I have been one of those people saying, “If only we could get marijuana legal, we could do the research we need …!”
Uh, no.
There are TENS OF THOUSANDS of studies. I was amazed to learn this last year when I read this article by Paul Armentano from NORML. That organization fights for cannabis legalization, largely by bringing actual facts about the plant to the public. Please take a few minutes to learn how marijuana has become “the most studied plant on earth.”
July 1st, 2010 By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
US News & World Report recently probed the subject of cannabis science, publishing a pair of stories on the subject here and here.
Neither story particularly breaks any new ground, though the author (who I spoke with extensively prior to the stories publication) does note that investigators are now assessing the use of cannabis for a wide range of disease conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and the so-called ’superbug’ MRSA (multi-drug resistant bacterial infections).
Quoted in the story is Columbia University researcher Margaret Haney. I’ve written about Haney’s clinical work with cannabis before. In particular, Haney was the lead author of a 2007 clinical trial concluding that inhaled cannabis increased daily caloric intake and body weight in HIV-positive patients in a manner that was far superior to the effects of oral THC (Marinol aka Dronabinol). The study further reported that subjects’ use of marijuana was well tolerated, and did not impair their cognitive performance.
Yet Haney’s comments in US News and World Report ring tepid at best.
“I am not anti-marijuana, I’m not pro-marijuana. I want to understand it.” Haney expresses frustration at what she considers wrongheaded efforts by states to legalize medical marijuana. There is too much, she says, that scientists do not know.
Haney’s refrain is a common one, and at first glance it appears to make sense. After all, who among us doesn’t want to better understand the interactions between the marijuana plant and the human body? Yet placed in proper context this sentiment appears to be little more than a red herring. Here’s why.
Marijuana is already the most studied plant on Earth, and is arguably one of the most investigated therapeutically active substances known to man. To date, there are now over 20,000 published studies or reviews in the scientific literature pertaining to marijuana and its active compounds. That total includes over 2,700 separate papers published on cannabis in 2009 and another 900 published just this year alone (according to a key word search on the search engine PubMed).
And what have we learned from these 20,000+ studies? Not surprisingly, quite a lot. For starters, we know that cannabis and its active constituents are uniquely safe and effective as therapeutic compounds. Unlike most prescription or over-the-counter medications, cannabinoids are virtually non-toxic to health cells or organs, and they are incapable of causing the user to experience a fatal overdose. Unlike opiates, cannabinoids do not depress the central nervous system, and as a result they possess a virtually unparalleled safety profile. In fact, a2008 meta-analysis published in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association (CMAJ) reported that cannabis-based drugs were associated with virtually no serious adverse side effects in over 30 years of investigative use.
We also know that the cannabis plant contains in excess of 60 active compounds that likely possess distinctive therapeutic properties. These include THC, THCV, CBD, THCA, CBC, and CBG, among others. In fact, a recent review by Raphael Mechoulam and colleagues identifies nearly 30 separate therapeutic effects — including anti-cancer properties, anti-diabetic properties, neuroprotection, and anti-stroke properties — in cannabinoids other than THC. Most recently, a reviewby researchers in Germany reported that since 2005 there have been 37 controlled studies assessing the safety and efficacy of cannabinoids, involved a total of 2,563 subjects. By contrast, most FDA-approved drugs go through far fewer trials involving far fewer subjects.
Finally, we know that Western civilization has been using cannabis as a therapeutic agent or recreational intoxicant for thousands of years with relatively few adverse consequences — either to the individual user or to society. In fact, no less than the World Health Organization commissioned a team of experts to compare the health and societal consequences of marijuana use compared to other drugs, including alcohol, nicotine, and opiates. After quantifying the harms associated with both drugs, the researchers concluded: “Overall, most of these risks (associated with marijuana) are small to moderate in size. In aggregate they are unlikely to produce public health problems comparable in scale to those currently produced by alcohol and tobacco. On existing patterns of use, cannabis poses a much less serious public health problem than is currently posed by alcohol and tobacco in Western societies.”
That, in a nutshell, is what we ‘know’ about cannabis. I’d say that it’s ample enough information to, at the very least, cease the practice arresting people who possess it. As for what else Dr. Haney and others of a similar mindset would still like to know — and how many additional studies would it take to provide them with that information — well, that’s anybody’s guess.
The full article and many other useful resources are available on NORML’s website.
I found this article while studying Rastafarianism. I read it first and then absorbed the date — over eight years ago now. Such a compelling, firm message emerges at the end of the article that it just makes me shake my head in sadness to find us here eight years further down the road.
There are a precious few more LOCAL legal exceptions now, but throughout the United States we still face the daily threat of losing our children, our families, our jobs, our medicine, our freedom.
Despite the much-publicized freedom in this country to pursue one’s spiritual development as s/he decides. Despite the fact that we pride ourselves in being a compassionate nation that gives health care to those who need.
