Weed?

[WildInTheWind]

I'm the same way. I've done everything but heroin, and was never addicted. I smoked alot of weed, but when I had to stop, I just stopped. No big deal. I think people blow it out of proportion.

~*~Becky~*~

[Mari]

Never tried it. Even though I live in a country where it's readily available, yes we have those 'coffeeshops' in Groningen too.

I guess I don't want to take the risk. I've heard some stories about a relation to schizofrenia? Not that it's a direct cause, but it brings out psychological problems, perhaps?

[tommer]

oh, and one more thing; i think that what stands in the core of addiction is one's own self destruction, one can abuse almost anything, ain't obesity just an abuse of food? i say it is. banning drugs is pointless in its very basis.

[Serrart]

I've never used it, but got fairly close with passive smoke during one of those concert where you're stuck in the middle of the crowd. I had 4 Beavis & Butthead wannabes behind me, who for all the time smoked something that stunk as hell and couldn't stop shouting out in the quiet moments of the songs names of people. Luckily it started raining and they hadn't an umbrella.

Romy

[DrummerDeanna]

I do think moderation is key - at least for me.

I had two friends in college to who became obsessed with smoking pot - and they totally lost touch with reality and well they just hit a downhill spiral and it was really sad to see...

Still - my former boss was a big supporter of leagalizing the stuff - his rationale - he's seen and heard of many guys getting drunk and then stupid and beating the crap out of their wives/girlfriends/ other guys....you rarely hear of a guy or gal getting stoned and doing the same kind of thing...like someone said it probably happens but not like with alcohol....

That said - I don't see myself even smoking it again - just not for me - I AM a control freak and I don't like the feeling of not being in complete control of myself...and the last couple of times I smoked before the sickening wine/weed incident I got SO paranoid and hated the feeling...

[GODDESS6]

luv it, & am still known 2 twist 1 up on occasion ~

[Nixxxed]

Dangit, sorry I missed this thread last night. But, I was too busy floating to get on the computer.

I've done it, I do it, and I'll do it again. Actually, I've tried just about everything, although thankfully have never even SEEN heroin or crack.

I, too, have had a few bad experiences. No, it's not for everyone. But, my bad experiences were entirely my own fault, either by smoking too fast or by combining substances. The lesson I learned was: It's a journey, not a race.

[½ ¡Ñ§ÅñË ®]

(The problem with medical studies on Cannabis)

Cannabis, the third most popular recreational drug after alcohol and tobacco, could win new role as the aspirin of the 21st century, with growing evidence that its compounds may protect the brain against the damaging effects of ageing.

Although the drug distorts perception and affects short-term memory, it may also help prevent degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntingdon's and motor neurone diseases. Scientists at the Institute of Neurology in Queens Square, London, say the "huge potential" of cannabis compounds is emerging, as understanding of its biological and pharmacological properties improves.

Professor Alan Thompson and his colleagues wrote in Lancet Neurology: "Basic research is discovering interesting members of this family of compounds that have previously unknown qualities, the most notable of which is the capacity for neuroprotection."

The results of two trials in patients with multiple sclerosis are expected this summer and the first cannabis-based medicines are being considered for licensing. None of them will have the psychoactive properties of the raw drug when smoked or ingested.

Professor Thompson's team says: "Even if the results of these studies are not as positive as many expect them to be, that we are only just beginning to appreciate the huge therapeutic potential of this family of compounds is clear."

Cannabis was thought to affect the cells like alcohol by seeping through the cell membrane. But in 1990 the first cannabinoid receptor was found, which revolutionised the study of cannabinoid biology. The discovery revealed an endogenous system of cannabinoid receptors, similar to the opioid system, to which the drug bound when it was ingested. Just as endorphins are the body's natural equivalent of heroin, a fatty acid called anandamide ( Sanskrit for "inner bliss" ) is the natural equivalent of cannabis.

The natural system of cannabinoid receptors plays a role in maintaining the balance of chemicals in the brain which regulate the rate at which neurons fire. By altering this system, scientists believe it may be possible to slow or prevent the process of brain decay.

David Baker, lead author of the Lancet review and senior lecturer at the Institute of Neurology, said: "Alzheimer's disease is the result of very slow degeneration caused by the death of nerve cells. We probably don't see symptoms until 30 to 40 per cent of the nerve cells have died. Something regulates this decay and if we could slow it by even a small fraction we might delay by a decade the point where someone loses their memory."

But cannabis is a double-edged sword, with potentially damaging side effects. "It may be possible to develop drugs that allow selective targeting of different areas of the brain and spinal cord and there may be a way of limiting the negative effects," Dr Baker said.

A study by Dr Baker and colleagues, in which the natural system of cannabinoid receptors was removed in mice, showed that the rate of nerve loss was increased, indicating its role in preserving brain function. The study, which has been accepted for publication in a medical journal, "really clinches the argument", Dr Baker said.

He added: "Cannabis has gone from the drawing board into trials in record time, largely because of patient pressure. Hopefully it will work and be acceptably safe."

UK: Cannabis May Be 21st Century's Aspirin
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n599.a06.html
Newshawk: Rick Day, GOP Lobby
Pubdate: Sat, 19 Apr 2003
Source: New Zealand Herald (New Zealand)
Contact: letters@herald.co.nz
Copyright: 2003 New Zealand Herald
Website: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/300
CANNABIS MAY BE 21ST CENTURY'S ASPIRIN

Doctors Want Better Marijuana for Study

San Mateo -- Nearly two years after its launch here, doctors conducting a groundbreaking medical marijuana study want better quality weed from the federal government. The study leaders also want to allow more sick people to participate, but are stymied by stringent eligibility requirements.

