Louis - Speak To Me About Cannabis Reform

I found this post at
https://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners.com/index.php?showtopic=23834

If the author sees this, please contact me...

Hi, My name is Louis and Im an American that moved out here to Sydney a couple of years ago. Compared to back home, I feel like Australia (even Sydney and NSW where I live) have pretty reasonable cannabis law. Let me scratch that, the law is still pretty invasive, but it seems that enforcement for the average citizen is pretty lax. I mean, you can barely walk around without the sweet smell of a joint hitting your noise as it leaks from someone's house. However, it is still necessary that we look to make real progress with this issue. Ive wondered for years how the hell there hasnt been any progress on the medicinal front here even though there was a "commission" assigned to look at the viability of cannabis. It seems to me like there isnt a serious, unified push being made by intelligent, committed members of the community to bring the truth forward. Although there is tolerance to a certain degree in Australia, people continue to go to jail and patients continue to suffer for lack of medication. I mean, I see people sitting at all of our fine cafes here for hours at a time, self-medicating themselves with caffeine and cigarettes, all the while harbouring ignorant perspectives on freedom and more importantly on drug laws. Back in the US, I believe that we will have serious discussion for legalization within the next 5 years. The harmful effects of prohibition are far outweighing any perceived gains in the "war on drugs." As those invasive and racists policies fail, there will be opportunities all around the world to re-define not just which are illegal or legal drugs, but to re-define what freedom is, to one day be represented by OPEN government; to be able to know that justice does exists and that the hidden agendas of politicians and businessmen do not dictate the way of the world.

I'm not trying to say progress hasn't been made, but now is as good of a time as ever to set a serious foot forward. No matter where it is the movement for cannabis law reform should not only look to "free the weed," but to expose the lies, the propaganda and those responsible for literally taking away the lives of the imprisoned, the sick, the suffering and people of color that have seen entire communities destroyed not by drugs, but by ignorant drug policy, poor education and a system that treats health care issues with handcuffs and chains. For me, cannabis law reform is less about being able to head down to the Chemist and buy, and more about taking a major step to educate the public and politicians alike that drugs are not the problem here. It is ignorance, poor parenting, and a system that looks to blame and fight wars against concepts and inanimate objects such as "terror" and "drugs" and "poverty" that limits us. We need to realize that the real wars are fought within as we encounter all the realm of human experience. When we have a wealth of information to rely on we can make decisions that for better of for worse we will at least learn from. When our whole world is filled with mis-information and propaganda and lies, well its easy to see what we get; a failed financial system, overcrowded prisons and wars financed by the drugs, prostitution and "terror" that we so nobly spend billions to fight. What we do need here in Australia is a professional, focused lobby group for cannabis law reform. It seems that there are many willing to do their part, but we need to get together and approach the issue as citizens and taxpayers first, and cannabis users second. I am advocating the start of a national organization to fight for this cause. Say what you will about the Marijuana Policy Project or NORML, but they have gotten alot of airtime in the media and eventually, they will bring full legalization to the US. The question then will be, what were the costs of 70+ years of prohibition? Will those responsible for the lives destroyed feel remorse? What of the 7000 drug-related murders last year alone in Mexico? What of the guns, prostitution and even slavery necessary to the black market distribution of drugs? Will it have been worth it? We need lawyers, doctors, artists, accountants, web designers, architects, hospo workers and everyone else to step up and put an end to this. Not only so people can consume cannabis, but because true freedom will exist one day on this Earth and so those responsible for holding back human development for the advancement of political agenda will answer for all the injustice and harm that failed drug policy bring about.

I would really like to get going on developing a lobby group. If anyone is interested I intend to contact the MPP for any info our sources and work using a similar model to them. This means the focus will be on getting scientific information in the media to combat the propoganda, getting non-profit status, and having a well-informed community that understands the line that must be respected if we are to make any progress on this issue. I want to approach it in a very professional manner as I believe it is the only way to be heard with such a seemingly taboo issue in the political arena.

If anyone is interested or has any ideas, input or experience please reply.

-Louis

Cannabis Compounds Fight MRSA Bugs

The more research conducted, the more medicinal uses (re) found.

Researcher have found that natural cannabis compounds show ' "Exceptional" Antibacterial Activity Against MRSA'

Here's a link with more information:

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090423005798&newsLang=en

This is the company conducting the research:

http://www.cannabisscience.com

"Although the use of cannabinoids as systemic antibacterial agents awaits rigorous clinical trials, … their topical application to reduce skin colonization by MRSA seems promising. … Cannabis sativa … represents an interesting source of antibacterial agents to address the problem of multidrug resistance in MRSA and other pathogenic bacteria."