My freedom to choose this religion (and others) is still being restricted even though you are statistically more likely to be harmed tripping over your couch than by my meditative use of cannabis. And yet if I practice this religion and/or grow or use marijuana even for a medical reason I have a significantly higher likelihood of being anally raped in prison over the next 10 years. I am not being glib. (If you laughed, I’m happy that I entertained you but you should know that I’m very motivated when it comes to the health and integrity of my anal sphincter.)
But in all seriousness, my freedom of religion has been adjusted and my access to a natural, extraordinarily effective, inexpensive and demonstrably safe mode of health care has been blocked.
So has yours.
Please take 5 minutes and read this article. Maybe send a note to the author if he’s still around and tell him he’s still right. And while you’re writing, write a letter to send to each one of your government representatives asking them what they are doing specifically to make cannabis safely available to adults. And then keep writing just a bit more, on your calendar, with a recurring monthly appointment to revise those letters and send them again. If you need help writing them, I’m your man. Just click on that Contact link I have all over the website.
May 29, 2002
Federal Court Rules in Rastafarian Case
In an opinion issued Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, some marijuana-using Rastafarians may be protected under a religious-freedom law passed by Congress in 1993.
The case began in 1991 when Benny Guerrero, returning from a trip to Hawaii, was stopped by officials at Guam’s international airport. Mr. Guerrero evidently attracted the eyes of authority because he was carrying a book about Rastafarianism and marijuana. A search of Guerrero’s luggage turned up five ounces of marijuana and some Cannabis seeds. He was arrested and charged with importation of a controlled substance.
In his defense, Guerrero argued that he was a practicing Rastafarian and that his use of marijuana was religious. His importation of the herb was, he argued, protected under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a law that blocks the federal government from unjustifiably infringing on a person’s practice of religion.
After litigating the case for more than ten years, the Ninth Circuit ruled on Tuesday that while the Religious Freedom Restoration Act might protect some Rastafarians who possess or smoke marijuana as part of their religious practices, it does not protect the importation of marijuana, even if that marijuana was intended for religious use. According to the Ninth Circuit, while the practice of Rastafarianism sanctions the smoking of marijuana, nowhere does the religion sanction the importation of marijuana.
As Guerrero’s lawyer Graham Boyd pointed out in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, the court’s ruling was “equivalent to saying wine is a necessary sacrament for some Christians but you have to grow your own grapes.”
The ruling also has much in common with the current situation facing people, such as AIDS and Crohn’s Disease patients, who find that marijuana alleviates some of their pain and provides other medical benefits such as increasing their appetite. Although eight states now permit citizens to use marijuana for medicinal purposes with the approval of their doctor, the federal government has loudly stated its intention to criminally prosecute anyone who dares to supply a sick person with medical marijuana. Thus, people whose health is already compromised are forced to shovel dirt and labor over a Cannabis garden, or make friends with a marijuana dealer.
According to the latest Household Survey on Drug Abuse, over 16 million Americans used an illegal drug in the last 30 days. The overwhelming majority of these people, just like the overwhelming majority of people who use legal drugs, did so responsibly and without problems. Some of those people may find that their use of an illegal drug occasioned a religious experience, and others may find that use of an illegal drug provided pain relief that they have been unable to achieve by any other means. To the extent that the vast majority of these 16 million Americans used an illegal drug without causing harm to others, our criminal justice system ought to leave them alone and instead focus on protecting us from dangerous criminals.
Instead, the government has just requested over 19 billion dollars of tax-payer money to fight yet another year of the “war on drugs” and it’s not about to let religion, medicine, or basic human rights, for that matter, stand in its way.
Lost in the haze of its zero-tolerance prohibition policy, and drunk on its hyperbolic rhetoric about how marijuana leads you through the Devil’s gateway, the government continues to flex its weary muscles in an antiquated effort to save as many souls from damnation as possible.
Enough is Enough.
Richard Glen Boire is legal counsel for the Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics.
You owe it to yourself to spend 3 and a half minutes watching this. No words, just simple animation and a deep message. Yeah, it’s a little simplistic. But this is actually a pretty simple issue. There’s a plant that grows wild in nature. It does a world of good, safely, and it’s illegal. Who benefits, I ask you? Think about it while you’re watching this video, and please spread this video as widely as you can. Mr. Obama, let’s end this cruel prohibition now. (yeah, like he’s reading MY blog; but it COULD happen!)
Several months ago I first discovered ProCon.org. I’m probably summarizing it incorrectly, but from my perspective it takes complex and divisive issues and presents the evidence for both sides of the argument. Below I’ve linked to the medical marijuana area at ProCon. It’s a little simplistic in places, and I’d prefer a bit more vetting of the sources, but it’s a good overview for someone wanting to understand why someone would support or NOT support legalizing marijuana for medical use.
I should emphasize that this site does NOT advocate for any particular viewpoint, but rather presents information that you can use to help you make up your mind. Next time you have 5 extra minutes, take a look. And if you have 10 minutes, you might want to click around some of the other issues as well. Superb educational opportunity.