"The study continues but it is going slowly for a variety of factors," said Dr. Dennis Israelski, director of medical research in San Mateo County and chief of staff at San Mateo Medical Center.

The County has waited at least six months for a response from federal agencies, officials said.

The 3-year County study seeks to discover whether marijuana "cigarettes" can be safely dispensed to HIV-AIDS and cancer patients to treat symptoms and side effects of disease treatment.

However, some believe the apparently low-grade marijuana used in the program -- grown at the University of Mississippi by the federal government -- has discouraged participants who can treat themselves with the drug through other channels.

And stringent physical requirements on often terminally ill patients have also slowed membership in the study.

The first HIV-AIDS participant, Phillip Alden, who dropped out of the study when he came down with bronchitis, said he would re-join if the marijuana were of better quality.

"I certainly hope they get better quality pot," Alden said. "If they wanted me to re-enter the study, I would. I would love to see the study succeed."

Alden also said he objected to the cigarette papers that the marijuana was rolled in, believing they contained toxins.

San Mateo County Supervisor Mike Nevin, a former San Francisco police inspector, had waged a campaign since 1997 to bring about the County's medical marijuana study. It was launched in April 2001 at the County's medical center.

"This is not a cannabis club we're talking about. It's a very tight, closed, secure program," Nevin said.

When the County got initial state and federal approvals in 2001 -- including approvals from federal law enforcement agencies under the Clinton administration -- it was considered groundbreaking.

County officials hoped the study would not only provide relief to patients, but would begin to bridge the gap between Proposition 215, the successful 1996 state ballot measure that allowed medical marijuana, and existing laws that criminalize the drug.

"They need to supply us with something more meaningful for our trials," Nevin said. "We're losing patients."

Nevin frequently refers to personal testimony of the late Joni Commons -- the County's deputy director of health services -- as his inspiration for the medical marijuana study. Commons struggled with breast cancer and said she found relief from treatment only through the use of marijuana, according to those who knew her.

Israelski -- medical director of the study -- also sees a need for a non-smokable form of marijuana for pain relief from chronic disease.

"The County is well-positioned to lead in this effort because of the enlightened leadership here and the environment of dynamic change at San Mateo Medical Center," Israelski said.

Source: San Mateo County Times, The (CA)
Author: Jean Whitney, Staff Writer
Published: January 24, 2003
Copyright: 2003 MediaNews Group, Inc.
Contact: mmcpartl@angnewspapers.com
Website: http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/


Activists Complain About Government Pot Quality

Activists who support the legalized use of marijuana for medical purposes say U.S. government-run farms are growing low-quality pot, thereby undermining research into its medicinal benefits.

"It's unconscionable that they would be giving this marijuana to patients," National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws coordinator Dale Gieringer told the San Jose Mercury News. "It's stale, low-potency ditch weed."

The newspaper noted that several observers were critical of the marijuana grown on farms in Mississippi run by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

They said the pot was full of sticks, stems and seeds, with stale leaves caused by repeated freezing and thawing during storage.

Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics editor Ethan Russo said patients participating in any other medical study would not be given such a stale product.

Officials overseeing a marijuana study in San Mateo County, Calif., say fewer than 10 subjects are participating, even though they had budgeted to accommodate up to 60.

Mike Nevin, the program's supervisor, said he does not want the perception to ruin the research.

"We've put too much effort into this, and we don't want to be playing games here," he said. "It needs to be a certain grade of substance, and unless it's stronger, they'll set us up for defeat."

Stanford University clinical professor Dennis Israelski said problems with the marijuana have gotten out via the Internet and from HIV support groups.

"We've been hurt by word on the streets," Israelski said. "But the word on the street might not reflect reality."

Steve Gust, a special assistant with the drug abuse institute, downplayed the quality issue, saying there's nothing wrong with the government-grown grass that is pre-rolled, frozen and sent from the Mississippi farms to sanctioned researchers across the U.S.

Gust said re-humidification of the plant "makes it kind of harsh," adding that "certain procedures are needed to make it smoke right."

Gust also said he thinks NORML and other marijuana legalization activists are looking for excuses should studies show that marijuana has little medicinal value.

"They can say the marijuana isn't of sufficient quality," he said.

Source: United Press International
Author: Gregory Tejeda, United Press International
Published May 15, 2002
Copyright: 2002 United Press International
Website: http://www.upi.com/
Contact: http://www.upi.com/about/contact.cfm


Critics Aren't High On Federal Weed

With all the marijuana the government has seized throughout the years, one thing appears abundantly clear: The feds still don't know the first thing about pot. At least that seems to be the case in Mississippi where the government's controversial weed farm has been besieged with complaints.

"Ditch weed" is what some critics call the pot being grown on government farms and shipped to San Mateo County, Calif., for the first-ever publicly funded analysis of HIV patients smoking joints in their homes.

Characterizing the federal product as a bunch of sticks, seeds and stems with stale leaves, observers ranging from patients to a cop turned county supervisor are not high on the socialized product.

Of course those pushing for the reform of marijuana laws are quite upset as well. Some charge that the government sabotaged the study to show pot can have adverse effects on patients who are seeking help in battling AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. When complaints started to filter out in San Mateo about the poor quality of the federal weed, Dale Gieringer, California coordinator for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), blasted the government. "It's unconscionable that they would be giving this marijuana to patients," he says. "It's stale, low-potency ditch weed." A 1999 NORML survey showed that among 48 samples, the government's pot scored the lowest on levels of THC ? the active ingredient in marijuana.

The groundbreaking study, which surprisingly has been supported quietly by the Bush administration, monitors its participants via self-reports, home visits, medication logs and return of leftover marijuana cigarettes. To be accepted into the study, a participant must be HIV-positive and suffering from neuropathy, a condition that afflicts AIDS, diabetes and other patients with severe tingling and pain in their hands and feet. Participants must have used pot before, have no record of other drug abuse, enjoy a stable home life and keep the government joints in a locked box.

