Posted on June 17 at 3:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Here's a great link to "Marijuana's History as a Medicine," by Lester Grinspoon, M.D. This history/expert testimony was prepared for the 2005 DEA hearings regarding medical marijuana research:

http://www.maps.org/mmj/grinspoon_histor...

ON DR GRINSPOON'S CREDIBILITY:

"Dr Grinspoon served for 40 years as Senior Psychiatrist at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston. A Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Psychiatric Association, he was the founding editor of both the Annual Review of Psychiatry and the Harvard Mental Health Letter.

He is the author or coauthor of over 160 journal articles or chapters and 12 books. A major area of interest has been 'illicit' drugs.

His first book, "Marihuana Reconsidered," originally published in 1971 by Harvard University Press, was recently republished as a classic. His latest book, "Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine," co- authored with James B. Bakalar, was published by Yale University Press in 1993 (revised and expanded edition, 1997) and has now been translated into ten languages." (CCLE)

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Posted on June 17 at 3:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

MORE ON CANNABIS’ MEDICAL PROPERTIES & APPLICATIONS

In addition to its anti-tumoral/anti-cancer properties, cannabis also has analgesic (pain inhibiting); antispasmodic; anxiolytic (anxiety relieving); antidepressant; antipsychotic; anti-emetic; anti-rheumatoid arthritic; anti-inflammatory; antioxidative; anti-excitotoxic (slows nerve cell death) and even anti-convulsant properties, to name just a few of its blessings.

Because of this amazing array of healing properties, cannabis is used in the treatment of many conditions.

AND ANOTHER FANTASTIC SUMMARY...

Here is a link to an incredibly informative, well researched, and well-sourced summary of "Emerging Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids: A Review of the Recent Scientific Literature, 2000 - 2006" - Paul Armentano, Senior Policy Analyst, NORML.

This summary covers therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids for 17 separate clinical conditions: Alzheimer’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Diabetes mellitus, Dystonia, Fibromyalgia, Gastrointestinal disorders, Gliomas, Hepatitis C, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hypertension, Incontinence, Multiple sclerosis, Osteoporosis, Pruritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Sleep apnea, and Tourette’s syndrome.

http://www.norml.org/pdf_files/NORML_Cli...

Keep in mind this report reviews some of the more popular applications for cannabis & cannabinoids, but there are quite a few more applications for cannabis.

In fact, I thought cannabis' wide-array of healing properties sounded too good to be true, until I delved into the research.

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Posted on June 17 at 2:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS (ACP) ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA:

"A CLEAR DISCORD exists between the scientific community and federal legal and regulatory agencies over the medicinal value of marijuana, which impedes the expansion of research..."

"EVIDENCE NOT ONLY SUPPORTS THE USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA BUT ALSO SUGGESTS NUMEROUS INDICATIONS FOR CANNABINOIDS..."

"The science on medical marijuana should not be obscured or hindered by the debate surrounding the legalization of marijuana for general use."

- Reference: "Supporting Research into the Therapeutic Role of Marijuana" Released January 2008. Here's a link to the whole landmark position paper:

http://www.acponline.org/acp_news/medmar...

The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization and the second largest physician group in the United States, representing 124,000 member doctors specializing in internal medicine and related subspecialties, including cardiology, neurology, pulmonary disease, oncology and infectious diseases.

The ACP publishes "Annals of Internal Medicine," the most widely cited medical specialty journal in the world. I could be wrong, but I'm guessing the ACP knows a little more about medicine than our lawmakers.

Shouldn't we be listening to the Docs?

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Posted on June 17 at 2:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

A LITTLE MORE ON CANNABIS' ANTI-CANCER EFFECT

POSSIBLE TUMOR GROWTH INHIBITION:
“There is recent evidence from cell culture systems and animal models that 9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the principal psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, and other cannabinoids may inhibit the growth of some tumors by modulating key signaling pathways leading to growth arrest and cell death, as well as inhibiting tumor angiogenesis…antitumoral associations have been observed for several types of malignancies including brain, prostate, thyroid, lung, and breast.”

