More than a dozen U.S.
states have now completely decriminalized the act of possessing
marijuana and both Colorado and Washington have made it legal to
possess, sell, transport and cultivate the plant. But soon it may be
legalized across the entire country following a decision Thursday by the
federal government.
In a historic and significant moment in American history, last November, Colorado became the first US state to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
The impact of the decision could soon ripple across the entire country
with vast opportunities to educate millions on the top health benefits
of marijuana.
With the passage of
I-502 in the 2012 Washington State election, marijuana also became legal
in Washington–not just for medical use, but also for recreational
use–and Alaska, California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada,
New York, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, and Vermont have all
decriminalized marijuana.
Consumption and sale of
marijuana is still illegal in all other states, though some cities and
towns have passed local laws decriminalizing it or making it a low
priority for law enforcement officers.
There are also movements in many states to legalize pot, including legalization bills introduced in many other states.
For other states to
mimic the systems in Colorado and Washington, they will first have to
get legalization laws on their ballots or in their state houses, which
could post a challenge, he said.
After Washington state
and Colorado passed laws in November 2012 legalizing the consumption and
sale of marijuana for adults over 18, lawmakers in both states waited
to see whether the federal government would continue to prosecute pot
crimes under federal statutes in their states.
Both Colorado and
Washington have been working to set up regulatory systems in order to
license and tax marijuana growers and retail sellers, but have been wary
of whether federal prosecutors would come after them for doing so. They
are the first states to legalize pot, and therefore to go through the
process of trying to set up a regulatory system.
Ruling Signals The End is Near For Marijuana Prohibition
Last Thursday, the
Department of Justice announced that it would not prosecute marijuana
crimes that were legal under state law, a move that could signal the end
of the country’s longtime prohibition on pot is nearing. “It certainly
appears to be potentially the beginning of the end,” said Paul
Armantano, deputy director of the pot lobby group NORML.
The memo sent to states
Thursday by the DOJ said that as long as states set up comprehensive
regulations governing marijuana, there would be no need for the federal
government to step in, a decision that will save the Justice Department
from having to use its limited resources on prosecuting individuals for
growing or smoking marijuana.
“This memo appears to be
sending the message to states regarding marijuana prohibition that is a
recognition that a majority of the public and in some states majority
of lawmakers no longer want to continue down the road of illegal
cannabis, and would rather experiment with different regulatory schemes
of license and retail sale of cannabis,” Armantano said.In 2011 the federal government decreed that marijuana had no accepted medical use use and
should remain classified as a highly dangerous drug like heroin.
Accepting and promoting the powerful health benefits of marijuana would
instantly cut huge profits geared towards cancer treatment and the U.S.
would have to admit it imprisons the population for no cause. Nearly
half of all drug arrests in the United States are for marijuana.According to MarijuanaNews.com editor Richard Cowan, the answer is because it is a threat to cannabis prohibition “…there really is massive proof that
the suppression of medical cannabis represents the greatest failure of
the institutions of a free society, medicine, journalism, science, and
our fundamental values,” Cowan notes.While Colorado and
Washington have not yet set up their regulatory systems, both states
will likely sell licenses to farmers who want to grow marijuana as well
as to manufacturing plants and retail sellers. The marijuana will also
likely be taxed at each stage of its growth, processing, and sale.“In both Colorado and
Washington, legalization was done by citizens with no participation by
elected representatives until they had to pass laws to comply with the
initiative. In other initiative states I would expect such measures – I
would expect a new one in California, for instance – and roughly half
the states permit this and the rest don’t.“In the states that do
have initiatives I expect efforts to get it on the ballot. The other
half it will be much tougher. It’s hard to get elected representatives
to do this,” Collins said.Armantano is more
optimistic about the spread of legalized pot. He compared the DOJ’s
announcement to the federal government’s actions toward the end of
alcohol prohibition in America a century ago, when states decided to
stop following the federal ban on alcohol sales and the federal
government said it would not step in and prosecute crimes.“For first time we now
have clear message from fed government saying they will not stand in way
of states that wish to implement alternative regulatory schemes in lieu
of federal prohibition,” Armantano said.He predicted that within
the next one to three years, five or six other states may join Colorado
and Washington in legalizing the drug, setting the stage for the rest
of the country to follow.
The Age of Deception is Ending
In 2003, the U.S. Government as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services filed for, and was awarded a patent on cannabinoids.