"We have no interest, at present, in introducing people to marijuana use," claimed Dennis Israelski, chief of infectious disease and AIDS medicine at San Mateo County Health Center, when announcing the pilot program, which operates with about 600 marijuana cigarettes from the Mississippi pot farm kept in a hospital freezer. The study has a budget of $500,000 and is expected to last perhaps a year. About 30 joints per week are supplied to each patient. At first the patient smokes only in a special room in the health center but then is allowed to take the stash home.

But attracting qualified participants has been a serious problem ever since San Mateo County received the go-ahead about a year ago from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In fact, after several months of screening patients, the county had only one patient who fit all the stringent criteria. That was free-lance journalist and AIDS activist Phillip Alden. Each week he would receive his federally grown marijuana cigarettes to smoke in his home.

But Alden tells Insight he couldn't finish the study. "I was unable to complete the last week because I developed an upper respiratory infection similar to bronchitis," he says. The illness more than likely came from the substandard product, critics say. "The smoke was old, it contained seeds which taste awful when they burn and it was harsh on my throat," Alden says.

Since Alden left the program, fewer than a dozen patients have participated ? far short of the 60 patients San Mateo County had hoped to use as human guinea pigs for the clinical trial.

Some say the county's inability to attract suitable patients might be linked to word on the street that the free pot being provided is unsmokable. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which grows the Mississippi farm weed, insists the problem is not with socialism but with dehumidifying. Steve Gust, special assistant to the director of NIDA, admitted to the San Jose Mercury News that the federal stash is "harsh." But he dismissed the NORML complaints as simply coming from biased activists looking for someone to blame if the results from the study show marijuana has little medicinal value for HIV/AIDS treatment.

But Alden's public disclosure about the low-grade federal pot may have hurt efforts to attract HIV patients. In response, researchers recently asked for FDA permission to expand the base of potential patients to include those suffering from nausea and eating disorders. More recently, on May 14, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a claimed constitutional right to marijuana for medicinal purposes, which initially created alarm that such studies might cease.

The ruling sent chills up the back of people such as Alden who worry about what he calls "rampant federalism" spreading across the nation. "It started before 9/11 and has only gotten worse," he says. "How a state chooses to care for its ill residents should not be subjugated by people outside the state." So far, however, the Supreme Court ruling has not affected the study, which Alden hopes will continue despite the poor product.

Expanding the study to include others will be another hurdle to overcome for a program that has taken almost three years to put together, says San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President Mike Nevin, a former San Francisco cop who used to bust those who engaged in illegal trafficking of marijuana. San Mateo began clinical trials last July after an exhausting and burdensome regulatory process and now will have to wait for another regulatory approval to expand the participant base.

As a former cop, Nevin admits he initially had reservations about the study, but tells Insight he became convinced after a close friend, Joni Commons, who was deputy director of the county's health services, confided to him that smoking pot was the only thing that relieved her otherwise constant nausea from chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. Commons eventually died, but Nevin says he was inspired to try to help others. "We need scientific proof. The federal government never had the courage to do the study, so San Mateo is doing it now," he says.

Nevin initially approached the San Mateo County Health Center about using pot confiscated by police, but that was turned down and the federally approved clinical cannabis study was born. But the recent problems from the inferior quality has certainly "hurt our efforts," Nevin admits. "Right now all we are trying to do is get a scientific finding to determine if marijuana should be pharmaceutically prescribed by a doctor."

If it does work, Nevin thinks people may get the wrong impression that San Mateo will be handing out joints to all comers. Instead, he says, cannabinoids might be placed in an inhalable substance similar to pharmaceutical inhalants used by those who suffer from asthma.

Currently, the only prescribable cannabinoids are THC (dronabinol, Marinol) and the dronabinol derivative nabilone. THC has been successful in destroying brain cancer in rats. Marinol was approved in the United States as a nausea drug in 1985 and as an appetite stimulant for AIDS patients in 1992. More recently, several large pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis, have expressed interest in the medical use of cannabinoids and their derivatives. Previously the companies had turned away from marketing pot as a medicine because of political and cost problems.

In the meantime, Nevin says the quality of the pot has to get better or the trial is going to be deemed a failure. But even if the San Mateo study becomes a total bust, other jurisdictions have taken note. In fact, medicinal-marijuana research slowly is taking hold in other parts of the country. The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research in La Jolla, Calif., plans to oversee studies at more than a dozen university sites. The clinical trials at the center will cost the University of California-San Diego and the University of California-San Francisco about $841,000 and more in other state funds.

The studies will investigate whether smoking marijuana can alleviate neuropathy. One study will focus on patients in hospitals, while the other will serve outpatients. Yet another study will look at how pot affects the ability of patients with HIV-related neuropathy or multiple sclerosis to drive a car, and another will look at whether pot eases the uncontrollable muscle spasms and pain associated with multiple sclerosis.

Initial reports indicate that the Southern California patients in the La Jolla studies also are complaining about the federal government's Mississippi farm weed. But these complaints are a little different. "Too potent," say at least two subjects, who claim they want relief rather than to get stoned. At least these complaints do not seem to be driving away patients. La Jolla currently has a waiting list of 500 eager participants hoping to get their take-home tokes.

Timothy W. Maier is a writer for Insight.

Source: Insight Magazine (US)
Author: Timothy W. Maier
Published: June 24, 2002
Copyright: 2002 News World Communications, Inc.
Contact: Insight@wt.infi.net
Website: http://www.insightmag.com/

San Mateo Pot-Study Sign-Up Low

The pot is unsmokable, they say, full of sticks, stems and seeds. The leaves have gone stale after at least a year of storage, freezing and then thawing.

