2-AG decreases brain edema, inflammation and infarct volume and improves clinical recovery.( So would THC.)
This review is focused on the role the eCB system plays as a self-neuroprotective mechanism and its potential as a basis for the development of novel therapeutic modality for the treatment of CNS pathologies with special emphasis on TBI.
Bottom line: For proof see U.S government 2003 patent
#7: ”Acute administration of cannabidiol in vivo suppresses ischaemia-induced cardiac arrhythmias and reduces infarct size when given at reperfusion”
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| Graphic: Cannabis N.I. |
| Not only is CBD cardioprotective — it is also an anti-epileptic, sedative, anxiolytic, antipsychotic, antioxidant, neuroprotectant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-emetic, and anti-tumorant. |
Findings: Cannabidiol (CBD) is a phytocannabinoid, with anti-apoptotic, (the process of programmed cell death) anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and has recently been shown to exert a tissue sparing effect during chronic myocardial ischaemia and reperfusion (I/R).
However, it is not known whether CBD is cardioprotective in the acute phase of I/R injury and the present studies tested this hypothesis.
EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Male Sprague-Dawley rats received either vehicle or CBD (10 or 50 microg kg(-1) i.v.) 10 min before 30 min coronary artery occlusion or CBD (50 microg kg(-1) i.v.) 10 min before reperfusion (2 h). The appearance of ventricular arrhythmias during the ischaemic and immediate post-reperfusion periods were recorded and the hearts excised for infarct size determination and assessment of mast cell degranulation. Arterial blood was withdrawn at the end of the reperfusion period to assess platelet aggregation in response to collagen.
KEY RESULTS: ”CBD reduced both the total number of ischaemia-induced arrhythmias and infarct size when administered prior to ischaemia, an effect that was dose-dependent. Infarct size was also reduced when CBD was given prior to reperfusion. CBD (50 microg kg(-1) i.v.) given prior to ischaemia, but not at reperfusion, attenuated collagen-induced platelet aggregation compared with control, but had no effect on ischaemia-induced mast cell degranulation.”
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: ”This study demonstrates that CBD is cardioprotective in the acute phase of I/R by both reducing ventricular arrhythmias and attenuating infarct size. The anti-arrhythmic effect, but not the tissue sparing effect, may be mediated through an inhibitory effect on platelet activation.”
Remember to exercise your ganja rights! Every day is a Ganja day!
8 Aug
Cannabis for the Cure?
Public-health researchers say the federal government is slowing the search for cures to breast, colon, prostate and brain cancers, as well as Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and HIV, because the research involves cannabis.
That’s the takeaway from the 21st annual symposium of the International Cannabinoid Research Society, which was held earlier this month in Illinois. Researchers stacked the program with talks not only about cannabis’s palliative properties but also its curative efficacy. The event, sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, was held the same week the Drug Enforcement Administration reiterated its stance that marijuana has no accepted medical use.
“It was really interesting,” said Amanda Reiman, who holds a doctorate from the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare and presented at the symposium. “At the same time [that] the DEA was publicly declaring that cannabis has no medical value, I was surrounded by the most brilliant minds in the world talking about nothing but the medical value of cannabinoids.”
She said the frustration “was something you could feel in the air.”
Reiman researches medical-cannabis dispensaries as community-health providers and considers the use of cannabis a substitute for alcohol and other drugs. It’s a topic of key interest to both the International Cannabinoid Research Society and the National Institute on Drug Abuse because—unlike almost every other drug—the NIDA can completely restrict researchers’ access to cannabis, citing the plant’s danger to society.
That means safe, effective treatments that stem from pot are being held up. Take the case of Sativex, the marijuana-based mouth spray made by GW Pharmaceuticals in Europe that helps patients with multiple sclerosis and is very safe. Sufferers won’t see it in the United States any time soon, because it contains cannabinoids.
According to the abstracts of the ICRS symposium, researchers have found that the molecules in pot can reverse cancer growth. “Mechanisms of the Anti-cancer Effects of Cannabidiol and Other Non-psychotropic Cannabinoids on Human Prostate Carcinoma” reads one abstract title. There are at least a seven such papers this year.
The molecule in pot called cannabidiol, or CBD, has been shown to reduce anxiety and halt the progression of HIV in monkeys, as well as treat Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, according to ICRS research. Cannabinoid researchers are investigating using pot molecules to treat head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.