Some Honest Reporting about Cannabis

I have only just discovered the UKCIA. That is, the UK Cannabis Internet
Activist site http://www.ukcia.org/

I'm really impressed with the balanced view this site gives to cannabis.
Notable are the Cannabis Risks page:
http://www.ukcia.org/culture/effects/risks2.php

Also, if you've followed the mainstream media reports about the 'Ask Frank'
advice line for teens in the UK, you might like to read a different view
here:

http://ukcia.org/wordpress/?p=64

I'll be reviewing the UKCIA site some more and will give my opinion on the
site here in the near future. Meanwhile, pop on over and check it out for
yourself.

How Much Can a Koala Bear?

Smoking Cannabis will give you a 70% greater chance of developing testicular cancers:

The study involved 369 men with testicular cancer, and 979 cancer free individuals.
All participants filled out a questionnaire. Of those, only 250 of the cancer patients could be interviewed, and just over half the cancer free subjects.
The conclusions of the study itself say this:

An association was observed between marijuana use and the occurrence of nonseminoma TGCTs. Additional studies of TGCTs will be needed to test this hypothesis, including molecular analyses of cannabinoid receptors and endocannabinoid signaling, which may provide clues regarding the biologic mechanisms of TGCTs.

The study led to a hypothesis, not a concrete (nor even a silly putty) result. The study results translate into plain english thus:

After the resulting surveys and interviews, we came to the conclusion that we think there might be a possible link between testicular cancers and smoking cannabis. However, we need to do a lot more study to be able to draw any firm conclusions. After all, this is just a hypothesis.

Now, add to this the fact that the incidence of testicular cancer amongst men in general is (for the United States) about 1% of all cancers diagnosed in the male population. That is, about 8000 cases. Of those 8000, about 400 people die from the disease. Of those 8000, only 3200 of them will have the specific cancer that this study leans toward; the nonseminoma variety. Even if there were a proven link, it would be on par with eating margarine on burnt toast as a risk factor for cancer. Or, in a statistical sense, IF a valid association between cannabis smoking and nonseminoma testicular cancer is found, heavy pot smoking males will have around a 0.8% chance of developing this form of the disease, compared to a 0.5% chance for the rest of the population.

Smoking cannabis and tobacco will give you a threefold increased risk of developing COPD.

Once again, rather than throw up a bunch of media links, I'll cut to some pages that deal directly with the study that drew the above conclusion. Suffice to say, cannabis is not the cause of the problem:

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n433/a04.html

These studies, involving mainly younger individuals, have provided inconsistent but suggestive evidence that smoking marijuana only may lead to modest airflow obstruction and hyperinflation that could predispose the individual to COPD later in life. The findings of Tan and colleagues9 add to the limited evidence of an association between use of marijuana and COPD because their study focuses on an older population ( aged 40 or older ) that is at greater risk of COPD. Their finding that concurrent smoking of marijuana and tobacco is associated with a greater likelihood of COPD than smoking only tobacco implies a possible additive effect of the 2 substances on lung health. An additive effect was also suggested by Taylor and colleagues, whose study involved a younger population. By contrast, Aldington and colleagues concluded that concurrent smoking of marijuana and tobacco attenuated the association between smoking tobacco and a reduced ratio of FEV1 to FVC and respiratory symptoms.

Firm conclusions cannot be drawn about the association between use of marijuana and COPD based on the limited and inconsistent data available. The studies that address this topic are limited by their small numbers of participants and by the uncertain accuracy of self-reported use of marijuana, particularly in view of its illegality and the difficulty of accurately recalling amounts previously used. Some of these studies are also limited by their cross-sectional design, and most are limited by the young age ( 40 years or younger ) of participants. Nevertheless, the consistency of some aspects of the available data allows us to more firmly conclude that smoking marijuana by itself can lead to respiratory symptoms because of injurious effects of the smoke on larger airways. Given the consistently reported absence of an association between use of marijuana and abnormal diffusing capacity or signs of macroscopic emphysema, we can be close to concluding that smoking marijuana by itself does not lead to COPD.

To further ease your mind on this issue, check out the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical care Medicine:

http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/155/1/141

We conclude that regular tobacco, but not marijuana, smoking is associated with greater annual rates of decline in lung function than is nonsmoking. These findings do not support an association between regular marijuana smoking and chronic COPD but do not exclude the possibility of other adverse respiratory effects.