Marijuana supplied to researchers from the government farm in Mississippi isn't quality product, according to a range of observers, from Redwood Shores HIV patient Phillip Alden to a cop-turned-county supervisor. Alden said he knows from experience -- he's smoked it. And the result?

An upper respiratory infection and an early departure from a landmark research study, the first publicly funded analysis of HIV patients smoking cannabis in their homes.

In 10 months, fewer than 10 subjects have been accepted into San Mateo County's marijuana study, which took years to get funded and approved. The county's medical chief of staff, Dr. Dennis Israelski, had planned for 60.

Some say it must be the pot.

``I couldn't smoke the stuff any more,'' said Alden, a freelance writer who relies on marijuana to ease HIV-related wasting disease. ``I was disgusted with the federal government.''

Dale Gieringer, California coordinator for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, agrees. ``It's unconscionable that they would be giving this marijuana to patients,'' he said. ``It's stale, low-potency ditch weed.''

The National Institute on Drug Abuse, which grows the marijuana plants that are pre-rolled, frozen and sent to officially sanctioned researchers across the country, denies its research product is substandard.

``The marijuana we provide does not contain sticks and seeds. The problem is re-humidifying -- it makes it kind of harsh,'' said Steve Gust, special assistant to the director of NIDA. ``Certain procedures are needed to make it smoke right.''

Gust said researchers aren't complaining about quality. He thinks groups like NORML are looking for something to blame if the results of the studies show it has little medicinal value. ``Then they can say the marijuana isn't of sufficient quality,'' Gust said.

Damaging rumors

Cannabis trials in San Mateo County began in July, but few patients so far meet the strict standards to enroll. There is no hard evidence that the quality of the cannabis used in the study is hindering recruiting.

But stories -- and rumors in some cases -- have slowed progress, said Israelski, an associate clinical professor at Stanford University. When Alden was forced to drop out of the study late last year because of an inflamed throat, for example, published reports of his experience swirled quickly through Internet circles and HIV support groups.

``We've been hurt by word on the streets,'' Israelski said. ``But the word on the street might not reflect reality.''

To counteract the slow start, the county is trying to broaden its study.

In a letter sent to regulatory agencies this month, researchers ask to expand the HIV patient pool to include people suffering from nausea, weight loss and wasting disease.

Supervisor Mike Nevin is frustrated that the county is once again asking for approvals from the myriad agencies that must OK any changes to the research plan. He spent three years fighting for funding and regulatory approval.

Nevin envisioned his county's research program after a colleague, Joni Commons, died of breast cancer in 1998. Commons won him over, convincing the former San Francisco police inspector that marijuana brought her critical pain relief.

``We've put too much effort into this, and we don't want to be playing games here,'' Nevin said. ``It needs to be a certain grade of substance, and unless it's stronger, they'll set us up for defeat.''

Study in La Jolla

Medicinal marijuana research is moving steadily forward in other parts of the country, with multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS patients. The newly inaugurated Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research in La Jolla will soon oversee studies at 15 university sites.

Most researchers interviewed, unlike marijuana advocates, did not complain about the quality of the NIDA product. According to strict protocols, they can't unroll the carefully measured, frozen joints they receive, although several said they can hear seeds popping when some of their patients smoke, or they see the seeds fall out the untwisted end of the joint. They've heard that the sticky buds gum up the government's rolling machine.

But that hasn't stopped more than 500 people from joining waiting lists for clinical trials at the La Jolla center, where, in contrast, two recently enrolled subjects complained that the pot was too potent.

High after few puffs

``They've reported getting high shortly after the first few puffs,'' said Dr. Andrew Mattison, the center's co-director. ``These are people with a chronic, debilitating illness who do not want to get high. They want to get pain relief.''

Researchers concede that the less a patient has to smoke, the better. More potent cannabis delivers a more concentrated effect, with fewer smoking-related hazards.

According to a 1999 NORML survey, the government's cannabis scored lowest on levels of THC, marijuana's essential ingredient, compared with 48 samples.

Dr. Ethan Russo, a Montana neurologist and editor of the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics, said NIDA's marijuana is ``medically inexplicable and inexcusable.'' He said American patients in any other drug study would not be given a stale product, and cannabis subjects deserve equal treatment.

Complete Title: San Mateo Pot-Study Sign-Up Low; Cannabis Quality Disputed

Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Author: Karen de Sá, Mercury News
Published: Monday, May 13, 2002
Copyright: 2002 San Jose Mercury News
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/