But these researchers aren’t allowed to progress past animal studies and cannot get their hands on the plant, Reiman said. And it’s driving them crazy.
Since the conference was sponsored by the drug warriors at NIDA, “There was a lot of push-back from researchers in terms of restricting access to these cannabinoids, especially CBD, which is not psychoactive,” said Reiman. “There’s opportunities to cure diseases like cancer, but also neurodegenerative diseases and HIV.”
However, “A lot of NIDA’s mission is to discover the harms associated with drugs of abuse [though not alcohol] and to prevent people from using drugs and to help people who are using them to stop them.
“Nowhere in that mission is it to discover potentially therapeutic benefits for illicit drugs, and that’s why cannabis research falls into the crack,” she said.
It’s unfortunate, because pot may birth the all-star “smart drugs” of the 21st century. The molecules in marijuana stimulate a sort of intracellular Internet called the “endocannabinoid system.” Discovered in the ’90s, the endocannabinoid system runs throughout the bodies of mammals, with a large amount of receptors in the nervous system in the head and gut.
Scientists think pot molecules such as CBD can help facilitate cellular communication, assisting cells in sending signals like “Turn off the inflammation” and “My neighbor is a tumor, kill him!”
“Cannabis seeks out disregulation, like the growth of a tumor, and addresses that problem without interrupting the rest of the body,” Reiman said.
While the federal government still schedules cannabis as a Schedule I narcotic, some 1 million U.S. medical-marijuana patients have embraced the so-called vigilante medicine, as it were. And they’re not turning back, no matter what the federal government does.
“They can’t put the whole plant medical-cannabis genie back in the bottle,” Reiman said. “They just have to recognize that it’s there.”
5 Aug
Benefit Held For Patient Fired From Walmart for Medicating
Image via link.
This story is coming out off Battle Creek, Michigan. Last year after a workplace injury, Joseph Casias, age 30, was fired after THC was found in his system in a routine drug screening. Now Joseph is a seriously ill cancer patient, and only used the herb after work to help with pain. And he was using it upon the recommendation he received from his oncologist! But that wasn’t enough for the corporate giant Walmart, no. To them he’s just another criminal, not a patient. Walmart even tried to deny Joseph his unemployment benefits, but failed. This type of injustice just shows how shaky the laws that are supposed to protect patients can be, and how desperatley our country needs change. For the full story, click here.
“I just don’t understand why it is so bad to use something that helps me and many others who suffer with illnesses and pain,” Casias said. ”Why would you not want to help people who are suffering with high levels of pain? Where is the compassion for your fellow man?”
“Medical marijuana helps me and a lot of others, and I am grateful for every person who helps sick patients with their medicine and information on medical marijuana, because without people like them I would not know what I know today,” Casias said.
I think its time for us all to step up and help one of our own. This former Walmart Associate of the Year has been betrayed by the company he was so loyal to, now we need to do what we can. A three-day Great Lakes Compassion Benefit for Joseph Casias has been set for Friday, September 16 through Sunday, September 18, at Lucky Lake Campground, 3977 West Wilke Road, Montague, Michigan. If your in the area do your best to attend, I know I will be.
30 Jul
What a Marijuana Judge Looks For When Reviewing A Strain
by Matt Mernagh – Monday, July 11 2011On Tuesday, July 12 I will reach a marijuana review milestone. Having pen & published 150 marijuana reviews. That includes marijuana photo galleries too. The last two reviews published, Cindy Bubbles and DJ Short’s Blueberry were donation from cannabis growers I know. From their personal head stash. Review 150 is another personal grower donation. Their samples were awesome. l am developing an excellent nug network of people who want to show off their efforts. Always looking for more. You can send your product to be reviewed to 1161 St. Clair Ave West, Toronto, ON, M6E 1B2.
I always write my reviews under the influence of the marijuana being reviewed. Usually rocking out on Blip to get the beat of my words down. If I had it together I would return to my original career as a music critic and do cannabis and album reviews. Rock out to a album to be reviewed while vaporizing marijuana also being reviewed. My influence is to take a music critic approach to my weed reviews. With a bit of food critic thrown in. Note, the music critic is sent everything. Developing a pallet takes time. Publicists pester professional critics (not food ones), offer dinners, passes and the like to curry favor. If weed arrived around here at the pace music, movies and other culture sent to alt-weeklies like NOW I’d have to hire a staff.
