Is there any downside to cannabinoid therapy? I don't think that is possible, based upon the survey of the research so far. Maybe the increased appetite may cause some obesity effects for people that still keep their blood-brain barrier clogged with TFA's-or don't make behavioral changes like watching closely who is following them-remember that putting a person in a small cage stops "neurogenesis" meaning that there are serious side effects from being in "therapy" if you get my drift.

Maybe there are some other side effects as well-such as changes in the constituency of the immune system (might down-grade some overreactive t cell conditions, etc.).

Also, people with excessive plumbing stoppages, from many years of Omega 3 & TFA poisoning, may have a brief uptake in blood pressure which could precipitate a heart attack in the first minutes after inhalation of you know what.

For people with high blood pressure that might spike above the danger level, I would definately recommend a few days of fish oil therapy to reduce risk of infarct-before toasting the tube.

But remember, the God's own produced balanced therapy intake system with many buffers built into the system from the get-go help to keep that from happening.

And I will keep you people posted as to my current status of "regime change" in Northwest Iowa. Right now the KKK is distributing flyers in my hometown. That brought the ACLU involved because of police attempts to "identify" the leafleteers. Kind of strange, though, that the ACLU wanted nothing to do with me, but they jump into action for KKK folks that have a history of violence and mayhem?

Maybe those regional headlines they got on the KKK slant might just bring them into town for other issues as well, eh?

Just keep those discussions going about ECDS & Omega 3 deficiency (they go hand in hand-one of the things Omega 3 is needed to produce is the "endocannabinoids"-really!)

I tried to outline a mechanism that would increase CB receptors, but I kept getting the result that low anandamide levels would result in decreased, rather than increased numbers of CB receptors. Both very large and very small receptor densities would decouple the endocannabinoid system, but I should correct the statement above with:

"(specifically an under-expression of CB1 and CB2 receptors)"

The "turnover time" for recycling proteins like CB1 and CB2 is on the order of weeks, approximately the amount of time after initial cannabis use it takes to build up sufficient numbers of CB receptors to remedy an endocannabinoid deficiency, depending on severity.

On the other hand if a novice user gets absolutely no effect, THC is unable to interact with what is, for them, a "decoupled" cannabinoid system. If THC has no effect, anandamide stands no chance at all as it is present in such minute amounts (CB receptors were discovered *years* before anandamide, the first endocannabinoid discovered).

Fortunately, endocannabinoid deficiency can be corrected with several weeks of THC therapy (even intermittent and low-dose) until typical response is obtained. A lifetime of the typical western diet with its low levels/bad ratios of Omega fatty acids is no doubt a major contributing factor. Fortunately, the treatment/therapy is like flipping a switch ... even for those who decide, after achieving the typical effects, never to partake again.

I wonder if it's like the statin cholesterol drugs ( Lipitor, Zocar, etc.). They have some negative efeects, but in out society, due to our diet and possibly lifestyle, the vast majority of people over a certain age can get a benefit from them. Some docotrs have said that we should add them to the water supply!

Maybe something about our modern lifestyle makes most of us cannabinoid deficient, so the vast majority of us could get a benefit from regular cannabinoid exposure.

Yesterday, in fact, the Iowa Supreme Court blocked my attempts to get a "TRO"-"Temporary Restraining Order" blocking the trial, because this judge had failed and refused to give me any releif in spite of multiple motions I had filed due to my lack of money for subpoenas and sure loss in light of lack of any witnesses "friendly" to my case. It looked blackn and bleak last night when I went to bed-my own sister was being forced to drive 4 hours to testify "for me" in that she witnessed about two minutes of my handcuffing by the wrong goon-but she is my total enemy about the need for political change on you know what-she was planning to answer questions posed by the goon squad-to the effect that she was going to testify that years of smoking pot had "blown my brain" and that I needed "help" and I had no business interjecting myself in police business-the Hispanic lad without a coat had NO BUSINESS LEAVING HOME WITHOUT ONE.

I was the bad guy, and I am being unfair and ruthless in my attacks in the editorial pages regarding the county prosecutor-"long live the king" or something like it.

She even believes the local police are helping to save us from thos vicious drug "fiends" that she so generously places me in the camp of and with-Paul, you should just take your lumps and admit that you need help and stop saying all those bad things about our leaders.

Well, I filed a big Motion to Recuse the judge for bias and partiality, based upon his past rulings (one of which I have specifically appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court, recall). I had to state that since I just did an "end run" to get that other case away from him, to have him continue to be my judge on the "criminal case" would be an invitation for specific "RETALIATION" and I also had filed a "Motion in Limine" to block him from considering anything about my "mental impairment" or any evidence associated with that issue in this criminal matter.

This morning was spent entirely going through all my motions filed to date. One by one, each one was denied by him, except he then allowed my "Motion in Limine". Then he did allow an order issuing a subpoena for the most important witness that is so scared of the local goons he wanted to have nothing to do with me for the past 5 months.