One long held claim is the production of gynecomastia in males associated
with cannabis use. A case study or 3 cannabis smokers with this
malady was reported by Harmon and Aliapoulios (1972). A more thorough
investigation a few years later failed to show any differences in
cannabis use in affected males between users and controls (Cates and
Pope 1977).
Similarly, Kolodny et al. (1974) reported decreased testosterone levels
in chronic marijuana smokers, while no differences in testosterone
or luteinizing hormone (LH) levels were identified in a 3-week trial of
smokers vs. non-smokers (Mendelson et al. 1978).
LH levels in menopausal women showed no significant changes after
cannabis usage (Mendelson et al. 1985), but the next year, a similar
group noted a 30% suppression of LH in women by smoking a single
cannabis cigarette during the luteal phase (Mendelson et al. 1986).
Subsequently, a more in-depth study of both sexes was undertaken to
assess multiple hormone effects comparing subjects with different levels
of cannabis usage vs. controls (Block, Farinpour, and Schlechte
1991). No significant effects were noted on testosterone, LH, FSH,
prolactin or cortisol in young women and men.
Jamaican chronic use studies were confined to examinations of thyroxine
and steroid excretion with no significant findings observed due
to cannabis use (Rubin and Comitas 1975).
In the 94-Day Cannabis Study, acute drops in testosterone and LH
levels were noted after smoking a cannabis cigarette (Cohen 1976).
Subsequent drops in testosterone levels were noted after the 5th week of
daily usage. LH levels fell after the 4th week and FSH after the 8th week
to unspecified degrees.
In Costa Rica, no differences were noted in male testosterone levels
between abstainers and cannabis smokers stratified according to amount
of use (Carter 1980). Similarly, fertility was unimpaired, with both
groups having identical numbers of progeny. The author stated (p. 172),
“These findings cast serious doubt on cause-and-effect relationship between
marihuana smoking and plasma testosterone level in long-term
use.”
Zimmer and Morgan (1997) summarized their observations by stating
(p. 92), “There is no scientific evidence that marijuana delays adolescent
sexual development, has a feminizing effect on males, or a
masculinizing effect on females.”
The latter statement would seem to be borne out by our findings.
While one male subject had a minor degree of gynecomastia associated
with obesity, none of the Patients A-D displayed any abnormal values in
any endocrine measure (Table 5).


Gynecomastia and cannabis smoking. A nonassociation among US Army soldiers.

Cates W Jr, Pope JN.

Eleven patients diagnosed with idiopathic gynecomastia requiring mammoplasty were compared with matched controls to determine if there was an association between cannabis use and gynecomastia. Patients with gynecomastia were not significantly different from controls regarding their history of cannabis use. For those who admitted using cannabis, patients had a higher frequency but a shorter median duration of use than controls; differences were not statistically significant. Our epidemiologic evidence does not support the previously reported relationship between chronic cannabis use and gynecomastia.

PMID: 920892 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...2&dopt=Abstract

[½ ¡Ñ§ÅñË ®]

Historical facts about Marijuana
American Historical Notes

In 1619, America's first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia, "ordering" all farmers to "make tryal of" (grow) Indian hempseed. More mandatory (must-grow) hemp cultivation laws were enacted in Massachusetts in 1631, in Connecticut in 1632 and in the Chesapeake Colonies into the mid-1700s.

Even in England, the much-sought-after prize of full British citizenship was bestowed by a decree of the crown on foreigners who would grow cannabis, and fines were often levied against those who refused.

Cannabis hemp was legal tender (money) in most of the Americas from 1631 until the early 1800s. Why? To encourage American farmers to grow more.1

You could pay your taxes with cannabis hemp throughout America for over 200 years.2

You could even be jailed in America for not growing cannabis during several periods of shortage, e.g., in Virginia between 1763 and 1767. (Herndon, G.M., Hemp in Colonial Virginia, 1963; The Chesapeake Colonies, 1954; L.A.Times, August 12, 1981; et al.)

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew cannabis on their plantations. Jefferson,3 while envoy to France, went to great expense - and even considerable risk to himself and his secret agents - to procure particularly good hempseeds smuggled illegally into Turkey from China. The Chinese Mandarins (political rulers) so valued their hempseed that they made its exportation a capital offense.

The United States Census of 1850 counted 8,327 hemp "plantations"* (minimum 2,000-acre farm) growing cannabis hemp for cloth, canvas and even the cordage used for baling cotton. Most of these plantations were located in the South or in the border states, primarily because of the cheap slave labor available prior to 1865 for the labor-intensive hemp industry.

(U.S. Census, 1850; Allen, James Lane, The Reign of Law, A Tale of the Kentucky Hemp Fields, MacMillan Co., NY, 1900; Roffman, Roger, Ph.D. Marijuana as Medicine, Mendrone Books, WA, 1982.)

*This figure does not include the tens of thousands of smaller farms growing cannabis, nor the hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of family hemp patches in America; nor does it take into account that well into this century 80 percent of America's hemp consumption for 200 years still had to be imported from Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland, etc.

Benjamin Franklin started one of America's first paper mills with cannabis. This allowed America to have a free colonial press without having to beg or justify the need for paper and books from England.

In addition, various marijuana and hashish extracts were the first, second or third most prescribed medicines in the United States from 1842 until the 1890s. It's medicinal use continued legally through the 1930s for humans and figured even more prominently in American and world veterinary medicines during this time.

Cannabis extract medicines were produced by Eli Lilly, Parke-Davis, Tildens, Brothers Smith (Smith Brothers), Squibb and many other American and European companies and apothecaries. During all that time there was not one reported death from cannabis extract medicines, and virtually no abuse or mental disorders reported, except for first-time or novice users occasionally becoming disoriented or overly introverted.

(Mikuriya, Tod, M.D., Marijuana Medical Papers, Medi-Comp Press, CA; Cohen, Sidney & Stillman, Richard, Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana, Plenum Press, NY, 1976.)

World Historical Notes

"The earliest known woven fabric was apparently of hemp, which began to be worked in the eighth millennium (8,000 - 7,000 B.C.)" (The Columbia History of the World, 1981, page 54.)

The body of literature (i.e., archaeology, anthropology, philology, economy, history) pertaining to hemp is in general agreement that, at the very least:

From more than 1,000 years before the time of Christ until 1883 A.D., cannabis hemp - indeed, marijuana - was our planet's largest agricultural crop and most important industry, involving thousands of products and enterprises; producing the overall majority of Earth's fiber, fabric, lighting oil, paper, incense and medicines. In addition, it was a primary source of essential food oil and protein for humans and animals.

According to virtually every anthropologist and university in the world, marijuana was also used in most of our religions and cults as one of the seven or so most widely used mood-, mind-, or pain-altering drugs when taken as psychotropic, psychedelic (mind-manifesting or -expanding) sacraments.