It’s more difficult to be critical with weed because it’s generally all very, very, good. The people handing me buds are proud of their homegrown grass. They want to show someone who will appreciate it by photographing and blogging their senses. In other words I’m getting cream.
Rarely am I afforded an opportunity to review the same strain twice. I’ve had a few strains several times now. Especially my favorite Jean Guy. I can even identify her.
Then exactly what are we judging? The grower, the genetics or the bud. Or combination of all three. I believe all of the above. Some weed is well grown, but doesn’t do diddly for my health condition or have a solid marijuana high. Then there’s weed that works for me and isn’t well grown. Flush your plants! Breeders do produce strains that do just suck Cartman’s balls.
Marijuana grown by two different people will produce different results. Based on skill level, nutrients and soil. Presuming both received equal genetics. One growers seed maybe fresh and vibrant while another receives old tired beans.
A goal we have is to hold a grower competition involving the same strain. Everyone picks up their clone on the same day and returns 90 later with finished result. With the clone producer not allowed to compete as they grew the mother plant.
26 Jul
reeferpunk
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| Graphic: Reeferpunk |
Fistful of Reefer is a dieselpunk, weird Western pulp novel featuring goats, guns, and the camaraderie of outcasts. Marijuana was the plan, liberty the dream, revolution the result. Viva this!
David Mark Brown’s debut novel is the first in a series he calls Reeferpunk — an alternate history that explores the ramifications of an industrial revolution sans cheap oil.
Set along the Texas-Mexico border during the waning years of the Mexican Revolution, Fistful of Reefer focuses on a group of unlikely heroes and their equally unlikely foe as they stumble upon the fringes of a cabal bent on nothing short of redrawing geopolitical boundaries and world domination.
Anticipated release of this ebook exclusive is July 31. ~ Editor
By David Mark Brown
Special to Toke of the Town
If any of you are old enough, you might remember the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups commercial, “You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!” The ad ended with the tagline, “Two great tastes that taste great together.” That’s how I feel about Reeferpunk. Whether you end up preferring punk in your reefer or reefer in your punk, from now on they just gotta go together.
The term reefer, made popular by the cult-classic exploitation film Reefer Madness [1936], first appears in the consciousness of the nation in the 1930s as Harry J. Anslinger and his new Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) began to back a campaign to label Indian hemp the culprit for flappers gone wild. (It was either hemp or jazz music. And you ain’t got a thing, if you ain’t got that swing.)
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| Author David Mark Brown is writing a series of alternate history “Reeferpunk” novels, “Fistful of Reefer” being the first. |
Problem: Hemp was already being labeled as the new million or even billion dollar crop in the U.S., as Popular Mechanics stated in their 1938 article. No one knows for sure, but the origins of the word “reefer” seem to derive from “grifa,” Mexican Spanish slang for marijuana at the time.
Whatever its origins, reefer (along with the term marijuana itself) created a nifty solution. Reefer = bad. Hemp = good. (Most Americans still haven’t figured out they’re the same plant.)
The very attempt to define punk as a movement is a pretty ridiculously un-punk thing to do. But whoever said I was punk? So here goes.
Punk can most simply be defined as a youth movement of the late 1970s, characterized by anti-Establishment slogans, and concerned with concepts such as rebellion, anti-authoritarianism, individualism, free thought and discontent (who knew discontent could be a concept?).
So what does reefer have to do with punk? The reefer madness era was about public fears and government agencies hanging society’s problems on a newly created drug — reefer. Prohibition had worked pretty well, but only in widening the moral divide and creating pet shop speakeasies.
Dang it all, kids were still committing wanton acts of carnality (even with colored folk!) and leaving the farm for the big city. They were still acting like rebellious, anti-authoritarian individuals. Those stinking punks.
In comes reefer to save the day. Here is a wonderful quote from Anslinger himself:
“By the tons it is coming into this country — the deadly, dreadful poison that racks and tears not only the body, but the very heart and soul of every human being who once becomes a slave to it in any of its cruel and devastating forms … Marihuana is a short cut to the insane asylum. Smoke marihuana cigarettes for a month and what was once your brain will be nothing but a storehouse of horrid specters. Hasheesh makes a murderer who kills for the love of killing out of the mildest mannered man who ever laughed at the idea that any habit could ever get him…”
And again,
“There are 100,000 total marihuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marihuana usage. This marihuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.”