The sheriff's office located him and he was awaiting his turn on the witness chair-but going out of town tomorrow and it was getting to 4 pm (when all judges disappear and turn into pumpkins, I understand).

Things looked bad, after cross-examining police officers all afternoon as they made me look like poop for "refusing to leave the scene" after being told to leave police alone, etc. Then, at the close of the "State's" case, he revisited my "Motion to Dismiss" filed 3/16/06, and after chiding me for getting involved in police action which I shouldn't have done (even though somebody's civil rights were involved) he DISMISSED THE CHARGE-since the state hadn't proven that I made a real "threat" or had any potential to make good on such a "threat" in the first place.

Case over, end of the story, now the state cannot even "appeal" the dismissal of this simple "misdemeanor", meaning also, of course, that since there is a transcript of the proceedings, I may just have proven that two cops committed perjury on the stand, but that is another story, and for another day, and which will have to wait until my friend gets elected as county prosecutor in a few months, so he can bring such charges. Now, I can relax just a bit, and await the dismissal order, which now will prove that since I did not "interfere" the first time, the previous judge that "fudged me" because, as he stated to wit: "(I) might interfere again", is REVERSIBLE ERROR, since I didn't do it the first time, dig?

This also means that the last 8 months of hassle I have undergone with this prosecution just gave me a mantle of defensibility against further goon action, since they won't want to piss me off right now, I think, eh?

Thanks for listening at least, and I am thankful to you folks for allowing me this forum for expressing my thoughts and frustrations, at times, at least.

And I hope you have enjoyed today's installment in my own local war against vicious prosecution.

I believe in evolution but I believe that every organism has free will and that will is part of God's consciousness. I believe that as each creature chooses a mate, it determines the characteristics of the next generation, and evolution proceeds by a series of intelligent choices made by mating pairs who are within God's consciousness.

I get so annoyed at the stupid debate between the Intelligent Design and Evolutionists. Both are right but unwilling to consider the other's perspective, and both are wrong because they don't understand that the other's perspective is right. I hope that made sense to you.

It's not that cannabis evolves the same way as animals, plants in nature reproduce by fundamentally more random processes, fertilization by pollen drifting in the wind. But it works this way too: animals pollinate plants they like. That is how selections are made between generations of plants. Bees who prefer a certain flower will cause there to be more of those flowers. Intelligent evolution of the flower, according to bee intelligence, which is part of God's consciousness.

We've cultivated cannabis like bees cultivate honey. It was made for us because we found it to be good for food, it is our flower. It could be, but need not be, our single plant. It provides complete nutrition, along with all of its other wonderful effects.

Trim it. Watch it grow. Trim it. Watch it grow.

It was about organisms that appeared to only live and reproduce in the presence of a single plant. They would "eat" the plant and any other same plant found until all were gone, falling into dormancy until lunch again reappeared.

He told me that there must be an organism for Cannabis, too, but he didn't mention that in the thesis.

I hope I didn't let the cat out of the bag, now ...

I'm talking about every one of the hundreds of health supplements that we have gotten used to being available over the counter. They want to take control of them and make us pay lots more for them and jump through all kinds of hoops to get them. And what's even scarier is that this would not be just an American thing---they want to do this worldwide, Europe included.

Best, Paul Armentano

A search of the scientific literature reveals no clinical investigations of cannabis for the treatment of diabetes, but does identify a small number of preclinical studies indicating that cannabinoids may modify the disease’s progression and provide symptomatic relief to those suffering from it.[1-2] Most recently, a study published in the journal Autoimmunity reported that injections of 5 mg per day of the non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBD significantly reduced the prevalence of diabetes in mice from an incidence of 86 percent in non-treated controls to an incidence of only 30 percent.[3] In a separate experiment, investigators reported that control mice all developed diabetes at a median of 17 weeks (range 15-20 weeks) while a majority (60 percent) of CBD-treated mice remained diabetes-free at 26 weeks.[4]

Investigators also found that CBD significantly lowered plasma levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines (proteins), INF-gamma and TNF-alpha, and significantly reduced the severity of insulitis (an infiltration of white blood cells resulting in swelling) compared to non-treated controls. “Our results indicate that CBD can inhibit and delay destructive insulitis and inflammatory … cytokine production in … mice resulting in decreased incidence of diabetes,” authors concluded.

Separate preclinical trials have demonstrated cannabinoids to possess additional beneficial effects in animal models of diabetes. Writing in the March 2006 issue of the American Journal of Pathology, researchers at the Medical College of Virginia reported that rats treated with CBD for periods of one to four weeks experienced significant protection from diabetic retinopathy.[5] This condition, which is characterized by retinal oxygen deprivation and a breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier, is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults.