Smoking cannabis will lead to a psychotic episode or schizophrenia

This statement has been discredited a number of times. However, for the point of argument, check out the transcript of this documentary episode from the Australian ABC TV 'Catalyst' program:

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2402434.htm

Narration: But if that’s true, how come so few cannabis users become psychotic? One third of Australians have tried marijuana, yet only 1% of the population have schizophrenia. Who are the people at risk? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, was discovered in a picturesque corner of South Island, New Zealand. Dunedin is home to one of the world’s best longitudinal studies. Since 1972, they’ve been subjecting a group of 1000 people to a barrage of tests and questions. In 2005, they announced an astonishing discovery – a gene for vulnerability to cannabis.

Professor Richie Poulton: The gene we looked at is called the catechol-O-methyltransferase – or COMT for short. And we looked at it because it’s a gene that stands out in families that have schizophrenia.

Narration: And what does this COMT gene do? Well, as it happens, it regulates our old friend, dopamine.

Jonica: Let’s say these are the COMT genes – this is the good gene – this is the bad gene. Now, everyone gets two of them, so you can get two good genes or one each. But, if you get two of the bad genes, well it seems your ability to regulate dopamine is impaired.

Narration: Which might not matter, unless you smoke cannabis.

Professor Poulton: We found that among adolescents who had used cannabis on a monthly basis or more, who had the bad version of the gene, their chances of developing psychosis by their mid 20’s were increased 11 fold.

Jonica: 11 fold. That’s extraordinary.

Professor Poulton: It is. So this explains why the use of cannabis among a small group of people has a devastating effect in terms of the likelihood of developing psychosis, but most people remain unharmed and unscathed.

So, if I understand correctly, the crux of this is that a defective gene and not cannabis is the reason for some people becoming psychotic when smoking pot?

Another ABC program, 'Quantum', has this on its 'What's Your Poison?' page:

http://www.abc.net.au/quantum/poison/marijuan/marijuan.htm

Does cannabis cause psychosis?
It is believed that cannabis use may cause a condition known as a drug-induced psychosis which can last for up to a few days and is often characterised by hallucinations, delusions, memory loss and confusion. However, in some cases, cannabis use may contribute to the development of a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia. Cannabis use can prolong the duration of symptoms of mental illness and can lower a person's chances of recovering from a psychotic episode.

People most at risk are those with a family history of psychotic illness or those who have already experienced a psychotic episode. Other legal and illicit drugs should also not be ignored. For example, some evidence suggests that substances such as alcohol and amphetamines have a greater effect than cannabis in the development of psychosis. So, people with a family or a personal history of psychotic illness should avoid drugs like cannabis completely and try other healthier ways of relaxing

I was going to list more of these mistruths. But I'm over it for now...

More Cannabis Disinformation

The latest story making the rounds is about a study that reveals tobacco smokers who also smoke cannabis have a substantially increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
http://www.cannabisnews.org/?p=2940

Most mainstream headlines are saying that cannabis is the problem. However, the study that the conclusions were drawn from say something different:

“Smoking marijuana and cigarettes is harmful for your lungs even in small amounts if you smoke them together,” said Dr. Tan, who is the study’s lead author.

But the risk of developing COPD was not heightened among those study participants who said they smoked only marijuana.

Researchers don’t know exactly why smoking tobacco and marijuana apparently boosts the risk of the lung disease so greatly. Dr. Tan said they believe a chemical reaction may occur in the individual’s airway that spurs the onset of health problems.

Further, this statement from other experts puts the study into perspective:

Despite this, an editorial being published today with the study suggests that marijuana users may not need to worry their habit will lead to serious lung problems. Dr. Tan’s study, as well as past research, hasn’t identified a strong association between marijuana use and chronic lung disease, writes Donald Tashkin, medical director of the Pulmonary Function Laboratory in the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dr. Tashkin argued the scant evidence supporting the link means that “we can be close to concluding that marijuana by itself does not lead to COPD.”

Stating The Obvious - Cannibis as an Economic Recovery Tool

I know, I know. It's one of the hottest topics on the Interwebiverse and beyond. Leading an economic recovery by legalizing and taxing pot.

Being a medicinal user (I use cannabis for medicinal purposes), I would have to promote any form of legalization. When it could inject BILLIONS of Dollars into the economies of countries that follow the full legalization path, I would have to say go for it. All you politicians blowing hot air about recessions and recoveries, have a good look at the projected figures that are appearing.

I won't repeat all the stories and analyses here. I feel uncomfortable re-stating the bleeding obvious. Unfortunately, the anti-pot brigade will say that this, as with medical marijuana reforms, is just an ploy by us stoners to get our poison accepted once again in society.

We're a bad bunch of people we are.

Read me SINNER!!

Attn. Religious: Marijuana is Not a Sin (ep. 2)

This was interesting. I'll have to subscribe and follow any updates.