Almost without exception, these sacred (drug) experiences inspired our superstitions, amulets, talismans, religions, prayers, and language codes. (See chapter 10 on "Religions and Magic.")

(Wasson, R., Gordon, Soma, Divine Mushroom of Immortality; Allegro, J.M., Sacred Mushroom & the Cross, Doubleday, NY, 1969; Pliny; Josephus; Herodotus; Dead Sea Scrolls; Gnostic Gospels; the Bible; Ginsberg Legends Kaballah, c. 1860; Paracelsus; British Museum; Budge; Ency. Britannica, "Pharmacological Cults;" Schultes & Wasson, Plants of the Gods, Research of R.E. Schultes, Harvard Botanical Dept.; Wm EmBoden, Cal State U., Northridge; et al.)

Great Wars were Fought to Ensure the Availability of Hemp

For example, the primary reason for the War of 1812 (fought by America against Great Britain) was access to Russian cannabis hemp. Russian hemp was also the principal reason that Napoleon (our 1812 ally) and his "Continental Systems" allies invaded Russia in 1812. (See Chapter 12, "The (Hemp) War of 1812 and Napolean Invades Russia.")

In 1942, after the Japanese invasion of the Philippines cut off the supply of Manila (Abaca) hemp, the U.S. Government distributed 400,000 pounds of cannabis seeds to American farmers from Wisconsin to Kentucky, who produced 42,000 tons of hemp fiber annually until 1946 when the war ended.

Why Has Cannabis Hemp/Marijuana Been So Important in History?

Because cannabis hemp is, overall, the strongest, most-durable, longest-lasting natural soft-fiber on the planet. Its leaves and flower tops (marijuana) were - depending on the culture - the first, second or third most important and most used medicines for two-thirds of the world's people for at least 3,000 years, until the turn of the century.

Botanically, hemp is a member of the most advanced plant family on Earth. It is a dioecious (having male, female and sometimes hermaphroditic - male and female on the same plant), woody, herbaceous annual that uses the sun more efficiently than virtually any other plant on our planet, reaching a robust 12 to 20 feet or more in one short growing season. It can be grown in virtually any climate or soil condition on Earth, even marginal ones.

Hemp is, by far, Earth's premier, renewable natural resource. This is why hemp is so very important.

Hearst, His Hatred and Hysterical Lies

Concern about the effects of hemp smoke had already led to two major governmental studies. The British governor of India released the Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission 1893-1894 on heavy bhang smokers in the subcontinent.

And in 1930, the U.S. government sponsored the Siler Commission study on the effects of off-duty smoking of marijuana by American servicemen in Panama. Both reports concluded that marijuana was not a problem and recommended that no criminal penalties apply to its use.

In early 1937, Assistant U.S. Surgeon General Walter Treadway told the Cannabis Advisory Subcommittee of the League of Nations that, "It may be taken for a relatively long time without social or emotional breakdown. Marihuana is habit-forming. . . in the same sense as. . . sugar or coffee."

But other forces were at work. The war fury that led to the Spanish American War in 1898 was ignited by William Randolph Hearst, through his nationwide chain of newspapers, and marked the beginning of "yellow journalism"* as a force in American politics.

* Webster's Dictionary defines "yellow journalism" as the use of cheaply sensational or unscrupulous methods in newspapers and other media to attract or influence the readers.

In the 1920s and '30s, Hearst's newspapers deliberately manufactured a new threat to America and a new yellow journalism campaign to have hemp outlawed. For example, a story of a car accident in which a "marijuana cigarette" was found would dominate the headlines for weeks, while alcohol related car accidents (which outnumbered marijuana connected accidents by more than 10,000 to 1) made only the back pages.

This same theme of marijuana leading to car accidents was burned into the minds of Americans over and over again the in late 1930s by showing marijuana related car accident headlines in movies such as "Reefer Madness" and "Marijuana - Assassin of Youth."

Blatant Bigotry

Starting with the 1898 Spanish American War, the Hearst newspaper had denounced Spaniards, Mexican-Americans and Latinos.

After the seizure of 800,000 acres of Hearst's prime Mexican timberland by the "marihuana" smoking army of Pancho Villa,* these slurs intensified.

*The song "La Cucaracha" tells the story of one of Villa's men looking for his stash of "marijuana por fumar!" (to smoke!)

Non-stop for the next three decades, Hearst painted a picture of the lazy, pot-smoking Mexican - still one of our most insidious prejudices. Simultaneously, he waged a similar racist smear campaign against the Chinese, referring to them as the "Yellow Peril."

From 1910 to 1920, Hearst's newspapers would claim that the majority of incidents in which blacks were said to have raped white women, could be traced directly to cocaine. This continued for ten years until Hearst decided it was not "cocaine-crazed Negroes" raping white women - it was now "marijuana-crazed Negroes" raping white women.

Hearst's and other sensationalistic tabloids ran hysterical headlines atop stories portraying "Negroes" and Mexicans as frenzied beasts who, under the influence of marijuana, would play anti-white "voodoo-satanic" music (jazz) and heap disrespect and "viciousness" upon the predominantly white readership. Other such offenses resulting from this drug-induced "crime wave" included: stepping on white men's shadows, looking white people directly in the eye for three seconds or more, looking at a white woman twice, laughing at a white person, etc.

For such "crimes", hundreds of thousands of Mexicans and blacks spent, in aggregate, millions of years in jails, prisons and on chain gangs, under brutal segregation laws that remained in effect throughout the U.S. until the 1950s and '60s. Hearst, through pervasive and repetitive use, pounded the obscure Mexican slang word "marijuana" into the English-speaking American consciousness. Meanwhile, the word "hemp" was discarded and "cannabis," the scientific term, was ignored and buried.