The reason? Because research into cannabinoids allowed pharmaceutical
companies to acquire practical knowledge on one of the most powerful
antioxidants and neuroprotectants known to the natural world.The U.S. Patent 6630507 was
specifically initiated when researchers found that cannabinoids had
specific antioxidant properties making them useful in the treatment and
prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as
ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The
cannabinoids are found to have particular application as
neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following
ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of
neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s
disease and HIV dementia. Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, such as
cannabidoil, are particularly advantageous to use because they avoid
toxicity that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high
doses useful in the method of the present invention.Besides the top 10 health benefits below, findings published in the journalPLoS ONE, researchers have now have now discovered that marijuana-like chemicals trigger receptors on human immune cells that can directly inhibit a type of human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) found in late-stage AIDS.
Recent studies have even shown it to be an effective atypical anti-psychotic in treating schizophrenia, a disease many other studies have inconsistently found it causing.
Top 10 Health Benefits of Marijuana
Top 10 Health Benefits of Marijuana
1. Cancer
Cannabinoids, the active components of marijuana, inhibit tumor growth in laboratory animals and also kill cancer cells. Western governments have known this for a long time yet they continued to suppress the information so that cannabis prohibition and the profits generated by the drug industry proliferated.
THC that targets
cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 is similar in function to
endocannabinoids, which are cannabinoids that are naturally produced in
the body and activate these receptors. The researchers suggest that THC
or other designer agents that activate these receptors might be used in a
targeted fashion to treat lung cancer.
Cannabinoids, the active components of marijuana, inhibit tumor growth in laboratory animals and also kill cancer cells. Western governments have known this for a long time yet they continued to suppress the information so that cannabis prohibition and the profits generated by the drug industry proliferated.
2. Tourette’s Syndrome
Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological condition characterized by uncontrollable facial grimaces, tics, and involuntary grunts, snorts and shouts.
Dr. Kirsten Mueller-Vahl
of the Hanover Medical College in Germany led a team that investigated
the effects of chemicals called cannabinols in 12 adult Tourette’s
patients. A single dose of the cannabinol produced a significant reduction in symptoms for several hours compared to placebo, the researchers reported.
Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological condition characterized by uncontrollable facial grimaces, tics, and involuntary grunts, snorts and shouts.
3. Seizures
Marijuana is a muscle
relaxant and has “antispasmodic” qualities that have proven to be a very
effective treatment for seizures. There are actually countless cases of
people suffering from seizures that have only been able to function
better through the use of marijuana.
4. Migraines
Since medicinal
marijuana was legalized in California, doctors have reported that they
have been able to treat more than 300,000 cases of migraines that
conventional medicine couldn’t through marijuana.
5. Glaucoma
Marijuana’s treatment of
glaucoma has been one of the best documented. There isn’t a single
valid study that exists that disproves marijuana’s very powerful and
popular effects on glaucoma patients.
6. Multiple Sclerosis
Marijuana’s effects on
multiple sclerosis patients became better documented when former
talk-show host, Montel Williams began to use pot to treat his MS.
Marijuana works to stop the neurological effects and muscle spasms that
come from the fatal disease.
7. ADD and ADHD
A well documented USC
study done about a year ago showed that marijuana is not only a perfect
alternative for Ritalin but treats the disorder without any of the
negative side effects of the pharmaceutical.
8. IBS and Crohn’s
Marijuana has shown that it can help with symptoms of the chronic diseases as it stops nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
9. Alzheimer’s
Despite what you may
have heard about marijuana’s effects on the brain, the Scripps
Institute, in 2006, proved that the THC found in marijuana works to
prevent Alzheimer’s by blocking the deposits in the brain that cause the
disease.
10. Premenstrual Syndrome
Just like marijuana is
used to treat IBS, it can be used to treat the cramps and discomfort
that causes PMS symptoms. Using marijuana for PMS actually goes all the
way back to Queen Victoria.
Mounting Evidence Suggests Raw Cannabis is Best
Cannabinoids can prevent cancer, reduce heart attacks by 66% and insulin dependent diabetes by 58%.
Cannabis clinician Dr. William Courtney recommends drinking 4 – 8
ounces of raw flower and leaf juice from any Hemp plant, 5 mg of
Cannabidiol (CBD) per kg of body weight, a salad of Hemp seed sprouts
and 50 mg of THC taken in 5 daily doses.
Why raw? Heat destroys certain enzymes and nutrients in plants. Incorporating raw cannabis allows for a greater availability of those elements.
Those who require large amounts of cannabinoids without the
psychoactive effects need to look no further than raw cannabis. In this
capacity, it can be used at 60 times more tolerance than if it were
heated.
Raw cannabis is considered by many experts as a dietary essential. As a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, raw cannabis may be right u there with garlic and tumeric.
Raw cannabis is considered by many experts as a dietary essential. As a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, raw cannabis may be right u there with garlic and tumeric.
No comments:
Post a Comment