It was punk, via time machine, that gave birth to reefer. Discontented youth generations ago (American forerunners of punk) were rebuffed by a nation in desperate need for stability during a time of turmoil and economic depression. (Reminiscent much?)
The result was the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act that sealed the fate of both recreational and industrial uses of cannabis for the next 75 years. As a bonus, all those horny Negroes, Hispanics and jazz entertainers were either deported, fined or imprisoned. What will be the result today?
Punk culture contributes to society when it is able to see past popular scapegoats and instead demands real solutions. Reefer and immigrants weren’t the real problems in the 1930s any more than they are today.
What is? Well, how the hell and I supposed to know? I’m just a writer.
Reeferpunk, a series of alternate history novels, are my tongue-in-cheek means of posing the same questions, and having a blast while doing it.
The first book in the series, Fistful of Reefer, is a pulp featuring goats, guns and the camaraderie of outcasts. The second book in the series, Twitch and Die!, a Western plague novel, is planned for release by Christmas.
24 Jul
What Is The Best Strain Of Medical Marijuana For Helping Nausea?
The use of medical marijuana to relieve nausea is well established, both anecdotally and from research papers. Both THC and cannabinoids are known to mitigate nausea, and smoking weed gives better relief from vomiting that taking THC orally.
A two studies undertaken in 2007 revealed that THC improves appetite and reduced weight loss in AIDS patients and smoking medical marijuana led to an increased intake of cannabis and weight gain.
As nausea and vomiting are side-effects of many treatments and symptoms of many illnesses, marijuana is a powerful drug to have in the medical armory and a synthetic form of THC to be taken in oral form was created for this very reason. However, the majority of patients prefer to smoke or vaporize ‘real’ cannabis instead of taking the artificial form.
What is most exciting about the link between weed and nausea is the fact that in cases where standard anti-emetics have failed to provide any relief, medical marijuana did the job. A recent study published in the New York State Journal of Medicine reported on 56 patients who were given marijuana following the failure of traditional anti-emetic drugs to relieve their sickness. The astounding result was a 78% success rate in this group of patients after smoking medical marijuana.
How to I use Medical Marijuana for my Nausea
Your very first action, if you are thinking about treating your nausea with medical marijuana, is to check out the medical marijuana state laws where you live. Despite the evidence of its usefulness in this situation, nausea doesn’t appear on the qualifying medical conditions of every state.
Having said that, you may well find that your primary condition – the illness which is causing you to feel sick and/or vomit – does appear on the approved list. Cancer, for instance, is pretty universal as far as state laws go.
If you discover that you can legally use marijuana to ease your nausea, you will need to find a medical marijuana doctor.
Are there any Particular Medical Marijuana Strains that are Good for Nausea
The Indica dominant Chemo strain of marijuana was reputedly developed by Dr David Suzuki back in the 1970s for the specific role of treating the nausea and pain that is associated with chemotherapy treatment.
Users report a pleasant aroma – a very important factor when dealing with nausea. As far as flavor is concerned, when allowed to linger in the mouth, there is a distinctly sweet and sugary taste.
Chemo makes an excellent night time medicine as it helps with pain as well as nausea – it’s particularly good for relieving stomach pain. Because of its indica dominance (almost 100%) it does not leave behind any feelings of anxiety or paranoia.
If you live in a state where cultivation of medical marijuana is allowed, then Chemo is quick to flower and gives high yields – around 500 grams per square meter. Seeds are widely available.
Lots of good quality research together with pretty powerful anecdotal stories make it very difficult to ignore the fact that medical marijuana does help ease the symptoms of nausea.
Courtesy of the Medical Marijuana Blog
http://www.theweedblog.com/what-is-the-best-strain-of-medical-marijuana-for-helping-nausea/
23 Jul
Rick Simpson: Run From The Cure
Rick Simpson: Run From The Cure
http://www.theweedblog.com/rick-simpson-run-from-the-cure/
Rick Simpson has been providing people with Hemp Oil medicines, at no cost, for about years. The results have been nothing short of amazing. Watch the documentary Run From The Cure to understand more about using cannabis as a cure for cancer and other medical problems!
