Medical Marijuana

In just about any poll you see on marijuana legalization, the age group least in favor of it are senior citizens. And yet, as former federal prisoner Robert Platshorn points out, they are often in the most need of it.

Platshorn served nearly 30 years in prison on federal drug charges, and since getting out four years ago, he's been promoting medical marijuana use to seniors in Florida in his “Silver Tour.” He contends that medical marijuana legalization is a done deal in Florida once seniors are on board, and that’s a likely scenario.

As with anything, the key to winning over seniors is information. Many never heard of marijuana growing up and what they found out later in life about it was likely government propaganda. And as they learn more, they begin to see the truth. They were lied to and now is there chance to learn and benefit from an amazing plant.

Everyone deserves to have the option of medical cannabis to help with their ailments. And since seniors generally have more ailments than those younger than them, it makes sense that they should be informed about this natural, non-toxic medicine that was kept from them for so long.

While many used this past Memorial Day weekend to honor our fallen soldiers and reflect on the sacrifices they made for us, the Drug Czar was busy lecturing surviving veterans about why they aren’t allowed medical marijuana to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other ailments.

The veterans’ group asked the White House specifically to "allow United States Disabled Military Veterans access to medical marijuana to treat their PTSD."

WH Response: https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/

The group put out a press release today detailing their disappointment with the White House’s response. “The White House response to our petition was very disappointing,” it read in part. “We asked for a change in policy. To have our petition answered by the drug czar, an ex-policeman, is most inappropriate given the drug czar is bound by law to ONLY discuss current law and has no power to discuss policy change with the public. Even the lowest ranking staffer at the White House or anyone from the Veterans Health Authority would have been more appropriate.

“Al Byrne, retired Naval Officer and co-founder of VMCA, was blunt in his assessment of the White House concern for injured Veterans:

“’Vets have used cannabis for PTS since the Revolutionary War. We know what we need and to be told by our President, the Commander in Chief, that he does not care about those he has sent to war by denying medicine to the wounded is unconscionable.’”

If the federal government can treat so many sick people with disregard, it’s little surprise that they have no compassion for our veterans as well.

Medical marijuana will never be fully accessible in the country without major federal policy changes. And that means a lot of political changes, in the White House and in Congress. There is still a long road to travel.

Source: http://www.salem-news.com

A new study out of Great Britain about the effects of cannabis on Multiple Sclerosis tries to portray a major defeat for medical marijuana opponents when all it really does is show the flaws of the study itself.

The large study out of Britain, funded by Britain's Medical Research Council, shows a failure of a single chemical in cannabis – tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – to work better than a placebo for MS patients. However, anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of cannabis knows it contains dozens of chemicals, including one that has to be included in any study of medical cannabis, CBD.

The second most common cannabinoid found in cannabis, CBD or cannabidiol, has been shown in many instances to be a powerful anti-inflammatory as well as being an effective medicine for anxiety, convulsions, and nausea and has even been shown to reduce the growth of cancer cells (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabidiol). Yet these researchers didn’t bother to include it in the study.

As many know, THC does have some medical benefits, but CBD and other cannabinoids are emerging as medical powerhouses in their own right. THC is the psychoactive chemical in cannabis that produces euphoria, among other feelings.

Whether you believe in creationism or evolution or some other form of intelligent design, cannabis is the way it is for a reason. Each chemical interacts with the others in special ways that have produced amazing results. This is why the synthetic drug Marinol fails for so many people, because it only contains THC.

If you’re not going to study all of the chemicals in cannabis, why bother? Medical marijuana patients get relief from the full range of cannabinoids, not by extracting certain ingredients.

David Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, says this study is just the beginning. "It would be wrong to interpret these preliminary findings to mean that cannabis does not achieve its licensed use. Cannabis is not licensed for limiting disease progression, it is licensed for dealing with spasticity and pain," he said.

Either way, “cannabis” wasn’t studied, THC was.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com

There are currently 44 people under the age of 18 with medical marijuana cards in Michigan. Three of them are even under the age of 10.

This has been described as controversial, but kids are put on anti-depression and anti-anxiety medication all the time. Millions of kids take ADHD medication every day. So where is the controversy with kids and prescription pills? Marijuana is a non-toxic plant yet suicidal thoughts are a side effect of every depression medication there is.

Consider the case of 14 year-old Cooper Brown. He suffers from epilepsy and his mother – fed up with the inconsistency and dangerous side effects of every prescription epilepsy medication they tried – turned to medical marijuana.

So Rebecca Brown is considered controversial. Yet her son has dramatically less seizures now that he is being medicated with cannabis edibles. What exactly is controversial about that?

Doctors say the lack of clinical trials is a problem, but when you are a desperate mother watching your child suffer from drugs that have plenty of “clinical” trials behind them, you may begin to wonder if the FDA has any idea what it’s talking about.

Rebecca Brown doesn’t have time to wait for the federal government and the FDA to stop playing politics and approve medical marijuana. Her son suffers daily, or at least he did so before she began medicating him with cannabis.

"This isn't something we entered into lightly," Rebecca said. "I've done a lot of reading and a lot of research. I have everything tested.

"I am not a pot smoker and never in a million years thought of trying this," she said. "But when your child is suffering and you feel desperate, you consider things you may not have before.

"Parents, when their kids are healthy, they take it for granted."

And when their kids aren’t healthy, parents take action – or at least they should. Rebecca Brown took action, and her son is better for it.

Source: http://www.freep.com