The actual Spanish word for hemp is "canamo." But using a Mexican "Sonoran" colloquialism - marijuana, often Americanized as "marihuana" - guaranteed that few would realize that the proper terms for one of the chief natural medicines, "cannabis," and for the premiere industrial resource, "hemp," had been pushed out of the language.

[½ ¡Ñ§ÅñË ®]

(Cannabis and pregnancy)

In the literature, Cannabis and pregnancy looks about as benign as it does with any other health study. Most of the hubub about low birthweight is inextricably linked with cigarette smoking imnsho and makes the conclusions highly suspect. Frankly I'd be more worried about the booze, the cigs and the aspirin, known baddies for baby.

For those interested I pulled these up on a quick PubMed search (my emphasis added):

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entr...7&dopt=Abstract
Dreher MC, Nugent K, Hudgins R. Prenatal marijuana exposure and neonatal outcomes in Jamaica: an ethnographic study. Pediatrics 1994 Feb;93(2):254-60
OBJECTIVE. To identify neurobehavioral effects of prenatal marijuana exposure on neonates in rural Jamaica. DESIGN. Ethnographic field studies and standardized neuro-behavior assessments during the neonatal period. SETTING. Rural Jamaica in heavy-marijuana-using population. PARTICIPANTS. Twenty-four Jamaican neonates exposed to marijuana prenatally and 20 nonexposed neonates. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS. Exposed and nonexposed neonates were compared at 3 days and 1 month old, using the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale, including supplementary items to capture possible subtle effects. There were no significant differences between exposed and nonexposed neonates on day 3. At 1 month, the exposed neonates showed better physiological stability and required less examiner facilitation to reach organized states. The neonates of heavy-marijuana-using mothers had better scores on autonomic stability, quality of alertness, irritability, and self-regulation and were judged to be more rewarding for caregivers. CONCLUSIONS. The absence of any differences between the exposed on nonexposed groups in the early neonatal period suggest that the better scores of exposed neonates at 1 month are traceable to the cultural positioning and social and economic characteristics of mothers using marijuana that select for the use of marijuana but also promote neonatal development.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entr...1&dopt=Abstract
Fried PA, Smith AM. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2001 Jan-Feb;23(1):1-11 A literature review of the consequences of prenatal marihuana exposure. An emerging theme of a deficiency in aspects of executive function.
In spite of marihuana being the most widely used illegal drug among women of reproductive age, there is a relative paucity of literature dealing with the neurobehavioral consequences in offspring--particularly the longer-term effects. However, there is a degree of consistency in the limited data, both across cross-sectional reports and longitudinally, where offspring have been followed for a number of years. Two cohort studies fall into the latter category; one involving a low-risk sample and, the other, a high-risk sample. Global IQ is not impacted by prenatal marihuana exposure but aspects of executive function (EF)--in particular, attentional behavior and visual analysis/hypothesis testing--appear to be negatively associated with in utero cannabis exposure in children beyond the toddler stage. This hypothesized influence of prenatal marihuana on EF is examined and discussed relative to effects (or lack of effects) across different ages in the offspring, cannabinoid receptors, and the extant general marihuana and prefrontal literature.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entr...6&dopt=Abstract
Fried PA, Watkinson B, Gray R. Neurotoxicol Teratol 1999 Sep-Oct;21(5):513-25 Growth from birth to early adolescence in offspring prenatally exposed to cigarettes and marijuana.
Weight, height, and head circumference were examined in children from birth to early adolescence for whom prenatal exposure to marijuana and cigarettes had been ascertained. The subjects were from a low-risk, predominantly middle-class sample participating in an ongoing longitudinal study. The negative association between growth measures at birth and prenatal cigarette exposure was overcome, sooner in males than females, within the first few years, and by the age of six, the children of heavy smokers were heavier than control subjects. Pre and postnatal environmental tobacco smoke did not have a negative effect upon the growth parameters; however, the choice of bottle-feeding or shorter duration of breast-feeding by women who smoked during pregnancy appeared to play an important positive role in the catch-up observed among the infants of smokers. Prenatal exposure to marijuana was not significantly related to any growth measures at birth, although a smaller head circumference observed at all ages reached statistical significance among the early adolescents born to the heavy marijuana users.

Institute of Medicine

Among the studies that have investigated the relationship between prenatal marijuana exposure and birth outcome, the results have been inconsistent. Except for adolescent mothers, there is little evidence that gestation is shorter in mothers who smoke marijuana. Several studies of women who smoked marijuana regularly during pregnancy show that they tend to give birth to lower weight babies. (...)

For most of these studies, much of the harms associated with marijuana use are consistent with those associated with tobacco use, and smoking is a significant factor so the contribution of cannabinoids cannot be confirmed. However, Jamaican women who use marijuana rarely smoke it, but instead prepare it as tea. In a study of neonates born to Jamaican women who either did or did not ingest marijuana during pregnancy, there was no difference in neurobehavioral assessments made at 3 days after birth and at one month. (...)

Since 1978, the Ottawa Prenatal Prospective Study has been measuring the cognitive functions of children born to mothers who smoked marijuana during pregnancy. (...)

The children in the different marijuana exposure groups showed no lasting differences in global measures of intelligence such as language development, reading scores, and visual or perceptual tests. Moderate cognitive deficits were detectable among these children when they were four days old and again at four years, but these deficits were no longer apparent at five years. Prenatal marijuana exposure was not, however, without lasting impact. By comparison, at both ages 5-6 and 9-12, children in the same study who were prenatally exposed to tobacco smoke scored significantly lower on tests of language skills and cognitive functioning.