— Tashkin, D., et al., “Marijuana Use and the Risk of Lung and Upper Aerodigestive Tract Cancers: Results of a Population-Based Case-Control Study,” Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, October 2006

AND HERE'S A LINK TO AN AMAZING SUMMARY OF A LOT OF THE RESEARCH ON MARIJUANA'S ANTI-CANCER EFFECT, INCLUDING "MUST SEE" TIME-LAPSE VIDEOS OF THC KILLING BRAIN CANCER CELLS & NOT HARMING REGULAR BRAIN CELLS:

http://safeaccess.ca/research/cancer.htm...

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Posted on June 17 at 2:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)

CANNABIS' ANTI-CANCER EFFECTS

There is a steadily growing, strong body of evidence that suggests cannabis does indeed have anti-tumor and anti-cancer effects.

In fact, back in 1974, a study at the Medical College of Virginia found that marijuana's psychoactive component, THC, "slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent." (Quote from Aug. 18, 1974, Washington Post)

Too bad the government kept the Virginia study under wraps, for less than scientific reasons.

Just this past January (2008), investigators at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health found that the administration of cannabinoids halted the spread of a wide range of cancers, including brain cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, and skin cancer.

Given cannabis can uniquely target malignant cells while ignoring healthy cells; and given cannabis is essentially non-toxic, cannabis offers significant advantages over standard chemotherapy treatments, according to this recent study from U. of Wisconsin.

This study reinforced the findings from other studies:

DECREASED TUMOR BURDEN IN LEUKEMIA CELLS EXPOSED TO CANNABIDIOL:
"Exposure of leukemia cells to cannabidiol led to CB2-mediated reduction in cell viability and induction in apoptosis … [and] a significant decrease in tumor burden and an increase in apoptotic tumors in vivo."
— McKallip, Robert J., et al., "Cannabidiol-Induced Apoptosis in Human Leukemia Cells: A Novel Role of Cannabidiol in the Regulation of p22phox and Nox4 Expression," Molecular Pharmacology, June 5, 2006

PROMISING ANTI-TUMOR EFFECTS OBSERVED:
"A strong and statistically significant anti-tumor effect was observed … In particular, for a highly malignant human breast carcinoma cell line … cannabidiol and a cannabidiol-rich extract counteract cell growth both in vivo and in vitro as well as tumor metastasis in vivo."
— Ligresti, Alessia, et al., "Anti-Tumor Activity of Plant Cannabinoids with Emphasis on the Effect of Cannabidiol on Human Breast Carcinoma," Journal of Pharmacology And Experimental Therapeutics, May 25, 2006

THC AND INHIBITION OF TUMOR CELL PROLIFERATION:
"[THC] inhibited tumour-cell proliferation in vitro and decreased tumour-cell Ki67 immunostaining.”
— Guzman, M., et al., "A Pilot Clinical Study of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in Patients With Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme," British Journal of Cancer, July 2006

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Posted on June 17 at 12:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I needed to leave New York and move to one of the 12 medical marijuana legal states, in order to get consistent access to quality medical marijuana - to treat the symptoms from a highly rare, genetic disorder. With the draconian Rockefeller laws still poisoning NY, I couldn't risk being locked up for decades for using one of the safest therapeutic substances known to man. So, I left my birth state and home, simply to get medicine.

But it was worth the journey. Now that I'm in a medical marijuana legal state, I can talk to my competent physicians about medical marijuana; and my physicians can respond & even RECOMMEND, without worrying about losing their licenses. I use a fraction of the more dangerous medications that I was prescribed in NY, and I have fewer negative side-effects.

I am state-registered & have the support of 5 different physicians to use medical marijuana, and my state law is behind me trying to get better, not against me. Knowing that my state law protects me from unfair state prosecution is comforting and aids in my healing (patient shouldn't have to worry about being caged for using a doctor-recommended medicine).

Many of my doctors in NY seemed as if they knew the truth about medical marijuana, but were fearful of talking about it, which is understandable, considering they need licenses to practice (and the DEA is already breathing down their necks).

I'd love to journey back to the Finger Lakes in the future & buy a home there some day, so I hope the behind-the-scenes Albany B.S. doesn't trump medicine and compassion again.

" Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known … The evidence in this record clearly shows that marijuana has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision. It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for [the] DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance."

— The Honorable Francis L. Young, DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge, 1988

Here is a link/web address to a summary of the rest of Judge Young's landmark decision (that the DEA ignored):

http://www.fcda.org/pdf/young88.fcda.pdf...

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