Here’s the link to the official M.M.I.C info from San Diego County. One of my local grower friends pointed out that I’ve talked about doctor’s recommendations, but not this ‘official’ card that costs about $170 but protects you more than a doctor’s recommendation within San Diego. I’ll integrate into the Getting Started articles at some point, but in the meantime, enjoy the bureaucratic version:
A grow that had literally been inspected and approved by a local sherrif, which was legally licensed for fees of more than $1000 to the local government, was raided in a most unprofessional fashion by the DEA. And the Obama administration seems to be ok with this. Don’t make me agree with Palin, Mr. President. I’m needing some of that hopey changey stuff about now.
Thanks to J for the great article find.
from 'redheaded blackbelt' blog, click image to see original
Was watching the local ABC affiliate news just now and saw that emergency room visits related to prescription narcotics like hydrocodone (Vicodin) and oxycontin were more than DOUBLE last year. The newscaster noted that ‘experts say’ this is an education problem. That people need to know more about the ‘right’ way to take these drugs.
I was pleased to note once again that there was NO mention of marijuana. Many many many millions of people are getting genuine relief from symptoms of pain and more. From a plant, just as nature gave it to us.
Just thought it was worth mentioning.
Oh, and I’m throwing in a funny, just because it’s funny. Have a great weekend everyone!
Each little bottle represents about an eighth of an ounce of medical marijuana used. About as many flowers as you could hold in both your hands all together. Not a big price to pay for controlling nausea through five months of chemo without harsh pharmaceuticals. It’s time to legalize this PLANT right now. Please use this site, www.theplantrant.com, and www.norml.org to get more info. You owe it to yourself. You owe it to every chemo sufferer who’s puking her guts out right now.
Each little bottle represents about an eighth of an ounce of medical marijuana used. About as many flowers as you could hold in both your hands all together. Not a big price to pay for controlling nausea through five months of chemo without harsh pharmaceuticals. It's time to legalize this PLANT right now. Please use this site, www.theplantrant.com, and www.norml.org to get more info. You owe it to yourself. You owe it to every chemo sufferer who's puking her guts out right now.
I just read an NPR article entitled ’The New Marijuana’: Where Do We Blow From Here?”, by Philip Bruce. I love those guys, but someone should tell them the real story is in the fact that their ARTICLE PHOTO is wrong. Picky detail or right to the heart of the issue? You decide:
See that Rx paper? In fact, you CANNOT get a doctor’s prescription (only a ‘recommendation’ as briefly noted in passing). Why? Because the federal government considers marijuana *MORE DANGEROUS* than the oxycontin, vicodin, morphine, etc. that are flooding our streets. These lethal poisons can be prescribed by any medical doctor.
But *not* the cannabis PLANT.
Are you picking up what I’m laying down here, friends?
Honestly though, it’s only useful as a very high-level overview of the legalization effort in California. If you really want to know what’s happening in this civil rights battle (yes, I said it), click on the NORML link on this page (see it over there on the left?) and go spend a few minutes getting educated. The so-called “marijuana culture” or “cannabis culture” is an amazing world that a lot of people in this country are completely missing because they have bought into the marijuana taboo. This site is dedicated (as am I) to challenging this taboo and ensuring our children live in a more compassionate world.
Sorry. I have to get ornery with a few of you here. I don’t mean to be rude and pushy; really that’s not what this is about. I’m not trying to convert anyone. Believe what you want! Be happy!
But, guys, real people are suffering RIGHT NOW. Millions of people are hurting in the U.S. because of a failed U.S. drug policy and the lack of political will and integrity to make the necessary changes. How well do you know the facts on this issue? We all know what it takes to make real change. Marijuana will be available to relieve suffering in this country when enough of us get off our butts and start educating ourselves and getting involved.
Still here? Cool. Look, people I love very much went through misery and are GOING through misery because too many of you are going to read this article and move on without making a change in mind or action. People YOU love may face pain and nausea and tremors and, frankly, levels of torment most of you cannot imagine.
Against that backdrop let me paint you a simple picture. I can pick the flowers off this plant, dry them, blow hot air across them, breath the vapor (NOT smoke) and have INSTANT relief from suffering. This plant has a several-thousand-year recorded history of being safely used with clear benefits. Do you disagree? Superb! Go research this and prove me wrong.
Do you agree? I’m curious about what you want to contribute. In the comments below, if you’re one of the rare people willing to speak publicly. But if not, that’s ok! (Our culture is so anti-marijuana that it’s understandable why you’d want to be private about this!) Just drop me a message by using the Contact link up above on the right. It sends me a direct and private email.
Will you call your representatives? Start reading relevant news articles? Read every article on this site? (sorry, I couldn’t resist throwing that in!). Donate to NORML? I can’t wait to hear your plans!
Ah well…I got off on a bit of a rant there. But the site IS called THE PLANT RANT, so I guess I can be forgiven.
Wishing you each safety, peace and happiness. Stay well, friends!
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