Cannabinoids have also been shown to alleviate neuropathic pain associated with the disease. A pair of studies published in the journal Neuroscience Letters in 2004 reported that mice administered a cannabis receptor agonist experienced a reduction in diabetic related tactile allodynia (pain resulting from non-injurious stimulus to the skin) compared to non-treated controls.[6-7] The findings suggest that “cannabinoids have a potential beneficial effect on experimental diabetic neuropathic pain,” investigators concluded.

Finally, a 2001 trial demonstrated that delta-9-THC could moderate an animal model of the disease by reducing artificially-elevated glucose levels and insulitis in mice compared to non-treated controls.[8] With incidents of diabetes steadily increasing in both the adult and juvenile population, it would appear that further cannabinoid research is warranted in the treatment of this indication.

REFERENCES

[1] Croxford and Yamamura. 2005. Cannabinoids and the immune system: Potential for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Journal of Neuroimmunology 166: 3-18.

[2] Lu et al. 2006. The cannabinergic system as a target for anti-inflammatory therapies. Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 13: 1401-1426.

[3] Weiss et al. 2006. Cannabidiol lowers incidence of diabetes in non-obese diabetic mice. Autoimmunity 39: 143-151.

[4] Ibid

[5] El-Remessy et al. 2006. Neuroprotective and blood-retinal barrier preserving effects of cannabidiol in experimental diabetes. American Journal of Pathology 168: 235-244.

[6] Dogrul et al. 2004. Cannabinoids block tactile allodynia in diabetic mice without attenuation of its antinociceptive effect. Neuroscience Letters 368: 82-86.

[7] Ulugol et al. 2004. The effect of WIN 55,212-2, a cannabinoid agonist, on tactile allodynia in diabetic rats. Neuroscience Letters 71: 167-170.

March 2, 2006 - Augusta, GA, USA

Augusta, GA: Administration of the non-psychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) prevents retinal cell death in the diabetic retina, and may one day prevent blindness in diabetic patients, according to preclinical data published in the current issue of the American Journal of Pathology.

....

And you can't help but think a large part of that came from ticking off all those civil libertarians up there who think he was buggo about cannabis, and wasted who-knows-how much of the taxpayer's money in his 'childrens's crusade' to override the State constitution regarding privacy and the herb.

Frankie got too big for his britches, and has been hauled in by elements of his own party. Perhaps a belwether of things to come?

I keep saying that we as cannabists constitute the single largest voting bloc in America due to crossing every demographic there is. A few weeks back I posted a link to something that was happening out in Fresno, regarding a bait-and-switch maneuever to covertly switch the political party registrations of signatories to a (curiously anonymous i.e. not mentioning either NORML or MPP as sponsors) pro-cannabis legalization from whatever it was to Republican.

Cannabis prohibition is not about safety.

August 22, 2006

Excerpt: The complete report, published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, provides further details of the link between a rare type of eye infection and the contact lens solution.

Fusarium is a fungus found in soil and plants. Beginning in March 2006, the CDC began to receive multiple reports of corneal infections caused by this fungus among contact lens wearers.

URL: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/22/health/webmd/main1926095.shtml

***

Drug Warriors Push Eye-Eating Fungus

If the California hemp bill

http://cannabisnews.com/news/22/thread22072.shtml

is signed by Governor Schwarzenegger, and high-CBD varieties are (permitted to be) grown, there are good uses for the low-THC flowering tops, as discussed here:

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/indust/PHARMAfiber.html

The eye injection drug I was thinking of is this $100,000 per year ripoff:

Actually, this is what they do:

OMG, ouch!

Give me a cannabis joint ANY day over a needle to the eyeball.

THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...

Under Fire! U.S. Army Intelligence Analyst Targeted For Suggesting New Independent 9/11 Investigation: http://www.lonestaricon.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=426&z=54

Was George Bush Sr.'s Carlyle Group Involved In 9/11? http://prisonplanet.com/articles/August2006/220806Carlyle.htm

Category: 9/11 - Demopedia: http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/index.php/Category:9/11

But, there are folks out there who own, or own stock in, Pharmaceutical Companies that obviously believe most drugs must have some sort of awful side affect/affects to be "effective". They must also be profitable at all costs Human. Big profit. Don't want those drugs to be TOO good. Healing is a hindrance to Treatment Profit. Can't lose that bottom line. In some cases the drug must do more harm than the disease, to TREAT the disease. Then, they'll need to Treat you for the Treatment they gave you. Healing would take ALL the profit out of that. So, therefore, Cannabis doesn't qualify as a Pharmaceutical Drug, it's TOO GOOD. And they certainly don't want the general population to have access to it. If it's too good for them, they'll be damned if the people can have it.

However, I, for one, am concerned that people going blind from diabetes might experience a marijuana "high". We don't people that are suffering already to experience any temporary euphoria. It could be devastating. They might smile, or enjoy their remaining days a little more, when the Almighty has decided that their fate is suffer painfully until He calls them to meet the Angels.

They must accept the suffering and blindness without question, or else my politician friends will have them thrown in jail.