22 Jul
animal testing
The long-term administration of delta-9-THC, the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana, is associated with decreased mortality in monkeys infected with the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), a primate model of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) disease, according to in vivo experimental trial data published in the June issue of the journal AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses.
Investigators at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center assessed the impact of chronic intramuscular THC administration compared to placebo on immune and metabolic indicators of SIV disease during the initial six-month phase of infection.
Researchers reported, “Contrary to what we expected, … delta-9-THC treatment clearly did not increase disease progression, and indeed resulted in generalized attenuation of classic markers of SIV disease.” Authors also reported that THC administration was associated with “decreased early mortality from SIV infection” and “retention of body mass.”
Investigators concluded, “These results indicate that chronic delta-9-THC does not increase viral load or aggravate morbidity and may actually ameliorate SIV disease progression.”
Clinical trials have previously documented that the short-term inhalation of cannabis does not adversely impact viral loads in HIV patients, and may even improve immune function.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, “Cannabinoid administration attenuates the progression of simian immunodeficiency virus,” is available online here:http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/aid.2010.0218. Additional studies documenting the disease modifying potential of marijuana is available in the NORML handbook, Emerging Clinical Applications For Cannabis & Cannabinoids: Fourth Edition, available online at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7002.
From Norml.org
21 Jul
“I Don’t Want You To Smoke; I Just Want You To Understand Why I Do”
I Don’t Want You To Smoke; I Just Want You To Understand Why I Do
Posted by No Inhale at 3:22 pm on July 21, 2011
My name is No Inhale. I am 20 years old and I live in Portland, Oregon. I am part-owner and administrator for The Weed Blog. I don’t have a criminal record and I’m attending school full-time, but still people don’t think I am capable of leading a healthy and productive life. I’m not here to endorse smoking marijuana, nor am I here to convince anyone to try it. I am only asking those around me to, not only understand why I smoke cannabis, but accept it, as well.
I first smoked when I was a freshman in high school; I was 14 years old and just as blissfully unaware of my own ignorance as I am now. I didn’t like how it made me feel then, so I only did it a handful of times before quitting for the remainder of my high school career. I was approached by Johnny Green and Ninja Smoker in May of last year. They knew I supported those who used marijuana, but did not smoke it myself. This gave me enough credibility (and relevance) to start writing for the website. It’s a year later, and a few things have changed; mainly, that now I am, once again, a marijuana consumer.
I remember the petty judgments and shallow reception the “stoners” got in high school, but I always thought the animosity stemmed from 1,200 insecure teenagers forced to be around each other five days a week. Unfortunately, the adult world can be just as judgmental and closed-minded as a pack of 16 year old girls. Both sides of this issue are tired of the opposition’s repetitive rhetoric. Stoners, bible thumpers, rednecks, liberals, conservatives, hippies have all been beating their dead horses since June, 1971. It’s gotten so ridiculous that both sides are stretching the truth to serve their causes.
My time around cannabis culture has exposed me to hundreds of claims and “facts” about marijuana; many contradicting. What I have extrapolated from my experiences is much less dramatic than a painful death or a cure to all ailments. Marijuana is a plant; it grows naturally in the dirt. The fact that we have made nature illegal should show you how out of hand this has gotten. My father recently passed away from esophageal cancer. It was a three year battle of hell, but marijuana helped him enjoy his last years alive. I can’t imagine anyone would want to throw him in jail for trying to make his last years livable. Marijuana is not the cause of, nor the cure for, cancer, it’s just a plant that amplifies the positive emotions a person feels. Food tastes better, movies are more enjoyable, people are friendlier. Marijuana gives me a certain lucidity, a certain intimacy with everything around me, including myself. Sounds super stoney, right? So, who gives a shit?? Let me be a stoner. Let me laugh at Jay and Silent Bob, let me appreciate every-day objects as divine creation, let me see the beauty and symmetry this world has to offer. Why do you care? Let me enrich my life the way I want to. Let me roll my spliff and sink into my own subconscious, I promise you will come to see that marijuana is just another consumable this earth offers. No different from an apple, no different from chocolate cake, no different than salt and pepper. I don’t want you to join me (although you are always welcome), I just want you to understand and leave me to my happiness.
