Marijuana Blog

Kathy Taylor never expected at age 66 to be fighting for her grandson’s right to marijuana.

 

But that was before her grandson was stricken with relentless seizures which began around his first birthday. The spasms and convulsions cause his head to jerk violently and make his eyelids flutter and his eyes roll. They last up to 45 minutes.

 

Now nearly three, he takes powerful drugs that nauseate him and have caused severe weight loss. But his seizures continue.

 

Especially distressing to Taylor is how her grandson stopped singing nursery rhymes and has regressed intellectually.

 

“They can’t develop because their brain is dealing with non-stop seizures,” the Derry Twp. resident said. “You end up with a kid that’s disappearing right before your eyes.”

 

Taylor, a retired lawyer, is among a contingent of Harrisburg-area parents pushing for Pennsylvania to legalize marijuana for medical use. Many have children with severe seizure disorders

 

Read more: http://www.pennlive.com

For a lot of people, this is a very touchy subject. Understandable, considering the negative stigma that any sort of intoxicant from alcohol to caffeine can harm a pregnancy. Most of the time, this is enough for mothers to avoid using cannabis while pregnant. Since there is no research, the risk is too high and almost all mothers would rather quit smoking for the nine months that they're carrying their baby. When a mother is pregnant, there really is no need for munchies when an expecting mother already craves crazy food all the time, right?

 

As usual, it's hard to get scientific information on this topic. There are two main reasons for this. One is that there is no one to back a study that may or may not harm a mother and her unborn child. While cannabis has no known harmful effects, it's unknown what it could possibly do to a fetus. The second reason, and probably the one that's most annoying, is the fact that most doctors and hospitals will report mothers to the authorities if the mother admits to using cannabis while pregnant. If an expecting mother admits to using cannabis, the hospital can actually drug test the expecting mother. If someone is going to be honest enough to admit they use cannabis, why are they going to be punished for it?

 

Cannabis has been historically recorded as being an assist during childbirth and pregnancy. These reports go all the way back to the 7th century BC. That's a decent amount of time for people to have been using cannabis as a female medicine. There are records of both Chinese and Persian cultures using the plants seeds and flowers to prevent miscarriages, induce contractions, and lower the risk of pre-partum hemorrhaging. In addition, cannabis tincture has reportedly been used to speed up pregnancy and to terminate any nausea related with the baby. Add in the records of cannabis being used as a pregnancy medicine in Africa, India, and Southeast Asia.

 

These days, records of mothers using marijuana are few and far between. Probably because of the illegal status of the plant. How unfortunate, right? This plant was used by very smart cultures for thousands of years to assist women in making childbirth and labor easier. Now, mother's have to quit smoking completely or risk losing their medical care or perhaps even their freedom. A survey done by the Vancouver Compassion Society and the BC Compassion Club published a survey that showed 36 out of 84 respondents said that they used cannabis during their pregnancy to treat multiple symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, and problems with eating. 92% of those women said that cannabis was extremely effective in treating the problems that they were having. These women had different ways of taking the cannabis. Some smoked it, while others ate edibles and some used oils or tincture.

 

The small amount of studies that have been released about the effects of marijuana on the development and birth weight of the children has been discovered to be slightly minimal. Numerous reports have concluded that there just isn't enough evidence present to make a certain claim that cannabis has negative effects on pregnant women. So whether or not it is safe to use the plant while pregnant is up to the mother. Do you research. There are plenty of studies available, although most are quite outdated. In the end, it is your choice.

PHOENIX — Medical marijuana users have no constitutional right to grow their own drug, a trial judge has ruled.

 

Judge Katherine Cooper of Maricopa County Superior Court threw out a challenge by two men to a provision in the 2010 voter-approved Arizona Medical Marijuana Act that says only those living farther than 25 miles from a state-regulated dispensary can cultivate the plants.

 

She said there is no basis for their claim that the provision limits their health-care rights.

 

But Cooper left the door open for the men to raise a separate challenge that the 25-mile rule amounts to a violation of their rights under constitutional provisions guaranteeing everyone equal protection of the law. She said, though, they have yet to make a case for that claim.

 

The 2010 law allows those with a doctor’s recommendation to get a card from the state allowing them to obtain and possess up to 2½ ounces of marijuana every two weeks.

 

That law also envisioned a system of state-regulated dispensaries to sell the drug. But it also says anyone who lives farther than 25 miles from a dispensary could grow up to 12 plants at any one time.

 

Initially, that exemption applied to everyone because it took the state more than a year to license dispensaries. But state Health Director Will Humble said just about all of the approximately 40,000 medical-marijuana cardholders in Arizona now live close enough to a dispensary.

 

The challengers, who had been growing their own, did not want to give up that right.

 

They cited provisions of a 2012 constitutional amendment that says individuals cannot be forced to participate in any health-care system.

 

Attorney Michael Walz said forcing those who are entitled to use medical marijuana to buy their drugs at retail from a dispensary amounts to forcing them to participate in that system.

 

Cooper disagreed.

 

“Dispensaries are not a ‘health-care system,’ ” the judge wrote.

 

She said they do not manage, process, enroll or pay for health-care services for qualifying patients.

 

Read more: http://azstarnet.com

Bong water is purely something that is up to the users preference. However, some people find that it's more soothing to use hot water as compared to cold/room temp water. At the same time, using hot or warm water may cause an argument since there is the idea that adding ice to a bong causes lung problems. There are definitely differences in the kinds of water you decide to use.

 

Warm water tends to be soothing to people that are sensitive to the smoke or those with a cold. Those who use warm water use say that it also might give the user a better high, although that's slightly debatable. Since THCA becomes THC when lit with a lighter or wick, adding more heat could arguably dissipate some of the THC. Also, like mentioned above, adding that water vapor to the smoke could actually be harmful to the lungs, much like that of the ice theory. But if you've got a cold with  sore throat or a cough, warmer water is definitely better than cold water.

 

Cold water gives the weed a seriously crisp taste. This is the best if you're really trying to taste what you're smoking. Although colder water is much harder on the throat and lungs, some people genuinely prefer the hit of ice cold smoke. Adding ice has it's downsides, however, as the ice melts, the water must be continuously emptied. There also seems to be more reports of hard water stains on pieces when cold water or ice water is used, making cleaning a priority.

 

As stated in the Ice In The Bong article that was posted, there is very little scientific evidence to support that ice or hot water will effect the lungs negatively. Since everyone's body is different, it all depends on the person. But if possible, it would be smart to talk to your doctor about the effects of the water vapor in the lungs.