Joy JE, Watson SJ, Benson JA, eds. Marijuana and medicine: Assessing the science base. Institute of Medicine. Washington DC: National Academy Press, 1999.


Peter Fried

The consequences of prenatal exposure to cannabis are subtle. The impact during the course of pregnancy and upon the neonate appear to be considerably moderated by other risk factors with evidence from a number of cohorts suggesting mild effects upon fetal growth and central nervous system functioning. During the toddler stage, there is little evidence for a prenatal cannabis effect either upon growth or behavior. However, beyond the age of three, there are suggestive findings indicating a putative association between prenatal marihuana exposure and aspects of cognitive behavior that fall under the rubric of executive function. Particularly, the facets of this construct which appear impacted are the domains of attention/impulsivity and problem solving situations requiring integration and manipulation of basic visuoperceptual skills. Although there is a convergence of evidence, the very limited number of studies which have followed children beyond the age of three emphasizes the need for further, well controlled investigations in this area.

Fried P. Pregnancy. In: Grotenhermen F, Russo E, eds. Cannabis and cannabinoids. Pharmacology, toxicology, and therapeutic potential. Haworth Press, Bing-hamton/New York 2001, in press.



Lynn Zimmer & John Morgan
Studies of newborns, infants, and children show no consistent physical, developmental, or cognitive deficits related to prenatal marijuana exposure. Marijuana has no reliable impact on birth size, length of gestation, neurological development, or the occurence of physical abnormalities. The administration of hundreds of tests to older children has revealed only minor differences between the offspring of marijuana users and nonusers, and some are positive rather than negative. (...)

While it is sensible to advise women to abstain from all drugs during pregnancy, the weight of evidence suggests that marijuana does not directly harm the human fetus.

Zimmer L, Morgan JP. Marijuana Myths Marijuana Facts. A review of the scientific evidence. New York/San Francisco: The Lindesmith Center, 1997.



Franjo Grotenhermen

It is unlikely that cannabis causes embryonic or fetal malformations. There are inconsistent epidemiological data on its effect on birth weight. There is evidence of subtle disturbances of cerebral development resulting in cognitive impairment in offspring of cannabis users. Some scientists assume such disturbances exist, while others believe that cannabis exerts no relevant negative effects. Possibly subtle cognitive marijuana-related disorders might not be observed before preschool or school age.(...)

No influences on physical fetal development in children born to chronic cannabis users have been reported. Yet, as far as possible, cannabis should be avoided during pregnancy and in lactating women because of the controversial evidence for subtle disturbances of cognitive development.

Grotenhermen F. Review of unwanted actions of Cannabis and THC. In: Grotenhermen F, Russo E, eds. Cannabis and cannabinoids. Pharmacology, toxicology, and therapeutic potential. Haworth Press, Bing-hamton/New York 2001, in press.

Grotenhermen F. Practical hints. In: Grotenhermen F, Russo E, eds. Cannabis and cannabinoids. Pharmacology, toxicology, and therapeutic potential. Haworth Press, Bing-hamton/New York 2001, in press.

[BTFLCHLD]

my doc v has been known to prescribe various berries on occassion


(love is the drug and i need to score)

[½ ¡Ñ§ÅñË ®]

Well with all I just put out there I will say Cannabis is not for everyone. It can be dangerous if consumed improperly. Studies still need to be done but the alcohol, pharmaceutical and tobacco industries do everything in they’re power to keep it illegal.

I have a hard drive full of information on medical studies and legal issues concerning Cannabis. It’s amazing to read. I thought I’d add a few because the thread was still going. However to keep it simple most of the information I have is still available through Google and several other search engines.

I wont post any more on the subject. Have a great year and I’ll catch up to you all when I get a chance. Peace and keep safe.

[amber]

Originally Posted by Nixxxed

Dangit, sorry I missed this thread last night. But, I was too busy floating to get on the computer.

I've done it, I do it, and I'll do it again. Actually, I've tried just about everything, although thankfully have never even SEEN heroin or crack.

I, too, have had a few bad experiences. No, it's not for everyone. But, my bad experiences were entirely my own fault, either by smoking too fast or by combining substances. The lesson I learned was: It's a journey, not a race.

"The Zen of hoobie, by Nixxxed"

I've noticed some people here saying they don't like to be out of control, paranoid, etc. Sometimes i get a little 'noid, but never in my house. I have to say, it is invaluable for making me do really boring things, like cleaning my house, walking to errands, starting homework, and doing yoga, esp. Gee, I wonder why that is???

[Jessica Leigh]

sure have and i totally dig it... but not too often or very much... i think i have some condition that makes me have the munchies like 100 times what is normal... about a half an hour after i smoke i go to 7 11 or circle K and come home with so much CRAP that i feel sick to my stomach for the next day...

but seriously now... weed is sooo not as bad as alcohol. i seriously have NO idea why weed is illegal and it's ok to drink alcohol. i mean, people DIE from drinking. and has anyone ever od'ed on pot? NOPE! and you are still coherent! you don't black out like people do with alcohol! oh oh, and the dr will give you a prescription for vicodin... which is the same **** as HEROIN.... but you CAN'T get a prescription for pot in most states. where i live it's a felony to have one seed in your posession... hell it could be stuck to the bottom of your shoe and you can get busted... HELLO!!??? weed is just nice and relaxing... i think our world would be a much more peaceful place if it was ok to smoke pot.

[estranged4life]

I would rather be around someone who smokes weed (In moderation, Unlike my oldest lostcause brother whose use of weed makes Cheech & Chong look like Bill "I tried it but I didnt inhale" Clinton!) than be around a drunkard.

At least I haven't had 4 family members killed by a "toker" unlike I have with "drunken-bafoons".

Brian j.